Hello everyone, and you may have seen on my Instagram and Ko-Fi the official reveal of a comic strip I'm working on titled Sammy Specificspif! Below is the logo, promotional image and synopsis of the strip:
Sammy Specificspif is a curious five-year-old boy that, as his last name implies, takes everything literally! Sammy is eager to learn more about the world around him, which can either result in making people realize their mistakes to (usually) creating chaos on a massive scale. While most people usually can't tolerate Sammy’s acts, they take it for granted that life wouldn’t be the same without him. Whether its dealing with his similarly acting archrival Larry Literalamb, mean fifth-grade bully Tyranno-Bully, his crabby next door neighbor Mr. Langley, or his teacher who has never had a student like him, Ms. Limlean, nothing in this community is safe from being interpreted in a very specific manner!
The story of a five-year-old boy who takes everything literally, Sammy Specificspif was conceived way back in 2008, when I was simply walking down the street in my neighborhood and came up with the idea of what was then a five-year old boy who takes everything literally. In the years since, I wrote over 100 strips about Sammy's antics, but as I was eleven when I started, I wasn't an expert on comic strips, so they were very amateurish, especially in the beginning. I would often vary the number of panels instead of sticking to three or four, and I didn't write weekly storylines.
Later on, I did stick to four panels, though I never really got around to weekly storylines. Eventually, I stopped writing the strip entirely, but I still had dreams of redoing the strips someday for syndication. And while anything is possible as far as syndication is concerned, I decided to just redo the strips now and release them on Ko-Fi. During the process, I carefully analyzed the strips and rearranged the order I drew them, so I can see if there were weekly storylines in there somewhere. Often, the storylines I found didn't meet the six-strip requirement, so I made some new strips connecting the old strips. Originally, my plan was to release the strips daily like a syndicated comic strip. But then I decided that the strips would be released too fast, and while there are a lot of strips that are coming, I want fans to enjoy their release for as long as possible. So, I’m going to release the strips weekly instead.
If you go on my Twitter (and no, I'm not calling it X), and Instagram now, you will notice that the first strip has been released for free. If you also go on my Ko-Fi now, you will notice that the first weekly story arc of strips is available by offering a $5 donation each month. Each week, a new strip will be released on Twitter and Instagram, as if the strip is in at least a kind of weekly syndication. Once the last strip in the story arc is released, the entire story arc will be released for free on Ko-Fi and the next story arc of strips will be available by offering a $5 donation each month. The first strip in the next story arc will then be released on Twitter and Instagram. While I eventually wrote Sundays before I stopped writing the strip, I didn't write enough to cover the batch of strips that are coming, so they're definitely on the cards.
In addition, I will be making a new subpage titled "Sammy Specificspif" under the Comics page, where I will be compiling the free strips as every story arc gets released for free. The page will be launched on October 6, the date the first story arc will be released for free. Nonetheless, I will post the descriptions for the strip’s characters below to provide a better sense of the cast ahead of the launch. I will also post the first strip below as well:
Sammy Specificspif - A five-year-old kindergartener that, as his last name implies, takes everything literally. This is because he is very curious and wants to learn more about the world around him, which can create incidents from making people realize what they did wrong to (usually) creating chaos on a massive scale.
Daniel Melton - Sammy's best friend. Sammy claims that his relationship with him works because he knows how destructive he can be and is glad to have a friend like Daniel to keep him under control, while Sammy’s antics make Daniel’s generally boring life more interesting, which Daniel admits.
Sarah Welling - Sammy best female friend, who is similarly sensible like Daniel. She is a rich girl whose family is in a feud with Sammy’s. Despite this, she and Sammy remain close even in spite of his antics.
Mr. Joesph Specificspif - Sammy’s father, a businessman who tries his best to live a life free of stress and misery, but finds these plans upended by Sammy’s antics. Despite this, he still loves his youngest son and does whatever he can to keep him in check.
Mrs. Janet Specificspif - Sammy’s mother, a nutritionist and cook who does whatever she can to keep her family under control, especially Sammy. She is also in a feud with Sarah’s mother, with the two having caused the feud between their families.
Alex Specificspif - Sammy's older brother. He is a 10-year-old who loves the military and martial arts, interests Sammy doesn't share. Despite their differences, he knows that deep down, he still loves his younger brother, even if Sammy’s antics more often than not discourage him to admit this out loud.
Cathy Specificspif - Sammy's older sister. She is a 9-year-old with an obsession for her phone and her friends, and usually can’t stand Sammy’s literal ways. Despite this, she knows that deep down, she still loves her younger brother, even if Sammy’s antics more often than not discourage her to admit this out loud.
Timothy Chen - A Taiwanese American boy who is a good friend of Sammy, Daniel and Sarah, and the shortest of Sammy’s friends. He loves to join Sammy in his antics but is usually good at avoiding being involved in the consequences of Sammy’s actions.
Joanna Knowles - An African American girl who is a good friend of Sammy, Daniel and Sarah. She is very intelligent; the other kids claim she “knows everything about everything”. Despite being a kindergartener, she is already attempting to pursue fifth-grade level knowledge. She would rather read or study than go outside.
Shelia Alvarez - A pretty but conceited Hispanic girl who is a frenemy of Sammy, Daniel and Sarah. She usually doesn’t realize her arrogant behavior, and actually doesn’t mean any harm when she annoys the other girls in her class. She is the most popular girl in Sammy’s grade.
Sally Seriouseer - Sammy's crush. Almost like a female version of Sammy, she can even get things mixed up with Sammy, to the point that she can think one thing when Sammy thinks the other.
Larry Literalamb - Sammy's archrival. Like Sammy, he takes everything literally but in a more devious way. He is an expert at getting others in trouble or getting what he wants with this behavior. He also convinces Tyranno-Bully to be his pawn, who helps him provide physical backup in his scams.
Are you interested in Sammy Specificspif? Let me know what you think, and remember, constructive criticism is the kind of criticism that I appreciate. Stay enlightened, educated, and entertained, folks. ;)