Sam and Max
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Image:Sam & Max - Surfin The Highway (front cover).jpg Sam and Max are a pair of fictional comic book characters who occupy a parody of American popular culture. Sam is a 6-foot anthropomorphic dog and Max is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing."
They are private investigators, or as they like to call themselves, "freelance police". The pair live and work in New York City, but often travel to such places as New Orleans, ancient Egypt, the Philippines, and the Moon. They drive a seemingly indestructable black-and-white 1960 DeSoto Adventurer to most of these locations (including the Moon, which they achieved by "stuffing the muffler with thousands and thousands of matches"). Max often drives, despite the fact he can't see over the steering wheel.
Their crime fighting technique involves brandishing their oversized guns (it is not clear where Max keeps his weapon because he is "buck naked" - when asked, Max will always respond, "None of your damn business, Sam.") to intimidate criminals, but more often than not they need to rely on more creative solutions to vanquish evil. Occasionally Sam and Max receive assignments from a mysterious Commissioner over the phone, but they usually just walk into trouble.
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History and appearances
The comic books are laced with dark, nihilistic and surreal humour. The series was created by Steve Purcell based on his brother's childhood drawings, and published in bits and pieces under several different titles and by several different publishers. Most of the stories were assembled in a collection entitled The Collected Sam & Max: Surfin' the Highway in 1995.
With Steve Purcell working at LucasArts, the characters became quite popular within the company and they were soon appearing in cameos in many LucasArts games. They also spawned a successful graphical adventure game of their own, Sam & Max Hit the Road. In August 2002, LucasArts announced that a sequel - Sam & Max Freelance Police - would be released in the first quarter of 2004, but the game was cancelled in March 2004.
However, in September 2005, it was announced that Telltale Games, a small company started by the creative team behind Grim Fandango, will be creating a new Sam and Max game, with the help of Purcell. Starting in December 2005, a new online comic strip was released to celebrate the collaboration: [1]
There was also a less adult animated series — Sam & Max: Freelance Police!!! — which showed on the Fox Network in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the UK, airing 23 episodes from 1997 through to 1998.
The characters
Sam
Sam is a laid-back, but enthusiastic anthropomorphic dog wearing a trenchcoat and a hat. He is usually the brains of the operation, usually trying to figure out a logical solution to things. He is prone to long-winding sentences filled with elaborate buzzwords. He is also rarely seen losing his temper, and is able to react to panic-inducing situations with extreme calmness.
Max
Max is a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing" with a huge jaw usually set in a crazy grinning position, showcasing his extreme teeth. He enjoys violence and tends to prefer the aggressive way of solving things, albeit by nature he's somewhat peaceful. He has an extreme dislike towards long stories. He shares Sam's enthusiasm in just about anything, especially if it involves large guns and trouble.
The commissioner
The commissioner is an unseen character who briefs Sam and Max for their various missions. He interacts with them through the telephone; a ringing phone usually causes the freelancers to brawl a bit for the right to pick up the phone first - a fight which is traditionally won by Sam.
Flint Paper
Flint is the freelancers' next-door neighbour, a private detective. His work method often consists of "pummeling".
Major adventures
- "Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple" (1987): Sam & Max journey to the exotic Philippines ("drawn without reference material") to stop a volcano god cult.
- "Night of the Gilded Heron-Shark" (1987): Sam & Max have a run-in with the fish-headed Mack Salmon and his goons. Introduced the Rubber Pants Commandos and their leader, the chimpanzee Sergeant Blip.
- "Night of the Cringing Wildebeest" (1987): The Freelance Police investigate refreshment booth trouble at the local carnival.
- "Fair Wind to Java" (1988): Sam & Max fight pyramid-building aliens in ancient Egypt.
- "On The Road" (1989): A complete story in three chapters, chronicling what happens when the Freelance Police take a vacation. The heart of this story is "I Love a Band Leader", involving fake land-pirates, manatees, and talking octopi.
- "The Damned Don't Dance" (1990): A charming Christmas tale.
- "Bad Day on the Moon" (1992): Sam & Max travel to the Moon to aid an anthropomorphic rat civilization rid itself of giant moon roaches. This story was later adapted for the short-lived Sam & Max animated series.
- "Beast From the Cereal Aisle" (1992): Sam & Max grapple with paranormal life forms of the local supermarket.
- Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993): A computer game published by LucasArts sprawling the width and breadth of the continental United States. The Freelance Police travel across America in search of two freak show escapees.