Purcell, Steve (2005-12-09). "Issue #1". Sam & Max - Chapter One: The Big Sleep. Telltale Games . Retrieved 2008-12-04. Frankly, I just like Sam & Max better. They're actually funny (absurd) vs. the "joke" is Kirby just being a jerk. George, Richard (2008-02-01). " Sam & Max Statues Hit The Road". IGN. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30 . Retrieved 2008-12-07. Lucas Arts Lucas Arts.Former home of Sam & Max. Current makers of Star Wars games, and Indiana Jones. Sam & Max have been published in many formats over the years. There have been a few comic books from different companies, a guest appearance here and there, some webcomics, a few animated computer games, a TV series with somewhat toned-down versions of the characters, and most recently a Wii game.

But Purcell's stories get shorter, and the jokes get more direct and less clever and varied. Feels more rushed. Main articles: Sam & Max Hit the Road, Sam & Max: Freelance Police, Sam & Max Save the World, Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space, and Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse And for anyone who is familiar with Sam and Max (either in video game or in comics) knows how endearing and funny they can be.

The one critique I could really level at this collection is that while the stories are hilarious, they don't always come to a satisfying conclusion. A large number of the earlier ones end with some kind of non-sequitur or Deus Ex Machina, and while it is done in the name of comedy, it's not always the best storytelling, especially when it comes at the tail end of one of the longer stories and I don't think you can just use "it's comedy" to excuse a cheap way out. Throughout the series Sam and Max are both shown to be legitimately competent at fighting and problem solving, they aren't just "haha loser comedy protagonist who can't do anything right", so having the climax of the stories be out of their hands kind of keeps them from being the heroes of their own stories, and it's really only the final two of the longer form stories that they actually fix things themselves and then the series kind of ends.

Boss Fight Studios Reveal new Sam & Max Figures!". Action Figure Insider. 2019-02-17 . Retrieved 2019-02-22. The new edition contains everything in the original Surfin' the Highway, more short stories and pictures (including some paintings made to promote the Telltale series and the new DVD of the animated series), a foreword by Steve Purcell, and a color version of "Fair Wind to Java". a b Day, Ashley (March 2006). "The Making of: Sam & Max Hit the Road". Retro Gamer. No.22. United Kingdom: Imagine Publishing. pp.32–35.The collected Sam & Max: Surfin' the Highway is a compilation of Sam & Max comics and related artwork that was published by Marlowe & Company in 1995. In 2007, an updated 20th anniversary (counting from the publication of Monkeys Violating the Heavenly Temple in 1987) edition was published by Telltale Games. It is named after highway surfing, the activity portrayed on the front cover. a b c d e f g h Purcell, Steve (1995-10-01). "Max—Short, maniac lagomorph (look it up)". Sam & Max: Freelance Police Series Bible. Shout! Factory. pp.6–7. Dornbush, Jonathon (August 27, 2020). "Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual Announced". IGN . Retrieved August 27, 2020. Anniversary: The Classics". LucasArts. Archived from the original on 2006-06-23 . Retrieved 2008-08-05.

Sinclair, Brendan (2005-11-15). " Sam & Max resurrected". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2012-07-17 . Retrieved 2008-12-06. a b Lean, Gary (2008-02-06). " Sam & Max Comic Book Series to be Re-issued". Voodoo Extreme. IGN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2008 . Retrieved 2008-12-04. A tattoo artist suggests a tattoo design:] "What about a snake eating a rat with the caption 'Born to watch my snake eat a rat'?" The violence is not extreme. Well...okay, there's a lot of shooting. A typewriter may have been hurled through an upper-story window. There may have been a disintegration or two. Perhaps an attempted human (dog? rabbit?) sacrifice. Children too young to understand irony probably won't get Sam & Max, but anyone over the age of ten or so would probably be ready.Plunkett, Luke (2009-12-09). " Sam & Max Returning In 2010 (On A Spaceship?)". Kotaku . Retrieved 2009-12-09.

Finney, Shaun (2010-04-14). " Sam & Max Secret Origins: Skun-ka'pe". Telltale Games . Retrieved 2010-09-04. Cifaldi, Frank (2006-07-26). "Telltale Tells All (Pt. 1) – An Interview with Dave Grossman". Gamasutra . Retrieved 2009-04-18. Legacy: 22nd Annual Annie Award Nominees and Winners (1994)". Annie Award. Archived from the original on 2008-05-12 . Retrieved 2008-08-07. Thorsen, Tor (2006-11-08). " Sam & Max GameTap-ping October 17". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2012-07-20 . Retrieved 2008-12-06.

Selected

a b Hagerup, Eivind (2006-10-11). " Sam & Max animated series heading for GameTap". Adventure Gamers . Retrieved 2016-09-04. Part 2: The Golden Era". The History of Sam & Max. Telltale Games. 2007-06-24. Archived from the original on 2007-12-31 . Retrieved 2008-12-03. There are two possibilities when you first encounter Sam & Max. One possibility is that you won't get it; at best, it will seem odd and mildly amusing. a b c d Purcell, Steve (1995-10-01). "Sam—Large, somewhat sincere dog". Sam & Max: Freelance Police Series Bible. Shout! Factory. pp.4–5. How Sam & Max: This Time It's Virtual! Brings the Comedic Crime-Fighting Duo to VR". Game Informer.