Public Service Announcement

Public Service Announcement

Posted by Brian • July 21, 2016

Original Release Date: April 29, 2008

I assure you, this comic was all in good fun, even though Evil Bad Guy Ninja is extremely insulting to readers. As a person who has always been terrified of offending readers with my content, I can't believe I ever did this. It wasn't directed at anyone, in particular, just poking fun at a general slip of the tongue. This was around the time that I started toying with the idea of changing the name of the comic.

I am and always will be proud of the name "Surly Sensei." I think the neon sign is pretty great, too. I love trying to come up with clever, alliterative names for establishments.

Evil Bad Guy Ninja's scathing instructions to the audience are a good bit, but it's also a means to squeeze in a guest appearance in for one of my favorite characters who won't be appearing for a bit. Much in the same way I like the bad guys in professional wrestling better than the good guys, I think writing for bad guys is a lot more fun than writing for good guys. Their characters are driven by ego and have few reservations, as a result, so it allows me to really cut loose, whereas normally a more conservative, morally sound approach must be taken to writing good guys. And, if they're a particularly manipulative or top-notch villain, they can convince you that what they're doing is right, even when it's obviously not.