Editing Sam & Max (section)

==Overview==
===Creation===
The idea of ''Sam & Max'' originated with Steve Purcell's younger brother, Dave, who invented the concept of a comic about a detective team consisting of a dog and a rabbit in his youth. Dave often left the comics around the house, so Steve, in a case of [[sibling rivalry]], often finished the incomplete stories in parodies of their original form, deliberately making the characters mix up each other's names, over-explain things, shoot at each other and mock the way in which they had been drawn, as "kind of a parody of the way a kid talks when he's writing comics". Over time, this developed from Steve merely mocking his brother's work to him creating his own full stories with the characters. Ultimately, in the late 1970s, Dave Purcell gave Steve the rights to the characters, signing them over in a contract on Steve's birthday and allowing him to develop the characters in his own way.<ref name="early years 1">{{cite web |url=http://www.telltalegames.com/summerofsamandmax/history/history1 |title=Part 1: The Early Years |work=The History of Sam & Max |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080103224931/http://www.telltalegames.com/summerofsamandmax/history/history1 |archive-date=2008-01-03 |publisher=[[Telltale Games]] |date=2007-06-12 |access-date=2008-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite video |people=Steve Purcell |date=2008-03-11 |title=A COMIC-CONversation With Steve Purcell!!! |medium=DVD |publisher=[[Shout! Factory]]}}</ref> In 1980, Purcell began to produce ''Sam & Max'' comic strips for the weekly newsletter of the [[California College of the Arts|California College of Arts and Crafts]]. While the visual appearance of the characters had not yet been fully developed, the stories were similar in style to those that followed when Purcell was offered by ''[[Fish Police]]'' author Steven Moncuse the chance to publish his work properly in 1987.<ref name="early years 2"/>

[[File:Steve Purcell APE 2007.jpg|thumb|right|''Sam & Max'' was created by Steve Purcell, who took a significant role in developing the later video games.]]
Many aspects of the ''Sam & Max'' comics were influenced by Purcell's own experiences. [[Rat]]s and [[cockroach]]es are common throughout the franchise, the former inspired by Purcell's pet rat. In another example, Sam and Max are occasionally shown playing a game called "fizzball", in which the object of the exercise is to hit a can of [[beer]] in mid-air with a solid [[Axe|axe handle]]. Purcell had previously invented the game with his friends, including fellow comic book writers [[Art Adams]] and [[Mike Mignola]].<ref name="early years 2"/>

===Characters===
<!-- This section is for commentary on Sam & Max themselves. Commentary on other reoccurring characters, such as Bosco and the Geek, should be left to the individual articles covering the media they appear in. -->
====Sam====
'''Sam''' is a laid-back but enthusiastic, brown-coated [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] [[Irish Wolfhound]], described as a "[[dog|canine]] [[Private investigator|shamus]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://samandmaxblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-kind-of-dog-is-that.html|title=Sam & Max: What Kind of Dog is That?|date=16 February 2011}}</ref> He wears either a gray or blue suit with a matching fedora, to make people more cooperative when conversing with a six-foot talking dog.<ref name="Sam bible">{{cite book|title=Sam & Max: Freelance Police Series Bible|first=Steve|last=Purcell|date=1995-10-01|chapter=Sam—Large, somewhat sincere dog|publisher=[[Shout! Factory]]|pages=4–5}}</ref> A warped sense of justice makes Sam the more passionate of the pair for their police work,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.stars.ign.com/objects/960/960029_biography.html|title=Sam (''Sam & Max'') Biography|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=2008-12-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713005231/http://uk.stars.ign.com/objects/960/960029_biography.html|archive-date=2011-07-13}}</ref> only held back from taking his job seriously by Max. Nevertheless, he enjoys the mannerisms and dress that come with their line of work.<ref name="Sam bible"/> Sam possesses near encyclopedic amounts of knowledge, particularly on obscure topics, and is prone to long-winded sentences filled with elaborate terminology. Although he is always keen to display this information—regardless of its accuracy—Sam can be capable of total ignorance towards more practical matters; for instance, despite his regard for his [[DeSoto Adventurer]], he is severely negligent with the car's maintenance.<ref name="Sam bible"/> Sam still retains various doglike qualities: he is excitable and enthusiastic, but also susceptible to emotions of embarrassment and guilt. Nevertheless, Sam is "not above sticking his head out the car window and letting his tongue flap in the breeze".<ref name="Sam bible"/> Sam rarely loses his temper, and is able to react to panic-inducing situations with extreme calm. When he does get angry, Sam tends to react in a violent, uncharacteristically savage manner, in which case Max usually calms him down and prevents him from acting upon his anger. Sam usually is armed with an oversized [[.44 Magnum|.44]] [[revolver]]. 

Sam is voiced by [[Bill Farmer]] in ''Sam & Max Hit the Road'', [[Harvey Atkin]] in the animated series and David Nowlin from Telltale's games onward.

====Max====
'''Max''' is an anthropomorphic "hyperkinetic, three-foot [[rabbit]]y thing" with white fur, but prefers being called a [[Lagomorpha|lagomorph]].<ref name="Max bible">{{cite book|title=Sam & Max: Freelance Police Series Bible|first=Steve|last=Purcell|date=1995-10-01|chapter=Max—Short, maniac lagomorph (look it up)|publisher=[[Shout! Factory]]|pages=6–7}}</ref> Max retains few characteristics consistent with a rabbit, with permanently rigid ears set in an excited posture and a huge jaw normally stuck in a crazed grin.<ref name="Max bible"/> Unhinged, uninhibited and near psychotic, Max enjoys violence and tends to prefer the aggressive way of solving problems,<ref name="Max bible"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.stars.ign.com/objects/960/960502_biography.html|title=Max (''Sam & Max'') Biography|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=2008-12-06|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091023110057/http://uk.stars.ign.com/objects/960/960502_biography.html|archive-date=2009-10-23}}</ref> seeing the world as little more than a vessel for his "pinball-like stream of consciousness".<ref name="Max bible"/> This creates a seeming disregard for self-preservation; Max will revel in dangerous situations with little impression that he understands the risks he faces. As a result, Max is usually enthusiastic to engage in any activity, including being used by Sam as a cable cutter or an impromptu bludgeon.<ref name="Max bible"/> Despite this, Max possesses a sharp mind and an observational nature, and enjoys interpreting new experiences in as unpredictable a manner as possible.<ref name="Max bible"/> However, Max has a distaste for long stories and occasionally loses focus during lengthy scenes of plot exposition; by his own admission, Max possesses a particularly short [[attention span]]. On top of this short attention span, it has been shown numerous times that Max has an extremely poor memory to go along with it. Despite his seemingly heartless personality, he believes strongly in protecting Sam, but Max can still act violently towards his friend, stating that when he dies he will take Sam with him. Moreover, Max is extremely possessive of Sam and their status as partners and best friends.<ref name="Max bible"/> Max traditionally carries a [[Luger P08 pistol|Luger pistol]], but as he wears no clothes, other characters often make comments as to where Max keeps it on his person.<ref name="Max bible"/> Purcell considers Max to be representative of pure [[Id, ego, and super-ego|id]], the uncoordinated instinctual trends of the human psyche.<ref>{{cite book |last=Purcell |first=Steve |title=Sam & Max: Surfin' The Highway|edition=Anniversary |date=January 2008 |publisher=[[Telltale Games]] |location=United States |isbn=978-0-9792576-2-9|chapter=Front cover flap}}</ref> 

Max's voice is provided by [[Nick Jameson]] in ''Sam & Max Hit the Road'' and by [[Robert Tinkler]] in the animated series. [[Kid Beyond|Andrew Chaikin]] originally voiced Max in the first episode of Telltale's games before being replaced by William Kasten, while [[Dave Boat]] voices the character from ''[[Poker Night 2]]'' onward.