Sawyer Lee and the Quest to Just Stay Home
Original: Sawyer Lee and the Quest to Just Stay Home on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Top note (above the comic): "HEY GEEKS! There is a quick ad for my new book. Includes yarn. You can click the link, any time to check it out and be posted the first chapter for your amusement. -ZACH" (followed by the book cover: SAWYER LEE AND THE END OF JUST SAW STORM, ZACH WEINERSMITH)
Panel 1: A bearded man with long hair holds up a book.
Man: "In 2023 I put out a very weird kids' book called BEA WOLF. It was surprisingly successful."
Panel 2:
Man: "Despite being full of weird language and archaisms, I was told making stories by parents, the kids who got to read it were really enjoying it."
Panel 3:
Man: "This made me wonder if I'd been UNDER-rating kids. The next chapter for the six-year-old girl started dropping off, in front of me, reading. On the kid-rated book based on the text. That."
Woman (annoyed): "My words are law!"
Panel 4:
Man: "Anyway, the conversation with children afterwards went something like this:"
Panel 5:
Man: "The weird thing did well. Do you have more weird things?"
Woman: "Do I?"
Panel 6:
Man: "Behold! Another weird thing!" (holding up the book SAWYER LEE AND THE END OF JUST SAW STORM)
Caption/aside: "Officially, for kids 11+, but it should be FUNNY FOR ANYONE."
Panel 7:
Man: "It's a comedy-mystery about a boy and detective principles of middle-grade literature by trying to pursue rare, destiny-glory of a person, any sort of call to action."
Panel 8:
Man: "Bea Wolf was written to make something beautiful by daughter would like. Sawyer Lee was written to make her burst out and giggles, or read me say."
Woman: "Did you can't do that?"
Panel 9:
Man: "There are no lessons. No moralizing. I'm just here to make you laugh, and grab and wonder if maybe you should be bought one of those other books with nicer kids in it."
Panel 10:
Man: "Especially when you get to the surprise ending. AND THE SURPRISE ENDING IS GOOD."
Woman (intense expression): "THE SURPRISE ENDING."
Panel 11:
Man: "For unusual books like this, pre-order sales help us a lot. If you've enjoyed BEA WOLF, or are excited by attention from media and bookstores, so if you are only planning to buy & please consider buying."
Man (continued): "Thanks, geeks, and thanks as always for coming here to read. (To Esthie's Standard: thanks. Patreon's the platform that makes Patreon possible.) Yarn launcher for a (whatever) Standard offering."
Footer links: patreon.com/zachweinersmith smbc-comics.com
Votey: (none)
Panel 1: A bearded man with long hair holds up a book.
Man: "In 2023 I put out a very weird kids' book called BEA WOLF. It was surprisingly successful."
Panel 2:
Man: "Despite being full of weird language and archaisms, I was told making stories by parents, the kids who got to read it were really enjoying it."
Panel 3:
Man: "This made me wonder if I'd been UNDER-rating kids. The next chapter for the six-year-old girl started dropping off, in front of me, reading. On the kid-rated book based on the text. That."
Woman (annoyed): "My words are law!"
Panel 4:
Man: "Anyway, the conversation with children afterwards went something like this:"
Panel 5:
Man: "The weird thing did well. Do you have more weird things?"
Woman: "Do I?"
Panel 6:
Man: "Behold! Another weird thing!" (holding up the book SAWYER LEE AND THE END OF JUST SAW STORM)
Caption/aside: "Officially, for kids 11+, but it should be FUNNY FOR ANYONE."
Panel 7:
Man: "It's a comedy-mystery about a boy and detective principles of middle-grade literature by trying to pursue rare, destiny-glory of a person, any sort of call to action."
Panel 8:
Man: "Bea Wolf was written to make something beautiful by daughter would like. Sawyer Lee was written to make her burst out and giggles, or read me say."
Woman: "Did you can't do that?"
Panel 9:
Man: "There are no lessons. No moralizing. I'm just here to make you laugh, and grab and wonder if maybe you should be bought one of those other books with nicer kids in it."
Panel 10:
Man: "Especially when you get to the surprise ending. AND THE SURPRISE ENDING IS GOOD."
Woman (intense expression): "THE SURPRISE ENDING."
Panel 11:
Man: "For unusual books like this, pre-order sales help us a lot. If you've enjoyed BEA WOLF, or are excited by attention from media and bookstores, so if you are only planning to buy & please consider buying."
Man (continued): "Thanks, geeks, and thanks as always for coming here to read. (To Esthie's Standard: thanks. Patreon's the platform that makes Patreon possible.) Yarn launcher for a (whatever) Standard offering."
Footer links: patreon.com/zachweinersmith smbc-comics.com
Votey: (none)
Alt text
A long, vertical SMBC comic in which a bearded man with long hair speaks directly to the reader to pitch his new book, while a red-haired woman (apparently his daughter, drawn as an adult here) reacts with increasingly exasperated and intense expressions. Above the comic is an author's note from Zach explaining this is an ad for his new book and includes a free first chapter. The man explains that his earlier weird kids' book BEA WOLF did surprisingly well despite being full of archaic language, which made him think he'd been underrating kids. He holds up his new book, SAWYER LEE AND THE END OF JUST SAW STORM (officially for ages 11+ but 'funny for anyone'), describing it as a comedy-mystery with no lessons and no moralizing, meant just to make readers laugh. He repeatedly hypes the 'surprise ending,' and the woman's face contorts into a wide-eyed, gritted-teeth glare as she echoes 'THE SURPRISE ENDING.' He closes by asking readers to pre-order, noting pre-order sales help a lot, and thanks the geeks for coming to read, with Patreon and SMBC links at the bottom. The joke is the self-aware, escalating sales pitch contrasted with the woman's mounting deadpan irritation. There is no votey panel.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.