Dick Hunting

Previously, I talked about pitching Dnah products early and often in my neverending battle to merchandise Dnah. When a Dnah product, the Dnah-phabet, was finally approved, the path from pitch to product was smooth. It isn’t always that way.

Behold: The Rubber Dickie!

 

This was a project that was practically pre-approved. At GenCon 2014, Lar told me about his affection for rubber duckies. I pitched the name Rubber Dickie (because I’ve been conditioned to fit Dick into anything as quickly as posib- whoa that can be taken wrong… Well, it’s typed now, guess it’s there forever) and he loved it. There was a design before there was a pitch. This was one of my first products approved when I took on product development for Blind Ferret, and I learned a lot from working on it.

Such as containing my expectations. After a month or so working with a toy company, they sent us a sample, the large one in the picture above. It looked perfect, like they inflated Lar’s drawing into three dimensional reality. There was one problem: It was hard plastic. There was some debate about whether a rubber duckie had to be rubber (and by debate, I mean I said “does it have to be rubber?” and everyone within earshot subtextually calling me a fool for even asking), before I had the following conversation with the manufacturer:

Me: We asked for a rubber duckie. Made of rubber.
Them: The production version will be rubber.
Me: Then can you send me a sample of the rubber rubber duckie?
Them: We sent you a sample. It will be like that, but rubber.
Me: Then that’s not a sample. It’s a thing that’s like the thing we want but isn’t.

The second manufacturer we found was better. Up to a point. They made a Rubber Dickie based on a more achievable design (I believe the first manufacturer sent us a plastic sample because they knew it wouldn’t hold its shape in rubber), and sent us two samples. Without eyes.

That stark white face haunts me, but I keep it on my desk as motivation to get projects right. The manufacturer said we couldn’t get the eyes like we wanted because the hood blocked their machines. So I found other companies that could paint eyes, with the plan that the first company would make the ducks, send them to the second company to paint the eyes, and finally they would send them to us in an I, Pencilian process. After years of tracking down other options, getting samples, sending feedback, and not quite getting what we wanted, we pulled the plug on the project.

So long, Rubber Dickie. You were the one who would have made bath time so much fwoosh. I can’t say I’m fond of you, but I can say I’ll always remember you.

Now that all of our ducks are in a row, here are the top comments for the first half of February 2016.

LFG 953
Flavourius
“This ash pile reminds me of the old days, remember the ash pile of Cale?
Good times.”

Jonathan Boynton
The little bastards really are munchkins… That is some Steve Jackson level of loophole abuse!

SoraHjort
Shake it! Bop It! Chacha it!

Angel D. Figueroa
HA! This is exactly like how he charges up his powers by tricking his opponent into striking at that baby he has to protect. I believe the technical term is “hoisted by my own petard.”

NPC part 20, page 4
hempev
These pirates are composed almost entirely of scars and piercings.

Speedy Marsh
There must be a strike going on, if the captain is hiring scabs.

safyrejet
Would a death by your own braid count as suicide?

TDA 103
Flavourius
There 3 things in the universe being infinite:
-The universe itself
-The idiocy of mankind
-And the WinRAR trial version.
Because of that we have discussions like the one from Dick.

Ivory Bill
But flat bottomed girls make the world go rou- wait.
Wait.

Shadow
Satellites are made of metal. Spoons are made of metal. Everyone knows that there is no spoon, therefore, there is no satellite.
So if that’s how we are debating if the world is flat or not, this means there is no debate.
Boom. Matrix’ed

LFG 954
Keith Hearn
Clearly after paper and rock have failed, they need to try a pair of scissors.

cpc65
I once sat in a Chair of Sorrows. As in I received a 2 inch splinter just below my right ass cheek.

tarch
It could be the Chair of Comfort. Makes whoever sits on it fall asleep comfortably……….FOREVER!!!! *dumm dum duuuuummmmm*………. or as long as they are sitting. they wake up when they fall or gets “unattached” to the chair…… OF COMFORT!!! *dumm dum duuuummmm*

Adam C Spencer
Maybe they attacked the chair because they don’t like things that start with “cha” and are not themselves.

NPC part 20, page 5
Cthulhu
Last panel should be a wallpaper: “To the Kraken!!”

LaughingTarget
Good thing she doesn’t know that kraken lives in a purse now. The shame would kill her.

TagtheCat
“Mike Tyson arms…… Mike Tyson Arms…… MIKE TYSONS ARMS
But among other things she seems pretty strong and reliable.”

LFG 955
Speedy Marsh
“MISSING CLASS
This just in: Third grade class goes missing, during field trip to castle.
Ms. Valerie Felicity Frizzle and her class from Walkerville Elementary School vanished earlier today, while on a field trip to the local castle. The only clue to their fate is a tiny, school bus yellow puddle on one of the castle’s hallway carpets.
It is feared that the school bus, along with Ms. Frizzle, her students and their pet chameleon, Liz, might have become involved in the commotion at the castle. Ms. Frizzle’s penchant to “”Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!””, has possibly led to the demise of everyone aboard the school’s magic bus.”

cody demetro
Heh, I thought he was gonna pick Cale up and start swinging him at those things.

bobdole010
wait… is that a magic Nintendo i see?

NPC part 20, page 6
Tue
Worst kool aid man impression, EVER.

DVS BSTrD
Dam, the digger story wasn’t this brutal. And there were cannibals in that one.

alexandre
groping teabag combo, eeesh

TDA 104
Fusionater
Man, I’m sitting here throwing Cauliflower at the screen, and nothings happening!
I think this webcomic is buggy.

Ivory Bill
Pssh. I remember back when all we had was sticks and we had to draw in the dirt for entertainment. If someone liked your stick they’d come along and punch you in the face and take it. And you punched other people in the face and took theirs. Eventually things would settle down and we’d all be drawing in the dirt until someone found a new stick. Then it all started over again.

Floyd Hunter
People who’ve waited 78 minutes; what’s the punchline?

LFG 956
Drakkenfyre
I’m sorry.
“Warm kitty
Sharp kitty
Little ball of “”Ahh!””
Angry kitty
Mauly kitty
Cha cha cha”

Smiling_Jack
The look of sheer terror and desperation on that last chacha’s face is more satisfying than words can say…

Khromedome
That last panel of Sooba & the unfortunate Chacha’s reminds me of the cat I used to have when I lived next to a hay field. Whenever they would turn the hay, she transformed into 5lbs of black ninja kitty terror. The driveway & deck became a rodent Gettysburg.

NPC part 20, page 7
Jordan Cabe
Anyone else notice the two mice snogging it?

Mr. Random
I love how basically, the kraken is going for monster all over the front of the ship, except for right below the head, it looks like the hands are folded.
So it’s like.
“AAAAAAARRRRRGBLBLBLBLGGLBLB. Kind sir.”

Cyphs
Yay!!! Monkey bird from pirates of darkwater

LFG 957
Qwefg Lockheart
Never before has a pink purse inspired so much fear to the unsuspecting world.

HrrcnIslndhrt
Sorting Hat in panel three…what a bunch of douchebags. How are the Hogwarts students supposed to be sorted now? XP

Ron S
The Sorting Hat
Crystal Ball
Mary Poppins Bag*
Magic shield from the Dungeon & Dragons Saturday morning cartoon! Eric was such a DB.
Alladin’s Lamp
Jeannie’s Lamp
Horn of Gondor*
The Magician Hat (Frosty, Zatanna, etc.)
Paddywhack’s Jack-in-the-box
Chains of Mephistopheles

*Lar DeSouza said, “Yes on Paddywhack, no on Mary Poppin’s bag but it is also a Disney inspired reference. 🙂 I don’t see the horn but sure, let’s go with that ;)” meaning Ron guessed the most accurately.

Finally, special shout out to Alexandre and Carlos’ exchange in response to Speedy Marsh’s brilliant post on page 955. Bravo to you both for well-improvised wit, or deviously coordinated setup.

Until next time, be excellent to each other!
-Costello