I have good news and bad news for you, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to hear the bad news first, so here goes: This will be the last installment of DeFlocked to grace these pages. It’s been a hell of a run—we’ve laughed, we’ve cried (actually, mostly just laughed)—but it’s time for Mamet and his friends to go to greener pastures … by which I mean the biggest syndication company in the country. The good news is that Mamet is very likely coming soon to a newspaper near you, where he’ll continue to do his good work on behalf of animals (and hilariousness) on a large scale. Oh yeah, and Jeff is still going to be giving us exclusive comic strips for the PETA Files, under the title 10% Wool. So everyone wins. Now here’s a message, and a new DeFlocked, from Jeff.

To Jack and all my amazing fans of DeFlocked. These past 12 months have been an incredible journey of discovery and education for me in my nascent partnership with Peta. I love animals, to state the obvious. But when I stumbled upon the archaic practice of 'mulesing' back in the Spring of 2007, It was the first time I felt I, through my work, could truly help them out in some way. I decided that the star of my popular comic strip DeFlocked - Mamet the sheep - would officially become the face of the cartoon world's campaign to end these terrible abuses to our woolly friends.

Immediately before DeFlocked began running on Peta.org last June, New Zealand dropped to their knees and announced an end to their practice of mulesing. Obviously, they were afraid of what I was about to bring to the table. Regardless of what Peta's years of campaigning and education may prove otherwise, I take full credit for NZ's capitulation. And when Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland and American Eagle all said "no" to mulesed wool, it didn't take a genius to see it as a response to the hurt that my cuddly sheep was about to rain down on their well-coiffed heads. And oh - out of the blue - Hugo Boss crying 'uncle' this month? Yeah, let's just say my wardrobe is suddenly a little more finely-tailored these days.

I'm writing to you all to not only thank you for your incredible support over this past year, but to also say goodbye on behalf of Mamet and all of my characters of DeFlocked. But, this is not a bad thing. In fact, something very good happened to the strip. On May 5th, 2008, DeFlocked will be officially syndicated by King Features Syndicate, the biggest media syndication company in the nation. On that day, it will premiere on the comics pages of newspapers all over North America. In fact, it will enjoy one of the biggest comic strip launches in the industry in the last several years. I am thoroughly blessed, to say the least. The bad news - due to competition clauses, DeFlocked can no longer run on Peta.org. But the good news - I'm going to continue writing Peta-themed strips for you all bi-weekly, which will now go by the name of 10% Wool. You have my solemn word that I will continue the same high levels of classlessness, depravity and debauchery with 10% Wool as I did with DeFlocked.

In the meantime, if you would all like to continue to read the hilarious hijinks of Mamet the sheep and his cohorts each and every day in DeFlocked (recently endorsed by the big man himself - Larry David!), please email your editor of your local newspaper and request they add it to their comics pages. They really listen to readers. The flock is growing, but I truly need all the support I can get.

Thank you all so very much for your time and patronage. I hope to be able to keep making you laugh, and, most importantly, to think a little bit through my work. I continue to appreciate the opportunity.

For the animals,

Jeff Corriveau
www.deflocked.com

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To check out the archives of past strips, click here.

P.S. If you’ve enjoyed these comics as much as I have over the past year, please do take a moment to contact your newspaper and ask them to carry DeFlocked, and if they do carry the comic, let ‘em know that you’re happy about it.