Comic Transcripts

EVAN: Mom and Dad slipped up and revealed foreknowledge of certain presents that were ostensibly from “Santa.”
HILDEGARD: So what kinds of?conclusions have you drawn from that?

EVAN: Oh, I know the whole Santa Charade is a determined yet pointless falsehood, like Johnny Appleseed or Larry the Cable Guy. But the looks on their faces when they thought they’d ruined it for me! The poor babies were crushed! I had to save their feelings!

[[Visual: EVAN’s horrified parents.]]
EVAN [[narrating]]: I said “Does Santa give you hints in advance of what he’s going to bring? Are his notes written in magic ink on North Pole stationery that dissolves after a single read, leaving no evidence behind?” And then I added “Oh, the MAGIC of it all!” and batted my eyelashes until they smiled. They get to play the game another year.

EVAN: It’s so sweet, you know? Watching them sink back into confidence. Letting them believe a little lie, just to feel a tiny bit more secure for a tiny bit longer.
HILDEGARD: How long do you think you can keep it up?
EVAN: I’m hoping until I go to college

{{header: believe in WONDERMAR.COM}}
{{alt-text: I’m incredibly curious to see how convoluted this Santa mythos will get as they try to keep it plausible for ten more years. Will he eventually be cloned? Have sleeper cells across the world? Be revealed to be an alien? WHO WILL TIRE OF THE RUSE FIRST??}}

#783; In which Belief is maintained transcribed by in

EVAN: Mom and Dad slipped up and revealed foreknowledge of certain presents that were ostensibly from “Santa.”
HILDEGARD: So what kinds of?conclusions have you drawn from that?

EVAN: Oh, I know the whole Santa Charade is a determined yet pointless falsehood, like Johnny Appleseed or Larry the Cable Guy. But the looks on their faces when they thought they’d ruined it for me! The poor babies were crushed! I had to save their feelings!

[[Visual: EVAN’s horrified parents.]]
EVAN [[narrating]]: I said “Does Santa give you hints in advance of what he’s going to bring? Are his notes written in magic ink on North Pole stationery that dissolves after a single read, leaving no evidence behind?” And then I added “Oh, the MAGIC of it all!” and batted my eyelashes until they smiled. They get to play the game another year.

EVAN: It’s so sweet, you know? Watching them sink back into confidence. Letting them believe a little lie, just to feel a tiny bit more secure for a tiny bit longer.
HILDEGARD: How long do you think you can keep it up?
EVAN: I’m hoping until I go to college

{{header: believe in WONDERMAR.COM}}
{{alt-text: I’m incredibly curious to see how convoluted this Santa mythos will get as they try to keep it plausible for ten more years. Will he eventually be cloned? Have sleeper cells across the world? Be revealed to be an alien? WHO WILL TIRE OF THE RUSE FIRST??}}

#783; In which Belief is maintained transcribed by in

EVAN: Mom and Dad slipped up and revealed foreknowledge of certain presents that were ostensibly from "Santa."
HILDEGARD: So what kinds of?conclusions have you drawn from that?

EVAN: Oh, I know the whole Santa Charade is a determined yet pointless falsehood, like Johnny Appleseed or Larry the Cable Guy. But the looks on their faces when they thought they'd ruined it for me! The poor babies were crushed! I had to save their feelings!

[[Visual: EVAN's horrified parents.]]
EVAN [[narrating]]: I said "Does Santa give you hints in advance of what he's going to bring? Are his notes written in magic ink on North Pole stationery that dissolves after a single read, leaving no evidence behind?" And then I added "Oh, the MAGIC of it all!" and batted my eyelashes until they smiled. They get to play the game another year.

EVAN: It's so sweet, you know? Watching them sink back into confidence. Letting them believe a little lie, just to feel a tiny bit more secure for a tiny bit longer.
HILDEGARD: How long do you think you can keep it up?
EVAN: I'm hoping until I go to college

{{header: believe in WONDERMAR.COM}}
{{alt-text: I'm incredibly curious to see how convoluted this Santa mythos will get as they try to keep it plausible for ten more years. Will he eventually be cloned? Have sleeper cells across the world? Be revealed to be an alien? WHO WILL TIRE OF THE RUSE FIRST??}}

I'm incredibly curious to see how convoluted this Santa mythos will get as they try to keep it plausible for ten more years. Will he eventually be cloned? Have sleeper cells across the world? Be revealed to be an alien? WHO WILL TIRE OF THE RUSE FIRST??

#783; In which Belief is maintained

  — December 23rd, 2011

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/783/

Buy a Print

New ways to get Bolted!

July 24, 2026 by David Malki !

In addition to buying things directly from me, the normal way, my game Bolted! is also now available on Amazon dot com.

On that famous website, you can also get the Creature-Crafting Magnets Set, which is made of the same artwork from the game, but is just a weird little trinket (not a playable game).

My kiddo made the elaborate version below to show off just how many magnets you get in the set (it’s 150 pieces in all — this isn’t even all of them).

Also now on Amazon is my set of Multi-Purpose Greeting Cards — a full dozen cards with envelopes in a fancy, unbranded, foil-stamped box!

Event alert!

I’ll also be showing off Bolted! at Greenwood Games, an event in Seattle this Saturday:

Greenwood Games is a free, all-ages community game event that invites players to spend the afternoon walking Greenwood Avenue from 65th to 80th, collecting clues, cracking puzzles, and discovering games made right here in Washington.

Think of it as Pride Hop, ArtWalk, and the Gumshoe all rolled into one,  except the whole thing is built around games and puzzles.​

Local game designers will be set up at different places along Greenwood Avenue in Phinney Ridge (near Ballard). My specific spot will be the “Holy Mountain Phinney Ridge Taproom”. All the information about all the different games & venues is on the website!

(If you’re in Seattle generally but not free tomorrow, Bolted! is also stocked at Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne.)

Next week, I’ll be at Gen Con! I personally will be hanging with my buddy Sam Logan at BFE Webcomics, booth #1217… but I have it on good authority that copies of Bolted! will be available at the CRWN Studios booth, #2549.

Visit one booth! Then the other! The order…is up to you.


Recent blog posts