''Schlock Mercenary'' is a comedic

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on a website or mobile app. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books. Webcomics can be c ...

written and drawn by

Howard Tayler Howard V. Tayler (born February 29, 1968 in Florida) is the creator of the webcomic ''Schlock Mercenary''. He worked as a volunteer missionary for the LDS Church, then graduated from Brigham Young University. Using his degree in music compositi ...

. It follows the tribulations of a star-travelling

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

company in a satiric, mildly dystopian 31st-century space opera setting. After its debut on June 12, 2000, the comic was updated daily until its conclusion in 2020, supporting its author and receiving five Hugo Award nominations. The comic had been collected into fifteen print volumes , and a sixteenth volume has been announced. The online comic concluded in July 2020 at the end of the twentieth volume, with an announcement by Tayler that the main story was complete, though spin-offs might be expected in the future.

Story

The story primarily centers on Captain Kaff Tagon, his mercenary crew, Tagon's Toughs, and their roles as members in a for-profit military organization. Various story lines have the crew swept into conflicts on a single planet, a galaxy-spanning apocalyptic crisis or intergalactic war. In the distant future of ''Schlock Mercenarys setting, many changes face Terran society.

Faster-than-light Faster-than-light (also FTL, superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light (). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero ...

travel is attained, alien races are contacted, and technology undergoes radical improvements. Alien species varied from fairly humanoid to almost unrecognizable. There are carbosilicate amorphs with no easily definable limbs or organs (the eponymous Sgt. Schlock), eight-limbed Gatekeepers, two-bodied Uklakk, and the unknowable Pa'anuri, beings made of

dark matter Dark matter is a hypothetical form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe. Dark matter is called "dark" because it does not appear to interact with the electromagnetic field, which means it does not a ...

. The number of sapient

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

descended from Terran stock increased as Earth's genetic engineers refined their craft. Enhanced chimpanzees,

gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s and two species of sentient

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

have citizenship. Genetic enhancement of the

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

population resulted in the purple-skinned photosynthetic "Purps", along with general improvements to the population.

Technology

As in many science fiction stories, technology forms a large part of ''Schlock Mercenarys storytelling framework. Several story arcs revolve around the political conflict surrounding rapid technological change. After a particularly complex or interesting new system is introduced to the comic, its in-comic explanation is often supplemented with a footnote. Travel between the stars is accomplished through the use of "wormgates", large

wormhole A wormhole ( Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate p ...

generators controlled by the enigmatic F'sherl-Ganni Gatekeepers. Within the storyline of the comic, wormgates are supplanted by the "teraport", a device allowing near-instant travel between any two points—usually as long as neither point is within range of an interdicting device. In that case, the teraporting object may be destroyed. The F'sherl-Ganni also constructed several buuthandi, ''Schlock Mercenarys take on a

Dyson sphere A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star and captures a large percentage of its solar power output. The concept is a thought experiment that attempts to explain how a spacefaring civilization would meet ...

. A buuthandi is a balloon of solar-sail material around a star. Light pressure and solar wind offset the star's gravitation to keep the balloon inflated, while habitats and maintenance facilities dangling from the inner side act as ballast to balance the sails. Despite their tremendous surface area, a buuthandi provides a disproportionally small amount of livable habitat. "Control cables, millions of square kilometers of slack sail material, and some very clever engineering allow the 'balloon' to compensate for (and, in some cases, mitigate) the mood swings of the contained star." In the ''Schlock Mercenary'' universe, a buuthandi is about 300 million kilometers in diameter. ("Buuthandi" is a shortened form of a F'sherl-Ganni phrase which, after the foul language is removed, can be roughly translated as "This was expensive to build.") Medical technology is based on nanotechnology or artificial replacements for damaged body parts. One important item featured in the comic is the "magic cryo-kit", an illegally-modified device with the capability to rebuild an entire body as long as the brain is intact. In the strip, this is shown as "from the head down", but, presumably, nothing more than the brain is necessary. Conventional legal medical technology is also capable of full-body regeneration, although at a much slower pace and dependent on your

HMO In the United States, a health maintenance organization (HMO) is a medical insurance group that provides health services for a fixed annual fee. It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded heal ...

insurance options. The Toughs employ various technologies to protect survival of heads until their owners can be regenerated. An example of this technology is the comedically ubiquitous "head-in-a-jar", which permits a character to interact in a storyline despite an otherwise-fatal injury. Another is the "nanny-bag" maintains the severed head and/or entire body of an otherwise mortally-wounded teammate for an unknown length of time. For example, Kevyn Andreyasn's head was sustained for several weeks. In addition to medical benefits, nanotechnology gives the ability to "boost" soldiers to high levels of physical performance. Minor enhancements are legal, but extreme military modifications are highly-regulated. Significant examples of soldier-boosting within the strip are the mercenary grunt Nick and the bounty hunter Doythaban, along with the extreme boost of Kevyn. Computer hardware progressed to the point true, strong artificial intelligence is common, and several artificial intelligences are characters in the story. Weapons technology drastically improved as well, and a mercenary's arsenal can include

railgun A railgun or rail gun is a linear motor device, typically designed as a weapon, that uses electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles. The projectile normally does not contain explosives, instead relying on the projectile's high ...

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fi ...

non-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

nanomotive "goober" rounds, and plasma cannons. Old-fashioned bullet-firing firearms continue to be effective against unprotected targets... and are less likely to rupture a hull than a plasma bolt. Energy is a resource literally

too cheap to meter Too cheap to meter refers to a commodity so inexpensive that it is cheaper and less bureaucratic to simply provide it for a flat fee or even free and make a profit from associated services. Originally applied to nuclear power, the phrase is also ...

. Anything powered by miniaturized

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

reactors (which, in the 31st century, are so advanced, they can operate solely on atmospheric gasses), is easily-fueled by massively powerful

neutronium Neutronium (sometimes shortened to neutrium, also referred to as neutrite) is a hypothetical substance composed purely of neutrons. The word was coined by scientist Andreas von Antropoff in 1926 (before the 1932 discovery of the neutron) for the ...

-annihilation "annie" plants—spherical devices generating massive amounts of power by gravitationally converting mass to energy, a means of power generation made possible by ubiquitous gravity manipulation. One-shot devices (and bombs) are often powered by

fullerene A fullerene is an allotrope of carbon whose molecule consists of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to seven atoms. The molecule may be a hollow sphere, ...

antimatter In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles in "ordinary" matter. Antimatter occurs in natural processes like cosmic ray collisions and some types of radioac ...

, a carbon-based powder which contains antiprotons at the parts-per-thousand level, and should ''never'' be incinerated. Gravity manipulation is a process as commonplace as modern electronics, employed in starship propulsion and artificial gravity, and weapons and shielding against weapons. Controlled/artificial gravity is referred to as "gravy." Gravitic weapons in particular are common and developed due to their dual purpose—as potent weapons, they can compress matter into neutronium which can then fuel an annie plant. The degree of this control is dependent on the number of projectors. For example, the battleplate ''Tunguska'' was able to manipulate individual limbs, and individual ''digits'' of crew on board the ''Serial Peacemaker'' while smaller ship create nodes of gravity in a few points on the ship and without the same level of control. However, the generation of gravity is beyond the capabilities of the sophonts of the Milky Way, necessitating ships to be constructed around annie plants as sources of gravity to manipulate. These devices and more are built using fabrication technology, or "fabbers". While rare and expensive, possession of one of these portable factories and the appropriate designs allows for the cheap mass-production of any physical item. Several of the mercenaries are trained in fabber design, allowing the company to cheaply produce and repair their gear.

Main characters

Notable members of the crew include Kevyn Andreyasn; title character Sergeant Schlock, who is a carbosilicate amorph; Petey, a former artificial intelligence and now Fleetmind and pseudo-God; and the wry AI and former boyband, Ennesby. ;Sergeant Schlock :The title character, a carbosilicate amorph "

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin The term ''everyman'' was used as early as ...

" with no easily definable limbs, organs, or moral compass. He normally appears as a large greenish-brown mass coming up to about normal human chest height. ;Captain Kaff Tagon :The human leader of the

company "Tagon's Toughs". In early strips of the comic, he exhibited overt sexism, such as proclaiming that "women don't belong in my command structure" and hiring a doctor based on her looks. ;Kevyn Andreyasn :Munitions Commander and resident mad scientist, an

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

genius. He has more common sense and faster intuition than most of the members of the mercenary company. He enjoys tinkering with stuff in his lab, being crazy over mechanical stuff as the stereotypical nerd. His most notable invention is the teraport, a

teleportation Teleportation is the hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them. It is a common subject in science fiction literature and in other popular culture. Teleportation is oft ...

technology which eventually led to full-scale warfare spanning the galaxy when it was made open source. ;Breya Andreyasn :Former leader of the mercenaries, now diplomat, and Kevyn's sister. She is highly competent, can operate in a variety of fields, and has little tolerance for disrespect, having once injured Captain Tagon after he purchased power armor for her which featured exaggerated breast sizes. She was first seen collaborating with her brother on commercializing his "teraport" stardrive, handling marketing and business aspects. ;Ennesby :Ennesby is an AI with Tagon's Toughs who looks like a "flying

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

" (the shape of his first physical body). He has human-looking eyes, a speaker grille in front that moves like a mouth, and floating eyebrows. The maraca is capable of withstanding chemical explosives at point-blank range. His various additional capabilities include short-ranged levitation and a

maser A maser (, an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. The first maser was built by Charles H. Townes, Ja ...

. ;Post-Dated Check Loan ("Petey") :The

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

of the massive warship of the same name, originally the ''Sword of Inevitable Justice''. Driven mad by a gruesome mutiny, Petey existed in a state of total introversion, rendering the ship nearly inoperative, until coaxed back to reality by the mercenary company. He controls the ship's every function and manifests an avatar in the form of a floating hologram of an Ob'enn, the koala-like race of warmongering xenophobes that constructed him. ;Chief Warrant Officer Gunther Thurl :His job entails sitting at a console, and that, coupled with a tendency to snack and some genetic predispositions, meant he used to be

obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...

. Because of a botched mission during which Schlock ate everything but his head, his body had to be regrown. He is now a lot slimmer than what he was used to. When the company added several new recruits (including Andy and Legs, q.v.), he was promoted to Chief Warrant Officer. Due to his experience and age, Thurl handles many of the administrative tasks that the current ship AI, Tagii, and Ennesby do not or are not authorized to do. ;Doctor Edward Bunnigus :Originally hired by Captain Tagon for her well-endowed figure, she has consistently demonstrated an ability to deal with every situation Tagon's Toughs encounters. Less of a mercenary than many of her fellow officers, she concentrates on keeping the trigger-happy mercenaries alive. Her gender-inappropriate name, sizable intellect, and absurd proportions are the consequence of idiot parents and pre-birth gene therapy. Her parents wanted a child who had both a brilliant mind and the body proportions of an

exotic dancer A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

, because they thought their child should be both smart and beautiful. When the parents first looked upon the baby, the serial code on the tag on her wrist started with "E.D.", for exotic dancer. Her parents, nowhere near as bright as she would one day be, assumed that 'Ed' was her name, and called the girl Edward. She is married to Reverend Theo Fobius. ;Ellen "Elf" Foxworthy :Elf began as a powered-armor soldier until a failed bounty hunt. She then became a tank pilot (her small size allowing her to fit into the Ob'Enn minitanks Petey had schematics for), and rose to become the head of her own minitank team. ;The Very Reverend Theo Fobius :The company

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

of an unspecified but fairly Christianesque faith, Theo is still a mercenary and has shown considerable theological flexibility when confronted with such things as an AI that goes explosively suicidal at the thought of the supernatural. His name, assuming it is derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, most fittingly means ''"God-Fearing"''. ;Alexia Murtaugh :Tagon's Toughs first encountered Murtaugh when she was serving as head of security company "Sanctum Adroit" at the Haven Hive habitat. She was later fired from her security company and joined Tagons's Toughs. She started at the bottom, but due to her long military experience she was later made a captain when the mercenary company obtained new ships.

Publication history

Over time, Tayler's art improved, in his words, from bad to "marginally less bad." Jean Elmore served as colorist for the strip from February 9, 2003, to the spring of 2004 when she developed a

repetitive strain injury A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is an injury to part of the musculoskeletal or nervous system caused by repetitive use, vibrations, compression or long periods in a fixed position. Other common names include repetitive stress disorders, cumula ...

from her work. On March 3, 2003, the comic reached its 1001st strip. Tayler marked the milestone by "re-launching" the comic. With the relaunch, the strip was slightly reoriented for publication, organizing the comic's ongoing story into "books". Each book has a fairly self-contained story, although they are still chronological and connected. On December 2, 2005, Tayler published the comic's 2000th daily strip since the series' debut. On June 12, 2010, ''Schlock Mercenary'' marked ten years of uninterrupted daily run, a feat matched by few other webcomics. In March 2006, Tayler published ''Schlock Mercenary: Under New Management'', the first book-based collection of ''Schlock Mercenary'' comics. This collection features stories printed from March 9, 2003, through August 23, 2003, plus five pages of new material including a foreword by

John Ringo John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several ''New York Times'' best sellers. His books range from straightforward science fiction to a mix of military and political thrillers ...

, a feature explaining how Sgt. Schlock "got turned on to plasma cannons", bonus art, the author's biography, and architectural deck plans to Tagon's third ship ''Serial Peacemaker''. In December 2007, Tayler published ''Schlock Mercenary: The Tub of Happiness''. It features stories from the beginning of the webcomic to October 2001, as well as the bonus story "Baggage Claim," explaining the circumstances around Schlock joining the Toughs. There are numerous pieces of fan art throughout the book, as well as early concept art drawn by Tayler and notes to the reader from both Tayler and his wife, talking about the characters and Tayler's early cartooning efforts. On Monday, February 17, 2014, Tayler announced that the strip had reached 5,000 comics. On Tuesday, June 11, 2019, Tayler announced that the strip had reached 19 years of continuous daily comics.

Schlocktoberfest

Schlocktoberfest was a mostly-annual storyline that occurred during the month of October prior to 2009. The story arc generally started out typically, but soon developed a dark tone, usually involving gruesome events and often character death, before typically resolving itself at the end of the month. The last year with a Schlocktoberfest storyline was 2008, and Tayler has stated that he is no longer doing it.

Collections

Collections of ''Schlock Mercenary'' strips were originally published in book form by "The Tayler Corporation", and are now published through Hypernode Press. Tayler's wife, Sandra, is the publisher. The first published collection, ''Under New Management'' does not start at the beginning of the archive, but at the 1001st strip, when the strip was relaunched. The first 1,000 strips were published later in books 1 and 2. Released and announced book titles are as follows: # ''The Tub of Happiness'' (, December 2007) # ''The Teraport Wars'' (, October 2008) # ''Under New Management'' (, May 2006) # ''The Blackness Between'' (, November 2006) # ''The Scrapyard of Insufferable Arrogance'' (, June 2009) # ''Resident Mad Scientist'' (, July 2010) # ''Emperor Pius Dei'' (, July 2011) # ''The Sharp End of the Stick'' (, June 2012) # ''The Body Politic'' (, August 2013) # ''The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse'' (, June 2014) # ''Massively Parallel'' (, December 2014) # ''Force Multiplication'' (, August 2016) # ''Random Access Memorabilia'' (February 2018) # ''Broken Wind'' (April 2019) # ''Delegates and Delegation'' (April 2019) # ''Big, Dumb Objects'' The books were renumbered in 2007 to allow for the release of ''The Tub of Happiness'' and ''The Teraport Wars''. Originally, Roman numerals were used, with ''Under New Management'' as the first book.

The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

''The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries'' is a popular handbook in the ''Schlock Mercenary'' universe, with characters regularly quoting from it. It was originally called ''The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates'', a parody of ''

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People ''The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'', first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true nort ...

'', but after Tayler received a cease and desist letter from FranklinCovey, he made the

retcon Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subs ...

on January 24, 2011. Tayler said that the letter "was worded as nicely as such a thing can be". Two print versions of ''Seventy Maxims'' were released: *Pristine (, December 2016) *Defaced (has handwritten notes and "stains" from being "used" by the characters) (, February 2017)

Games

Capital Offensive

In 2012, Living Worlds Games published ''Schlock Mercenary: Capital Offensive'', a board game based upon the webcomic, to positive reviews from reviewers such as The Dice Tower.

Planet Mercenary

A role-playing game, based on the comic and written by Alan Bahr and Howard Tayler, was launched as a Kickstarter on April 14, 2015. It successfully funded the following day.

Other related works

's '' Troy Rising'' series has been inspired by the ''Schlock Mercenary'' universe. It is set in the early days of human-alien contact, but is not considered

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

for the comic series. The webcomic ''Under the Lemon Tree'' published a crossover with ''Schlock Mercenary'', though it is non-canon in the ''Schlock Mercenary'' continuity.

Reception and honors

The first ''Schlock Mercenary'' book publication was covered in '' Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', which described it as "inventive and humorous." The comic tied for outstanding science fiction comic in the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards in 2004, and was again nominated in 2005 and 2007. The strip won for Best Cameo in the 2001 awards. Five story collections have been nominated for the

Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story The Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story is given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories told in graphic form and published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. It has been awarded annually since 2009. The Hugo ...

: ''The Body Politic'' (2009), ''The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse'' (2010), ''Massively Parallel'' (2011), ''Force Multiplication'' (2012), and ''Random Access Memorabilia'' (2013). ''Schlock Mercenary'' has also been cited on lists of top web comics published by ''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...

'' and '' Ars Technica''.

References

External links

{{Wikiquote
''Schlock Mercenary''

Ovalkwiki: The Official Encyclopedia of All Things Schlock Mercenary

Chupaqueso Recipes
(archived)—blog created by Maynard and Tayler 2000 webcomic debuts 2000s webcomics American comedy webcomics Blank Label Comics Fictional amorphous creatures Fictional mercenaries in comics Internet properties established in 2000 Science fiction webcomics Web Cartoonists' Choice Award winners Webcomics in print