''Terminal Lance'' is a

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

and website created in 2010 by Maximilian Uriarte that satirizes

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

life. Uriarte publishes the strip in the ''

Marine Corps Times ''Marine Corps Times'' (ISSN 1522-0869) is a newspaper serving active, reserve and retired United States Marine Corps personnel and their families, providing news, information and analysis as well as community and lifestyle features, educational s ...

'' newspaper and on his own website, ''TerminalLance.com''. The name is a slang term for a Marine who finishes an enlistment (i.e. terminates) as a

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

(E-3). The system for advancement, "cutting scores" which would lead to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

, and higher, is heavily dependent on career-field and seniority—this leads to a large number of "terminal lances" in infantry specialties who might, in another field, have advanced to NCO rank. According to Uriarte, he created the strip "to poke fun at the Marine Corps, much like Gunny Wolf in Charles F. Wolf Jr.'s old ''Sempertoons'', but with an emphasis on the

grunt Grunt, grunts or grunting may refer to: Sound and music * Grunting (tennis), in tennis refers to the loud noise, sometimes described as "shrieking" or "screaming", made by some players during their strokes * Death grunt, the death metal singi ...

Lance Corporal’s point of view."

History

Graphic novel

In 2016, ''Terminal Lance'' creator Maximilian Uriarte independently released the 290-page graphic novel ''Terminal Lance: The White Donkey'' which he wrote and illustrated. The book was independently published on February 1, 2016, after a successful

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

in 2013. Shortly after, the book was picked up by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

and retitled ''The White Donkey: Terminal Lance'', and was released on April 19, 2016. Maximilian's second full length graphic novel, ''Battle Born: Lapis Lazuli'' was published on July 28, 2020 by Little, Brown & Co.

Author

Maximilian Uriarte is an American artist, comic writer, graphic novelist, and honorably discharged Marine. He was born in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

, to American parents of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

Mexican descent. He spent most of his childhood in Corvallis before moving to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

at the age of 16. After graduating high school and taking two years of general education classes at

Portland Community College Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Colu ...

, Uriarte enlisted in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 19 as an 0351 Assaultman. He served from 2006 to 2010, achieving the rank of

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many English-speaking armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal. Etymology The presumed origin of the rank of lance corp ...

and fulfilling various roles, including SMAW Gunner, Team Leader, Squad Leader,

MRAP Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV), also known as MRAP vehicle, is a type of armoured personnel carrier that is designed specifically to withstand land mines, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks, and ambushes to save troops' li ...

Turret Gunner, Combat Photographer, and Combat Artist. He served two tours in the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

as part of the

3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, abbreviated as (3/3), was an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps, based out of Kaneohe, Hawaii. Known as either "Trinity" or "America's Battalion", the unit normally fell under the command of the 3r ...

, the first in 2007-2008 (in the Al Zaidan region) and the second in 2009. He began writing and drawing ''Terminal Lance'' soon after returning. Ironically, Uriarte, who had spent most of his enlistment as a Lance Corporal found that he had been promoted to Corporal several months after his discharge. Uriarte made light of this, joking that the Marine Corps had "had the last laugh here, promoting the creator of Terminal Lance–of all people–I’m sure someone behind a desk had a laugh about it". After ending his service in May 2010, Uriarte transferred his community college credits and (using the

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

) enrolled in the

California College of the Arts The California College of the Arts (CCA) is a private art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in Berkeley, California in 1907 and moved to a historic estate in Oakland, California in 1922. In 1996, it opened a second campus in ...

, a top-ranked private art, design, architecture, and writing school in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. He graduated in 2013, earning a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

degree with a major in

Animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. Currently he lives with his wife in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

, where he works as a writer and artist full time.

In popular culture

* On May 30, 2012, '' The Duffel Blog'' ran a satire piece stating that the creator of the ''Terminal Lance'' strip was not Maximilian Uriarte, but instead was Carlton Kent—the former Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. The article joked that Kent had said he created the strip in order to reach out to junior Marines in better ways. * ''Terminal Lance'' is widely read among Marines, other branches of the U.S. military, and civilians alike, with former Marine General

James Mattis James Norman Mattis (born September 8, 1950) is an American military officer who served as the 26th United States secretary of defense from 2017 to 2019. A retired Marine Corps four-star general, he commanded forces in the Persian Gulf War, th ...

even acknowledging that he reads the comic. Mattis praised the comic but humorously quipped "But you make fun of me again and I'll kill ya".

References

{{Reflist

External links