http://www.webscription.net/p-1575-schlock-mercenary-bundle.aspx Holy moly, you know what this means? Howard Tayler is a Baen author! 😀
For those of you know familiar with Schlock Mercenary, it is a sci-fi web cartoon, and it has updated every single day for TEN YEARS. I read Schlock daily. http://www.schlockmercenary.com/ And now you can download all of Schlock and all of the assorted bonus stories and materials that you can’t get online right to your eReader.
(if you are curious the other web cartoons I read all the time are Penny Arcade, Order of the Stick, and Sluggy Freelance)
I was a fan of Howard’s work before I ever met him in person. In fact there is a line in Monster Hunter International where a flame thrower makes an Ominous Hum. Then I met Howard, we became friends, and I threw nuance right out the window and Albert Lee was wearing a Tagon’s Toughs t-shirt in Monster Hunter Vendetta. Because screw nuance.
I have all of the Schlock books in hard copy. My son is learning to read using Schlock Mercenary books. Maybe that’s why he says THOOOM a lot.
Here’s the thing about Schlock, you can read it for fun, there’s a puncline daily, but if you actually read the whole thing and follow the story, there’s a really solid story in there, with interesting characters, and Howard doesn’t skimp on the sci part of sci-fi either.
How good of a writer is Howard Tayler? The John Ringo used the Schlockverse as a jumping off point for the awesome Troy Rising series. Howard Tayler is Tyler Vernon. Yes, the fictional equivelent of Howard Tayler saved the Earth from space aliens using only his wits and maple syrup.
And that’s why you need to purchase this bundle from my publisher.
When we were in Reno and I saw Howard up by the SFWA suite, fellow Analog author Al Mayer and I were trying to talk Howard into submitting some Schlock one-offs to Stan Schmidt. I am pleased to see that Baen’s distributing the comic. It’s a natural fit, and the audiences will reinforce one another. Splendid. Nice one, Howard. Nice one, Baen!
May I also suggest the scifi webcomic “Escape From Terra”, available at Big Head Press? Excellent art, very well written, funny and engaging.
Start here: http://www.bigheadpress.com/eft?page=1
As if you didn’t have enough to do…now hurry up and get new books written, dammit!
BigHeadPress doesn’t do PDFs, or I’d already have bought *everything* from them.
If you like that you’ll dig this: http://www.skullkickers.com/
It’s a horror action comedy fantasy comic/graphic novel series with two knucklehead mercenaries who hunt monsters for fun and profit. With black humor and over the top violence.
It’s published by Image comics.
Skullkickers doesn’t appear to be available as PDFs. See above reply about Big Head Press in regard to purchase thereof. I went all e-book because my shelves started muttering death threats whenever I walked into my library.
I do NOT want those days to return.
I think from now on, whenever I find a scifi author I like, I will assume he is from Utah.
That’s a pretty safe bet at this point. 🙂
Brian,
Guess who just did the cover of Skullkickers
Howard Tayler
I didn’t do the cover. I did a 6 page short entitled “TWANG” inside Issue #12.
I didn’t illustrate it — I just wrote it. That’s the first time I’ve ever written something for comics that I didn’t draw myself.
I spotted the notice yesterday and got all four after spending a few seconds getting my breathing and heart rate back down from the spasm of joy.
Sandra Tayler relied to my query that they do have tentative plans to release all of the books as PDFs, particularly if this works out.
Go ye forth and buy. Then refrain from eating or drinking while reading them, lest ye coat thy screen, laptop, or pad while trying not to choke.
About webcomics …
May I suggest these ones too ?
1) “The Whiteboard” (following link is to the 2010 Zombie Week)
http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1275.html
2) “Vexxar!”(alien invaders, rogue AIs and much more)
http://www.vexxarr.com/archive.php?seldate=040208
Damn! Forgot all about Vexarr…
So are the books that you have hardcover/trade paperback/paperback collections of his cartoons or actual “story” books?
And where did you get them?
Thanks.
All my books (at this point) are complete, serial collections of the comic strip, with additional stuff like deck plans, commentary, and concept sketches in the margins. Also, every book has a bonus story. The first five bonus stories are all from Sergeant Schlock’s pre-mercenary life. The next two (I have seven books in print at this point) give us some side-stories featuring characters prominent in those books.
Thanks for the plug, Larry! You’ve made Toni very happy, I’m sure.
(Oh, and me. I am happy too!)
Kudos to H.T. for remembering how comics USED to be done in this here nation! Back in the 30s and 40s the gag-a-day continuity strip was the norm for such classics as Thimble Theatre (Popeye), Terry & the Pirates, Wash Tubbs & Captain Easy, Gasoline Alley, Li’l Abner and others. Not bad company to be in, Howard.
One more reason that Baen is my current favorite publisher.
Does this mean that Howard can now join SFWA? Technically, that is a seven book deal.