Schlock Mercenary in short is a strip a day sci-fi comic about a bunch of people who break things and blow stuff up, but the is much more to it than that. For example it is one a day and has been since
So what’s it all about?
Well Schlock Mercenary tells the story of a carbosilicate amorph called mister (later Sergeant) Schlock whom has a penchant for violence, decided to join Tagon’s Toughs who are in turn a mercenary company. So they basically travel the galaxy looking for work where violence IS the answer and they can live to get paid, well that’s the plan at least…
Enter the resident mad scientist and his entrepreneur sister to shake things up a bit. Well more blow things up a bit and start a war. During the comic: wars start, even older ones re start, people get shot, things break, people fall in love, things get primitive, Artificial intelligence spawn, things blow up, nasty plots unravel and Schlock eats things.
(I would go in depth but I am trying to stay spoiler free)
The is also a feature in October called Schlocktoberfest which is in honour of that old tradition that is Halloween. During Schlocktoberfest things take a turn for the worst and scary, and the fun doesn’t stop there on Halloween the is a Sunday style strip to ding your fangs into.
Now to talk about the physical strip, its set in the standard newspaper style and with a bumper large three strips on Sundays (and Halloween), this style works well for Schlock as the relatively small strips leave room to stretch things over the week with a nice bit of action or a twist on the Sundays. The art has come on a startlingly long way over the seven and a half years of schlock from the simple untidy and honesty not brilliant (or good) art from the first strip to the detailed well manicured art of the strips we see today, it should also be noted not only are the Sunday strips longer but the art taken to a new level with the added detail.
The story of Schlock is broken down into books and the books into chapters. At the time of writing book nine (The Body Politic) is in full swing and the are three books available in print (Books 1, 3 and 4) and two more on the way this year. A quick word on the dead tree versions, the books comprise of one story from the saga and all the strips are in full Sunday colouring and with the odd sketch along the way, along with all the notes and some bones stuff.
Should you start from the begging?
Well naturally… don’t you! Well you don’t have to but I would recommend it. You can start from book 3 ‘Under new Management.’ Which to be fair is a good place to start as it introduces the cast and the plot. But I recommend from the beginning not for the art but the story (and the big ship).
Why do I like Schlock Mercenary?
This inset simple to answer as the are many appealing things from the humour to the sci-fi and the charm that is the title character. What set’s it aside for me is the story and the way in which it is told. The story grabs you and sucks you in and doesn’t let you go, which is why I have to get my daily Schlock fix. The is an art to telling a good story and if Schlock Mercenary hasn’t mastered it what will?
That was my look at Schlock Mercenary Check it out over at www.schlockmercenary.com or www.blanklabelcomics.com . Tune in again soon for the next look at which will feature ‘Two Kinds’ by Tom Fischbach.
Matthew
