Schlock Mercenary
Schlock Mercenary book 1: Under New Management
Author(s)	Howard Tayler
Website	http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
Current status / schedule	Updates every day
Launch date	2000-06-12 [1]
Genre(s)	Science Fiction, Comedy

Schlock Mercenary is a webcomic by Howard Tayler that follows the adventures of a mercenary company aboard a starship in a 31st-century space opera setting. Despite the narrative following a band of military freelancers, it's mostly family-friendly entertainment. Howard has proudly never missed a daily update. Image File history File links Schlock_Mercenary_book_1_-_Under_New_Management. ... Cosette Dwyer is an amazing author. ... A website (alternatively, Web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on a Web server, usually accessible via the Internet or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML, that is almost always accessible via HTTP, a... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The webcomic genres are the types of themes a webcomic can take. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke[[ laughter in general). ... Webcomics, also known as online comics and internet comics, are comics that are available to read on the Internet. ... A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict and is motivated to take part in the hostilities essentially by the desire for private gain and, in fact, is promised, by or on behalf of a Party to the conflict, material compensation substantially in excess of that... Classic pulp space opera cover, with the usual cliché elements. ...

Tayler at CONduit 17 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Schlock Mercenary debuted on June 6, 2000, with amateurish artwork. Over time, Tayler's work improved from bad to, in his words, "marginally less bad."^[1] Jean Elmore served as colorist for the strip from February 9, 2003 to the spring of 2004 when she developed a repetitive strain injury from her work. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 738 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1700 × 1382 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 738 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1700 × 1382 pixel, file size: 4. ... CONduit (convention) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A repetitive strain injury (RSI), also called repetitive stress injury or cumulative trauma, is any of a loose group of conditions from overuse of the computer, guitar, knife or similar motion or tool. ...

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.^[2] March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On December 2, 2005, Tayler published the comic's 2000th daily strip^[3] uninterrupted since the series' debut, later on June 6, 2006, Schlock Mercenary marked six years of uninterrupted run. December 2 is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

In March 2006, Tayler published Schlock Mercenary: Under New Management, the first book-based collection of Schlock Mercenary comics (ISBN 0-9779074-2-2). This collection features stories printed from March 9, 2003 through August 23, 2003, plus five full pages of new material including a foreword by John Ringo, 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 ship The Serial Peacemaker. March 2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase announces that the 2006 Fiji general elections will be held in the second week of May 2006 from the 6th to the 13th. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (69th in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 23 is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... John Ringo is an American science fiction and fantasy author, who specializes in the subgenre of military science fiction, concentrating on SF scenarios that have a lot of infantry battles and other types of ground combat. ...

Publication

Schlock Mercenary book 2: The Blackness Between.

Collections of Schlock Mercenary strips are published in book form by "The Tayler Corporation", one way of saying it is self-published. Curiously, the first published collection, Book I: Under New Management does not start at the beginning of the archive. Instead, Book I begins at the 1001st strip, when the strip was relaunched. The first 1000 strips are intended to be published in two 200+ page volumes sometime in 2007. Announced book titles are as follows:^[4][5][6] Image File history File links Schlock_Mercenary_book_2_-_The_Blackness_Between. ... Image File history File links Schlock_Mercenary_book_2_-_The_Blackness_Between. ... Self-publishing is the publishing of books or other media by those who have written them. ...

• Meet The Mercenaries
• The Teraport Wars
• Book I: Under New Management (ISBN 0-9779074-2-2)
• Book II: The Blackness Between (ISBN 0-9779074-3-0)
• Book III: Out From Under New Management
• Book IV: Mad Science Means Never Having To Ask "What's The Worst Thing That Could Happen?"
• Book V: Emperor Pius Dei
• Book VI: The Sharp End of the Stick

Story

Many plotlines revolve around the jobs Kaff Tagon and his mercenary crew have accepted, preferably involving as much brawn as necessary and as little brain as possible (although resident mad scientist Kevyn Andreyasn can pick up the slack if need be). Other times, the crew is swept up in a galaxy- or universe-spanning conflict.

Cast

Main article: Schlock Mercenary characters

The story primarily centers on Captain Kaff Tagon and his mercenary crew, Tagon's Toughs. Notable members of the crew include Munitions Commander and resident mad scientist Kevyn Andreyasn, title character Sergeant Schlock, who is an amorphous blob, Petey, a former Artificial Intelligence and now FleetMind and pseudo-God, and the wry AI and former boyband, Ennesby. This article is about the characters from Schlock Mercenary, a hard sci fi webcomic. ... A boy band (American English) or boyband (British English) is a style of somewhat to mostly prefabricated pop group featuring about between three and six young male singer/dancers, but normally five. ...

Universe

In the distant future of Schlock Mercenary's setting, many changes have faced terran society. Faster-than-light travel has been attained, alien races have been contacted, and technology has undergone radical improvements. Faster-than-light (also superluminal or FTL) communications and travel are staples of the science fiction genre. ...

Alien species have varied from fairly humanoid to almost unrecognizable. There have been eight-limbed Gatekeepers, two-bodied Uklakk, carbosilicate amorphs with no easily definable limbs or organs, and the unknowable Paan'uri, beings made of dark matter. The term humanoid refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a human. ...

The number of sapient species descended from terran stock has increased as Earth's genetic engineers refined their craft. Enhanced chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and two species of sentient elephant now have citizenship. Genetic enhancement of the human population has resulted in the purple-skinned photosynthetic "Purps", along with more general improvements to the population. In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Type species Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 distribution of Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two extant species in the genus Pan. ... Type species Troglodytes gorilla Savage, 1847 distribution of Gorilla Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei The gorilla, the largest of the living primates, is a ground-dwelling omnivore that inhabits the forests of Africa. ... Type species Simia pygmaeus Linnaeus, 1760 Orangutan distribution Species Pongo pygmaeus Pongo abelii The orangutans are two species of great apes known for their intelligence and their long arms and reddish-brown hair. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea...

Technology

Like most science fiction stories, technology forms a large part of Schlock Mercenary's storytelling framework. Several story arcs revolve around the political conflict surrounding rapid technological change. When a particularly complex or interesting new system is introduced to the comic, its in-comic explanation is supplemented with a footnote.

Travel between the stars is accomplished through the use of "wormgates", large wormhole generators controlled by the enigmatic F'sherl-Ganni Gatekeepers. Within the storyline of the comic, wormgates are largely supplanted by the "teraport", a device that allows for near-instant travel between any two points—as long as neither point is within range of an interdicting device. In that case, the teraporting object is destroyed. Analogy to a wormhole in a curved 2D space (see Embedding Diagram) Artists impression of a wormhole as seen by an observer crossing the event horizon of a Schwarzschild wormhole, which is similar to a Schwarzschild black hole but with the singularity replaced by an unstable path to a...

The F'sherl-Ganni also constructed many buuthandi, Schlock Mercenary's take on a Dyson sphere. A buuthandi is a balloon of solar-sail material around a star. 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 keep the sails in check. Despite their tremendous surface area, a buuthandi provides a disproportionally small amount livable habit.^[7] "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."^[8] In the Schlock Mercenary universe, a buuthandi is about 300 million kilometers in diameter.^[9] A cut-away diagram of an idealized Dyson shell — a variant on Dysons original concept — 1 AU in radius A Dyson sphere (or shell as it appeared in the original paper) is a hypothetical megastructure. ...

Medical technology is based on nanotechnology or artificial replacements for damaged body parts. One important item that is featured in the comic is the "magic cryo-kit", an illegal device that has the capability to rebuild an entire body as long as the brain is intact. In the strip this has always been shown as "from the head down" but presumably nothing more than the brain is actually necessary. It appears that conventional, legal medical technology is also capable of full-body regeneration, though at a much slower pace and dependent on your HMO insurance options. The Tough's 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", which maintains the severed head of an otherwise mortally-wounded teammate for an unknown length of time. (Evidence as to the duration of a nanny-bags preservation varies—the head of Kevyn Andresyn was sustained for several weeks, whereas in a past storyline his companions worried about his head going "gamey" after less than an hour. Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head), or beheading, is the removal of a living organisms head. ... Information-theoretic death is the destruction of the human brain, and information within it, to such an extent that recovery of the original mind and person that occupied the brain is theoretically impossible. ...

In addition to medical benefits, nanotechnology gives the ability to "boost" soldiers to high levels of physical performance. Minor enhancements are legal, but the more extreme military modifications are highly regulated. The most significant examples of soldier-boosting within the strip are the mercenary grunt Nick^[10] and the bounty hunter Doythaban^[11][12], along with the extreme boost of Kevyn^[13]. Protector eating the root of life Pak Breeders and Pak Protectors are two generic forms of life in Larry Nivens Known Space universe. ...

Computer hardware has progressed to the point where true, strong artificial intelligence is common, and several artificial intelligences have been characters in the story. In the philosophy of artificial intelligence, Strong AI vs. ...

Gravity has been tamed and is now employed in propulsion, weapons, and shielding against weapons. Other forms of weaponry have improved as well, and a mercenary's arsenal can include railguns, lasers, non-lethal nanomotive "goober" rounds, and plasma cannons. Old-fashioned bullet-firing firearms are still in use as they continue to be effective against unprotected targets and are less likely to rupture a hull than a plasma bolt. “Gravity” redirects here. ... // A railgun is a form of gun that converts electrical energy (rather than the more conventional chemical energy from an explosive propellant) into projectile kinetic energy. ... Experiment with a laser (likely an argon type) (US Military) In physics, a laser is a device that emits light through a specific mechanism for which the term laser is an acronym: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Buckminsterfullerene C60, also known as the buckyball, is the simplest of the carbon structures known as fullerenes. ... A plasma lamp, illustrating some of the more complex phenomena of a plasma, including filamentation. ... .357 Magnum cartridges, containing hollow-point bullets A bullet is a solid projectile propelled by a firearm or air gun and is normally made from metal (usually lead). ... An assortment of modern hand-held firearms using fixed ammunition, including military assault rifles, a sporting shotgun (fourth from bottom), a tactical shotgun (third from bottom), and a sporting rifle (top). ...

Devices are powered with miniaturized fusion reactors, or massively powerful neutronium annihilator "annie" plants. Annie plants unleash massive amounts of power by converting mass to gravitic energy, which can be used directly to power gravitic unishields, gravitic weapons, and shipboard artificial gravity or to generate other forms of energy. Gravitic weapons are both common and well developed due to their dual purpose—not only are they potent weapons, they can compress matter into neutronium which can then fuel an annie plant. The deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction is considered the most promising for producing fusion power. ...

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.^[14] Several of the mercenaries are trained in fabber design, allowing the company to cheaply produce and repair their own gear.

Schlocktoberfest

An annual storyline that occurs during the month of October. The story arc always starts out typically, but soon develops a dark tone, usually involving gruesome events and often character death, before resolving itself at the end of the month. It is considered Schlock Mercenary's version of Halloween stories.

The Chupaqueso

The Chupaqueso is a favorite food of Tagon's Toughs. The chupaqueso vending machine is the favored alternative to the mess hall for most of the mercenary crew. For those of us stuck in the present though, there is a simple recipe for the chupaqueso lifted directly from Schlock Mercenary.^[15]

You will need a good teflon skillet, a fairly sharp teflon spatula, some sharp cheddar, some fresh parmesan, and some Monterey Jack cheese.

1. Grate about a half-cup of cheddar and a half-cup of jack.

2. Heat the skillet, and spread the cheddar evenly in the pan. You should have an eight-inch diameter circle of grated cheese, with a little bit of pan showing through here and there.

3. As the pan gets hotter the cheese will obviously melt. Then it will toast, and you'll get cheese-grease floating on top of melted cheddar, itself on top of a layer of crusty toasted cheddar.

4. Start lifting around the edges with the spatula. You'll soon reach a point (you'll know, trust me) when the structural integrity of the crusty-toasty cheese allows you to flip the whole thing over.

5. (Speaking of "over," this is often the point where you'll get frustrated and decide to start over.)

6. After toasting side two for a moment, flip it again so the "smooth" side is down, and the recently toasted side is up.

7. You now have a cheese shell sizzling in a puddle of cheese grease. It's still flexible, but much longer and it won't be, so you'll have to work fast. Add the Jack cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan, and then tri-fold the cheddar-shell around it.

8. Slide it out of the pan onto your plate. It's called a "chupaqueso" either because you can suck (chupa) the cheese (queso) out of the middle as you crunch away, or because this cheese (queso) thing you made sucks (chupa).

For added flavor you might try adding cooked-and-crumbled bacon with the jack and parmesan. In this case you'll end up with a chupaqueso con tocino, or, as it's often pronounced in my house, "chupaqueso con SWEET TRADER OF PORK BELLIES THERE'S BACON IN THIS THING chomp chomp AAARGH I BURNED MY MOUTH slurp gulp chomp."

For the record, it's much easier to make a chupaqueso by sliding your credit card into a Popso 2250 Autovend. Officially licensed Tacobufa Chupaquesos are seamless, oblong, cheese-crust shells around a patented six-cheese blend. For just a little more money the Bufador Mealy-Dealy gets you a drink and a large order of Monosfritos (made with freshly-picked monos, or so I've been told).

[EDITOR'S NOTE: "Monos" is Spanish for "monkeys." "Monosfritos" is Spanish for "fried monkeys."]

Note: Chupaquesos can be made using any combination of cheeses, not just those listed above. The more the better. The cheese used for the "shell" should always be shredded or grated, however. The key to said shell is thickness. Make sure when spreading your cheese, you don't just cover the pan. Thickness is the key to keeping it together when you flip it. Teflon is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a polymer of fluorinated ethylene. ... A stainless steel frying pan. ... Statistics Population: 5724 (as of 2002) Ordnance Survey OS grid reference: ST458535 Administration District: Sedgemoor Region: South West England Constituent country: England Sovereign state: United Kingdom Other Ceremonial county: Somerset Historic county: Somerset Services Police force: Avon and Somerset Fire and rescue: {{{Fire}}} Ambulance: South Western Post office and telephone... Parmesan cheese. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe for Monterey Jack Monterey Jack is a type of semi-hard cheese using pasteurised cows’ milk. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep, and other mammals. ... ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... Physics In physics, melting is the process of heating a solid substance to a point (called melting point) where it turns liquid. ... Two pieces of toasted white bread. ... Look up grease in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Point can refer to: Look up Point in Wiktionary, the free dictionary // Mathematics In mathematics: Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space but no extent Fixed point (mathematics), a point that is mapped to itself by a mathematical function Point at infinity Point group Point charge, an... Look up flip in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up bacon in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates is a popular handbook in the Schlock Mercenary universe. The book's rules (of which there are more than seven) is often quoted by Tagon, as well as other characters. The following is an overview of the book, as penned by Howard Tayler on November 21, 2002 in the notes section of the comic: November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

In the waning years of the 20th century a popular self-help book for businessmen, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People, was lampooned on-stage by an improvisational comedy troupe which only four years later was completely defunct, giving rise to speculation that perhaps those in charge should have been reading the book more carefully rather than lampooning it.

Their sketch, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Pirates, went completely unnoticed for several centuries, until the day an archeobibliologist named Joel happened across the script in the Gates Memorial Archive Of Stupid Things From Ye Olde Internet. Our story would have ended there, except that Joel's younger brother Linc was in prison for privateering, and it occurred Joel that perhaps his wanna-be pirate brother would get a kick out of reading it.

Unfortunately, Linc realized as he chuckled at the script ("Bury the hatchet! Hah!") that he was in prison because he was NOT an effective person, and was an even less effective pirate. So he began to write.

Most books written in prison do not tend to sell well, but this one did. Eventually, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates was translated from Galstandard West into the other four Galastandard languages (East, Eight, Brown, and Peroxide), and became a handbook not only for pirates, smugglers, and privateers, but also for CEOs, defense attorneys, and tenured professors. The fact that there are more than seven habits, as well as dozens of 'rules,' may confuse some readers, though, so be warned. And remember Rule 12: A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head.

The following is a list of rules found in Schlock Mercenary. The rules are ordered by rule number. The date given after each rule is the date on which the rule was given in the strip (year-month-day). If there are other relevant notes about the rule, they will be included in the reference.

1. Pillage, then burn. (2002-02-07, 2003-03-08, 2004-04-04, 2004-07-22)

6. If violence wasn’t your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it. (2005-03-13)

8. Mockery and derision have their place. Usually, it's on the far side of the airlock. (2002-11-21)

9. Never turn your back on an enemy. (2003-03-08)

12. A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head. (2002-11-21…notes section)

13. Do unto others. (2003-03-08)

16. Your name is in the mouth of others: be sure it has teeth. (2002-11-21)

27. Don't be afraid to be the first to resort to violence. (2003-03-08)

29. The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less. (2003-03-08, 2003-09-29)

30. A little trust goes a long way. The less you use, the further you'll go. (2003-03-08)

31. Only cheaters prosper. (2003-05-11)

34. If you’re leaving scorch-marks, you need a bigger gun. (2004-02-29)

35. That which does not kill you has made a tactical error. (T-shirt sold by author)

36. When the going gets tough, the tough call for close air support. (2003-10-02)

37. There is no "overkill". There is only "open fire" and "I need to reload." (2004-02-23, 2004-04-06, 2004-06-23…partial)

xx. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Take his fish away and tell him he's lucky just to be alive, and he'll figure out how to catch another one for you to take tomorrow. (2004-04-04, no official rule number given)

xx. Just because it's easy for you doesn't mean it can't be hard on your clients. (2004-03-26…possible. No full reference)

For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... July 22 is the 203rd day of the year (204th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... November 21 is the 325th day of the year (326th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 11 is the 131st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (132nd in leap years). ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 29th, or bissextile day, is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 306 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 2 is the 275th day of the year (276th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 174th day of the year (175th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Running Gags

Xenomorphs (of Alien fame) appear throughout the comic in the background of scenes featuring laboratories. The running gag is a popular hallmark of comic and serious forms of entertainment. ... The xenomorph as it appears in Alien vs. ... Alien; for the other films, and spin-offs, see Alien (film series) Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Alien (film) Alien is a 1979 science fiction / horror film directed by Ridley Scott. ... This article is in need of attention. ...

Archaeobibliology

Archaeobibliology is a term coined by Tayler. It is a portmanteau of the terms archaeology and bibliography and entails the study of human (or, in the case of the evidence of multiple intelligences in the universe, sophont) cultures through the scholarly study of that culture's writings, notably in the form of books. The term was used by Mr. Tayler in relation to a (fictional) book entitled The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates which, in turn, is a parody of the book entitled The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek: αρχαίος, archae, ancient; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Bibliographies at the University Library of Graz Bibliography (from Greek: βιβλιογραφία, bibliographia; lit. ... Sophont is a term (derived from Greek) for an intelligent being (including non-human forms of life), most commonly used in science fiction. ... In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. ...

Criticism and honors

The Schlock Mercenary book publication was covered in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, which described it as "inventive and humorous."^[16] The comic tied for outstanding science fiction comic in the Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards^[17] in 2004, and was again nominated for the same award in in 2005^[18] and 2007^[19]. The strip won for Best Cameo in the 2001 awards^[20]. April 1997 issue of Analog. ... The Web Cartoonists Choice Awards (WCCA) is an annual event, since the summer of 2001, in which online cartoonists nominate and select outstanding webcomics in a variety of categories. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20000612.html
2. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/archive.html
3. ^ http://www.comicon.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=36;t=004490 Howard Tayler interviewed at The Pulse
4. ^ Tayler, Howard. The Schlock Mercenary Archive Synopsizer. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
5. ^ Tayler, Howard. Blógünder Schlock: Sketch Editions will hit the mail tomorrow. Retrieved on 2006-06-25.
6. ^ Tayler, Howard. Blógünder Schlock: Some “Director’s Commentary”. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
7. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20020421.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
8. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20020309.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
9. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20010707.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
10. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20011105.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 30 April 2007
11. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20021117.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
12. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20010309.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
13. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20070429.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
14. ^ http://www.schlockmercenary.com/d/20040425.html Schlock Mercenary. Howard Tayler. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
15. ^ Tayler, Howard (2003-09-06). Your Daily Schlock Fix for Saturday, September 6, 2003. Schlock Mercenary. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
16. ^ Review in Analog Science Fiction and Fact, http://www.analogsf.com/0611/reflib_11.shtml
17. ^ http://www.ccawards.com/2004.htm Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards. "The 2004 Cartoonist's Choice Awards". Retrieved 5 February 2007.
18. ^ http://www.ccawards.com/2005.htm
19. ^ http://www.ccawards.com/2007.htm
20. ^ http://www.ccawards.com/2001.htm

For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 200th day of the year (201st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year (141st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 28 is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... April 1997 issue of Analog. ...

See also

• Schlock Mercenary characters
• List of webcomics
• List of extraterrestrials in fiction

This article is about the characters from Schlock Mercenary, a hard sci fi webcomic. ... // This list of webcomics includes comics which are (or were) primarily published on the World Wide Web, as described in the main article on webcomics. ... This is a list of extraterrestrial species that have appeared in various works of fiction featuring aliens. ...

External links

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Schlock Mercenary

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