Comments on: Words and Pictures: The 2012 Hugo Nominations for Best Graphic Story

By: Brian Ruckley

Brian Ruckley — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:10:25 +0000

Yeah, it’s an issue with a lot of webcomics – even more so than in print comics, I think – that if you’re not in at the start it can be tough to get yourself onto the wavelength, particularly when there’s a seriously big ‘back catalog’ of stories, as there is with the long-running series like Schlock. With humor, the whole wavelength thing is hugely important, for sure.

By: Snake

Snake — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:30:14 +0000

Schlock Mercenary’s “problem” when it comes to new readers, like yourself, is its ‘long tail of canon’. By that I mean that you must read from the beginning (and wait for a good 6 months before he gets the feel of comic writing) before you understand everything that will come *after*.

IMHO (and this is tough, coming from a Schlock fan) Howard Taylor’s best years were from 2000 to 2008. Read Book 2, The Teraport Wars, through Book 9, The Body Politic (ESPECIALLY Book 9, Royal Flush :p ) and you’ll get Mr. Taylori n all his brilliant whit, irony and slapstick.

The stories afterwards?

Well, I believe Mr. Taylor is writing good sci-fantasy pulp graphic comics, but not necessarily FUNNY pulp graphic comics. Mr. Taylor’s more recent works take a turn towards strong storytelling (fishing for a Hugo?) over comic or entertainment impact, which is quite an ironic statement there.

By: Brian Ruckley

Brian Ruckley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:42:50 +0000

Yeah, I’ll certainly take another run at Schlock Mercenary – I can see the potential appeal, and that it’s well done, even if it hasn’t grabbed me quite yet.

To be honest I wouldn’t be particularly surprised to see it win the Hugo this year, since it’s done well in the voting in past years. In fact, on the basis of nothing whatsoever but guesswork, my ‘official’ prediction for the category is: a close run thing between Schlock Mercenary and Fables to claim the rocket. Possibly too close to call!

By: Fred Kiesche

Fred Kiesche — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:55:52 +0000

I’d suggest a second look with Force Multiplication, which begins here:

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2010-11-29

Recently he really got me with this one:

http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2012-04-19

By: Fred Kiesche

Fred Kiesche — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:43:03 +0000

I’d recommend another try at Schlock Mercenary. Tayler has a sharp wit, makes good use of a lot of familiar SF tropes and continually improves in terms of both writing and drawing. He’s even inspired professionally published “fanfic”! A required daily read with me and I even had a conversation with him on this site a while back:

http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/11/the_sf_signal_podcast_episode_093_an_interview_with_howard_tayler/

He’s got my vote.

By: Brian Ruckley

Brian Ruckley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:22:42 +0000

Well I don’t know about anyone else, but that’s convinced me to go give Digger a thorough read. As I said, I did think the beginning was interesting, so I’d have gone back to it at some point, but given the recommendations I’ll definitely do so and maybe report back in a future edition of this column.

I did realise that the central character is female – but it would indeed be easy to read some distance without realising that, which maybe says something about the subconscious preconceptions a male reader approaches a comic (or any fiction) with. I wonder if, when the sex of a character is not obviously indicated by art, dialogue or context, male readers assume he/she is male, and female that he/she is female?

Either way, I look forward to exploring the world of Digger a bit further …

By: Andrew Trembley

Andrew Trembley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:01:28 +0000

Judging Digger by the beginning really doesn’t do it justice. Not that the beginning isn’t good, but up until Digger’s appearance in front of the statue of Ganesh it was really just an artistic experiment.

It’s also unique in epic fantasy comics. It’s a comic with a strong female lead that isn’t all boobs and chainmail bikini. What, you couldn’t tell? Apparently that’s common when dealing with wombats.

By: rowanmdm

rowanmdm — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:26:17 +0000

I do read Fables still, though I don’t think vol. 15 is one of the better ones, but I ADORE Digger. I concede things take a little while to get going, but there are so many wonderful things Vernon does. Not only are the characters great (Shadowchild! Ed! Boneclaw Mother!) but the world-building is interesting (oracular slugs and the Veiled who serve all the gods) and there is amazing social commentary without being preachy. Vernon addresses spousal abuse (wife beating husband which is so rarely dealt with), the creation of a personal moral code and how much to impose that moral code on others, and the refusal to let a label determine who we are or what we can do. I strongly recommend reading further.

As far as the Bone comparison, while I can see the similarities they aren’t significant the further Digger progresses. Of course I also read Digger before Bone, so that might be why I don’t see as many similarities aside from brilliant writing and engaging art style.