Terminal Lance #103 “The Cure-All”

I think all Marines have a love/hate relationship with Corpsman. Many of them are great guys, well trained and just as brave as the average Marine. But, like the wealth of variety you get with Marines, so too are many Corpsman not quite up to snuff. It is a commonly accepted stereotype that Corpsman offer nothing to Marines outside of Motrin and sock-advice. While obviously that’s an exaggeration, as is the comic, it remains to be true that Corpsman are not doctors. I won’t argue that they need to be, either, but many of them truly believe themselves to be on par with House MD.

If there’s one thing that’s more annoying than the Corpsman that thinks he’s a doctor, it’s the Corpsman that thinks he’s a Marine. Perhaps I’m the only one who experienced this phenomenon, but we literally had a Corpsman that thought he was an 0331. He wasn’t. In fact, I think he actually tried to replace all of his medical knowledge with M240 nomenclature, because he sure as balls didn’t know anything about medicine.

Bottom line, Corpsman can be great. They’re completely necessary and are a vital asset to any squad. That, however, doesn’t mean I can’t make fun of them.

Speaking of doctors, I recently took a trip to see mine. Strangely, I randomly happened to get the one doctor in the hospital that used to be the battalion surgeon for 2/7 (many years ago, not going to mention names). He’s a nice guy and the Marine Corps connection gives us something to joke about, but it’s almost like I can’t get away from it… Then again, I am the creator of a successful Marine Corps humor comic as well.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about the graphic novel. No, not any juicy bits you want to hear, but just some clarification. It is a fact that I am working on it–however, it is also fact that I am doing so at my leisure. At this stage, I am merely writing it and working on character designs and concepts. Please, do not expect anything for quite some time.

I will say this though: it will redefine the war story graphic novel. (If there is such a definition)