Terminal Lance #176 “Falling Out”

If there’s one thing I don’t miss about morning PT, it’s the dreadfully foul sound of a Marine expelling the previous night’s binge of pizza and beer. It happens all the time, whether the poor Marine is out of shape or simply hung over. My favorite part about this event (and it is an event) is the reaction of the Marines around them.

Never will you find the sympathetic comfort of a friend, patting you on the back and offering to clean you up. If you find yourself spewing the contents of your internal organs onto the concrete, you are undoubtedly going to be met with congratulatory cheering and laughter. “GET SOME!” is one that is best and commonly used when running past a Marine that is speaking dinosaur. The simple fact is, no one really cares, and for the most part it’s pretty entertaining to watch your friends suffer a little. It is, ultimately, out of love.

As for this strip, I really wanted to do another one without dialog. I find that kind of humor to be the most interesting, as dialog is often a crutch for the writer without skill. I also just thought it would be fun to play with the comic format for this one; probably due to my recent involvement in a graphic novel course at my school, as it’s gotten me thinking a little more deeply about the conventions of comics in general.

In other news, I saw The Grey this weekend and I loved it. I won’t bore you with a long review, as you can find a number of those on other websites. I will say that it is a beautifully done film that is only an exposition of “man versus nature” on the surface, and beneath you’ll find a film that delves much deeper into themes of manhood and death itself. It was probably the most satisfying film I’ve seen in a while, but it may just be because the last one I saw was Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which looked really cool in trailer-form. Unfortunately, it was actually about as cool as Gary Oldman’s balls dangling above your face for 3 hours. To be honest, I may have preferred that–at least Gary Oldman’s balls would’ve been mildly entertaining.

Lastly, buy my book. No balls.