Saturday June 23, 2001
Book 1: The Tub of Happiness — Union Blues
A note for those of you disturbed by the violence: First of all, I have to wonder what you're doing reading a comic strip about space mercenaries who kill people. Are you deliberately subjecting yourself to pain, or are you like my brother who gets a salad when he eats out, and finishes it even though he hates it, just so he can get the waitress to bring him the big steak that the salad came with? Or maybe you're like my sister, who bought a house up in the hills and drives an SUV. Perhaps you're like my kids, who'll eat anything they're not supposed to, and so I have to play "don't sneak the bite" to get any semblance of a balanced diet into their tiny little tummies.

Or maybe you're not like anyone I have any experience with at all, and any effort on my part to project motives on you will be like that time Walt VanSteenburg and I took turns on the rope swing instead of going to the canoing merit badge class.

At any rate, it might help you to know that both Patch Fancy (the one with the ponytail, nicknamed 'Pat.') and Dug Rhandal died quickly, and deserved it for the assorted beatings, killings, and opressions they'd administered during their careers as 'union' enforcers. Or maybe it won't make you feel better--I don't know. Maybe you could pretend that they've gone to a better place. Or at least that they will, as soon as Sergeant Schlock passes them back out into the ecosystem.

Original Art

Transcript

Breya: Schlock, I know those union thugs were threatening us all with physical violence, but you went too far there at the end.
Breya: Sure, the plasgun was all you had handy for our defense, I understand that.
Breya: I can even understand you putting them down permanently when they begged you to make the pain stop.
Schlock: Eating their ashes was uncalled for. I'm sorry.
Breya: Don't let it happen again.
Kevyn: At least this way there's no evidence to worry about.
Footnote: A note for those of you disturbed by the violence: First of all, I have to wonder what you're doing reading a comic strip about space mercenaries who kill people. Are you deliberately subjecting yourself to pain, or are you like my brother who gets a salad when he eats out, and finishes it even though he hates it, just so he can get the waitress to bring him the big steak that the salad came with? Or maybe you're like my sister, who bought a house up in the hills and drives an SUV. Perhaps you're like my kids, who'll eat anything they're not supposed to, and so I have to play "don't sneak the bite" to get any semblance of a balanced diet into their tiny little tummies.Or maybe you're not like anyone I have any experience with at all, and any effort on my part to project motives on you will be like that time Walt VanSteenburg and I took turns on the rope swing instead of going to the canoing merit badge class.At any rate, it might help you to know that both Patch Fancy (the one with the ponytail, nicknamed 'Pat.') and Dug Rhandal died quickly, and deserved it for the assorted beatings, killings, and opressions they'd administered during their careers as 'union' enforcers. Or maybe it won't make you feel better--I don't know. Maybe you could pretend that they've gone to a better place. Or at least that they will, as soon as Sergeant Schlock passes them back out into the ecosystem.