Tag Archives: Schlock Mercenary

I hate loving these pills…

July 29, 2014 Howard Tayler

Struggled to get anything done this morning. Made a little progress banging on two possible scripts for Sunday, August 24th. Not working.

Went shopping with my 11yo to clear my head. Got home and decided to take a white pill (20mg, 4-hour methylphenidate — it’s basically a short-term ritalin). Aaaand BANG. I’m able to script again. Wrote an all-new August 24th strip, then the next three days of the week. Then I brain-dumped into the outline and it all flowed gloriously.

I love the white pill, but I hate needing it.

Announcements

Convention Banner!

July 28, 2014 Howard Tayler

As I lamented on Twitter, designing convention banners is like building a ten-foot-tall book cover out of other book covers and ego.

Here, then, is the result:

If you’re at GenCon Indy, a couple of weeks from now, you can find me in front of this, and between Jim Zub and Tracy Hickman.

Journal

At Best, Inappropriately Expressed Enthusiasm

February 4, 2010 Howard Tayler 59 Comments

I blogged about the final round of the easily-spoofed Washington Post poll, and I made a mistake. I mentioned that it was easily spoofed.

This was not meant as encouragement to spoof, but apparently it was taken as such. For this I am sorry.

You see, when I blogged at 9:15pm local time, Schlock Mercenary had around 120 votes. Three hours later Schlock had 211,000. That, for those who are interested in this sort of thing, is more unique IP addresses than hit my own website in the course of an entire month. I don’t for one minute believe that more than 1,000 of those votes are legitimate. And by curious coincidence, during the one minute for which I’m not believing, about another 1,000 votes arrived.

I’m embarrassed and saddened. It’s much more fun to mock an easy-to-rig popularity contest when it’s not one of your own fans doing the rigging. You see, now if tens of thousands of Penny Arcade fans visit the poll (and they will) they will associate “Schlock Mercenary” with dishonesty.

Whoever you are, mister or missus Inappropriate Expressor of Enthusiasm, you are damaging my name with your antics. Worse still, you are making all of the smart, discerning, tastefully dressed, and bewitchingly attractive Schlock Mercenary fans look dingy and disreputable.

Shame on you.

Announcements, Journal

Two Years

September 20, 2006 Howard Tayler 34 Comments

Today I celebrate the 2nd anniversary of “doing it full-time.” On Monday, September 20th of 2004 I resigned from my position at Novell, came home to my home office, and wondered how I was going to be able to make it work.

I didn’t really figure it out until May of 2006. There were some really rough patches in there – particularly July of 2005, when Ad revenues were in the toilet, commission work had dried up, and we had to pay bills using a home improvement loan. And then there was the $100 Christmas.

Sandra was there for me (and I was there for her) throughout all of it, and I could not have done it without her. Of course, without her it would not have been worth doing at all.

It wouldn’t have been possible without you readers and fans, either. Thank you, everybody.

–Howard

ps. I’m celebrating by scripting, pencilling, and inking an entire week. I’d probably better get started.

Writer, Illustrator, Consumer