Day: June 12, 2010

The Schlock Mercenary Anniversary Party

By / June 12, 2010 / 1 Comment

Being a blogger is a serious disadvantage for certain activities, such as planning a surprise party for your spouse. For the last week and a half my head has been full of stuff about which I could not blog. I’ve been chewing my nails looking at the weather, stressing over the fact that the party time was scheduled at the same hour as the book signings of some friends, and trying to guess whether everything would go well. It did.

Schlock Mercenary 10th Anniversary

Howard was pretty sure I had something up my sleeve for today’s 10th anniversary of Schlock Mercenary, but he did not expect a full party. I truly can not take credit for the event. My major contribution was to approve the good ideas of others and to help make sure that Howard arrived on schedule. The big banner and the birthday cake were both provided by Rodney.

Schlock's birthday cake

We even sang happy birthday to Schlock, but Howard was the one who blew out the candles.

Candle blowing

Most of the party attendees were locals, but those from afar were represented by Pi and Kreely who’ve been along for the ride since the beginning and traveled all the way from Washington state.
The plaque

Dave Brady created an amazing plaque built around a digital photo frame. It is full of pictures provided by far-flung friends and fans. He cast the metal for it himself.

Schlock bowl

The decorations were provided by my amazing sister-in-law Rebecca. She crafted the Schlock candy bowl out of insulation foam. I’m glad I took a picture when I did, because this guy spent most of the party looking forlornly into an empty bowl. The kids took off with his treats.

Place settings

She made some awesome table decorations too. But I think the coolest thing was the epaulets.

Epaulet photo
You can see them right above Howard’s shoulder. Most of the attendees were wearing them by the end of the party. I meant to acquire some, but I got distracted talking to people. By the end of the party, Howard’s epaulets found a new home anyway.

Antennae

It was rainy and cold when the party began, but people came anyway. It warmed our hearts that so many carved time out of their busy lives to celebrate with us, even outdoors in the rain. There were enough people that I did not have the chance to talk with everyone. By the end of the party the sun had come out and the world looked brighter. We shared potluck food and many lingered past the ending hour. It was an excellent event.

Schlock Mercenary is 10 Years old today

By / June 11, 2010

Ten years ago today the first Schlock Mercenary strip went up on the web. Howard had only been drawing for a couple of months. I still considered the whole project a nice hobby for him. I supported it, because I believe it is good for people to have hobbies, but I had not yet bought into the vision. I had no idea that this one little strip on the web was the beginning of so many dreams fulfilled. I had no idea of all the work ahead of us, or of the things I would need to become to help the project succeed.

A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a neighbor in which I talked about the things I was doing. She sighed and said “It must be nice to have time to chase a dream. With three little ones, I hardly know what mine are anymore.” I pondered that statement later and realized that not only was I living a life which allowed for chasing dreams, I was actively catching them and putting them into my pockets. This was made possible because of Schlock Mercenary. In fact, some of these dreams could not even have existed without Schlock Mercenary to stand on.

So today is a day for me to stand up and say thanks to Howard. His dream, his work, his diligence, all paved the way for me to become who I am and live the life that I have. I really love my life, even the parts that are hard. Howard helps me with the hard bits, but I owe him thanks for that every day not just once per decade.

It is also a day for me to thank all of the Schlock Mercenary fans out there everywhere. You came and you laughed. You wrote emails to us which helped us get through the emotional lows. You shared the comic with your friends and co-workers. You said nice things when the words of others stung. We could not be where we are without all of you. Without the fans, this comic would have withered and died long ago. So thank you. I hope you’ll stick with us for the next ten years.