Scud: The Disposable Assassin

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Scud The Disposable Assassin
Image:Scud The Disposable Assassin 1.png
It's Cool to be a Robot
Publisher Fireman Press
Image Comics
Schedule Monthly
Publication date 1994-1998, 2008
Number of issues 24
Creative team
Creator(s) Rob Schrab

Scud: The Disposable Assassin (published from 1994 to 1998, and 2008) is a humorous, hyperkinetic science fiction comic by Rob Schrab about a world in which you can buy weapons out of vending machines, the most popular of which are intelligent robots that kill a specified target and then self-destruct.

The protagonist of the series is Scud, an average Heart Breaker Series 1373 model assassin. On his first mission, he is sent to kill Jeff, a rampaging female mutant with mousetraps for hands, an electrical plug for a head, and a squid for a belt.

Contents

[edit] Plot

During his first mission, Scud glances in a mirror and sees the warning label on his back explaining how he will self-destruct upon completion of his mission. Realizing that he doesn't want to die, Scud mortally wounds Jeff, shooting off her arms and legs, then takes her to a hospital placing her on life support ensuring their mutual survival.[1]

Scud: TDA's main plot follows Scud's career as a freelance mercenary and assassin, working to pay off Jeff's medical bills.

[edit] Cliffhanger

The last issue, #20, leaves the series with a cliffhanger. Schrab was growing dissatisfied with the direction the story was taking, and stepped back from the book rather than allow things to get worse.[2] At the same time his career in Hollywood began to pick up, so he shifted focus further away from the book. Since then Scud's publisher, Fireman Press, was dissolved after a falling out between Rob Schrab and a business partner over rights.[3]

[edit] Issue 21

On January 3 2007, Schrab announced on his blog that he plans to finish Scud in four parts, Issues 21-24, at which point he would be releasing an omnibus of all the books, Scud #1-24.[4] Since this announcement, there have been several podcasts posted to Schrab's site giving his state of mind during the process, opportunities he is passing up to finish the book, and a view of the process he uses to create a comic page.[5]

Schrab recently, announced that the Scud finale will be four times the original length. The Book was to be a 32 page conclusion, instead the ending chapter will be over 111 pages long making it Schrab's biggest comic project to date.

Rob Schrab told fans that "he just couldn't make this another issue. I want Scud to go out with a bang."

Because of this and with Schrab producing, directing and writing the Sarah Silverman Program for Comedy Central, the Complete Scud Book was not out by the 2007 but will be for Comic Con 2008

[edit] Four-issue series finale

The final installment of Scud will be released as a four-part mini-series to be published by Image Comics, with covers done by guest artists.

  • #21 - Ashley Wood (February 2008) "Return of the Over-Used Muse"
    • Rob Schrab (March 2008) - WonderCon Exclusive Variant of Issue 21
    • Jack Gray (April 2008) - Second Print of Issue 21
  • #22 – Jim Mahfood (March 2008) "Challenge of the Over-Used Muse"
    • Dan Hipp (April 2008) - Second Print of Issue 22
  • #23 – David Hartman (April 2008) "Retaliation of the Over-Used Muse"
  • #24 – Doug Tennapel (May 2008) "Death of the Over-Used Muse"

The Oversized One-Volume edition of Scud entitled "Scud The Disposable Assassin: The Whole Shebang!" will be released on June 25 2008 and contain issues 1-24 plus "Drywall: Unzipped". 2008 and Black Octopus: Sexy Geinus.[citation needed]

Rob Schrab has stated that he currently has no plans for further issues of Scud Spin-offs – Scud: Tales from the Vending Machine, and The Drywall & Oswald Show.

In a closing interview conducted by Doug Tennapel at the send of Issue #24 Rob stated that La Cosa Nostroid could be concluded, but that it would be up to Dan Harmon, who helmed the series.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

  • Scud - The robotic protagonist. One of a series of mass-produced assassins, Scud will self-destruct if his mission is completed.
  • Sussudio - A freelance bounty hunter hired to bring Scud in after he bails on an assassination assignment and goes rogue. She later becomes his love interest.
  • Drywall - Scud's bizarre young sidekick whose body contains an unlimited amount of storage space, which holds everything from weapons to furniture. His speech can only be understood by beings without souls (such as Scud). In issue 21 it is revealed he learned how to speak English during Scud's absence. In issue 22, he is absorbed into System.
  • Voodoo Ben Franklin - Scud's second assassination target in the series and one of the principal villains, Voodoo Ben is the famous founding father, hellbent on controlling the world of organized crime. Ben commands an army of zombie people and dinosaurs, in addition to the forces of Hell later in the series, after Ben becomes a pawn of System, the Lord of Hell.
  • Jeff - Scud's very first assignment, a piecemeal monster with a plug for a head, mousetraps for hands, a squid strapped to her chest, and a mouth on each knee. All of her lines of dialogue are ripped from pop culture sources. She has demonstrated the ability to assimilate animal parts and mechanical devices for use as weapons. If she dies, Scud will self-destruct. Later in the series, it is revealed that Jeff is the last of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, since Scud killed off the other three before they could hatch in the first issue of the series.

[edit] Supporting characters

  • Oswald - A previous Scud model who had his self-destruct module removed. Oswald has been known to help out Scud from time-to-time. He is modelled after a rabbit, and can use his ears as weapons. Schrab said Oswald was a nod to the Green Bunny character in the Star Wars Comics of the eighties. In issue 21, he dies trying to break into Voodoo Ben's lair.
  • Tony Tastey- Scud's first client as a freelancer, who eventually becomes the leader of the Cortese family cyborg mafia, which stars in the spin-off La Cosa Nostroid series.
  • System - Brother of Drywall and supreme ruler of Hell, System was created along with his brothers to be the ultimate collection agent for Hell, harvesting as many treasures for Lucifer as humanly possible. However, System went rogue, deciding that the entire universe needed categorization, and has since been working to collect everything in existence and bring about the apocalypse.
  • Mess - The first prototype collector built for Lucifer and something of a failure. Mess resembles a walking collection of filing cabinets. He was collected into System, along with his creator and Lucifer, in Drywall's origin issue.
  • Captain Jack Jones - When first introduced in the series, Jones was running a prison colony in the middle of a remote desert. This colony set the stage for Scud's first successful assassination attempt, during which he managed not only to decimate the prison personnel, but would later destroy the entire base by crashing an airship into the cliff on which it was based. Jones would later be hired by the mysterious Spidergod to use his remaining forces to track down Scud.
  • Spidergod (a.k.a. Marvin) - The owner and manager of Marvin's Mannikens, he is the one to take out the assassination order on Jeff in the first place. Later, he hires military forces in order to capture Scud, and later, Jeff, in an attempt to hold them hostage in order to bargain his way out of being sent to hell. Most recently, he was bankrupted by his war with Voodoo Ben, during which he also lost his legs.
  • Horse - A transdimensional being that resembles a large children's rocking horse, Horse arrives to whisk Scud and Sussudio away from the battle between Voodoo Ben and Captain Jack Jones, seconds before the two are about to be annihilated. Horse transports the two around seemingly at random, appearing and disappearing at various times without any real given explanation, though Scud offers a few of his own. It is assumed that while the Eggs the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse used are the means to travel from Heaven to Earth, Horse is the way to move from Earth to Heaven, though this is never stated outright.

[edit] Spinoffs

Several comic book series were published by Fireman Press, all of which take place inside the Scud universe. These include:

  • La Cosa Nostroid - Chronicles the rise and fall of Tony Tastey as he takes over the cyborg mafia. As he eliminates his enemies, he becomes increasingly paranoid and starts to kill off his allies and friends. Ended on a cliffhanger note. 9 issues released.
  • Drywall: Unzipped - The origin of Scud's multi-zippered sidekick (one-shot).
  • The Drywall and Oswald Show - The continued adventures of Drywall and Oswald. 2 issues released.
  • Scud: Tales from the Vending Machine - An anthology of sorts, with each issue about a different Scud model. Each issue is created by a different creative team, including artists such as Trent Kaniuga (Creed), Jim Mahfood (Clerks), and Doug TenNapel (creator of Earthworm Jim). 5 issues released.

[edit] Collections

Scud: The Disposable Assassin has been collected in trade paperback form. These include:

  • Heavy 3PO - reprints #1-4
  • Programmed for Damage - reprints #5-9
  • Solid Gold Bomb - reprints #10-15
  • The Yellow Horseman - reprints #16-20

[edit] Other media

Scud: The Disposable Assassin inspired two video games, Scud: The Disposable Assassin (1996) for Sega Saturn and Scud: Industrial Evolution (1997) for PC. Both received mixed reviews.

Scud was optioned as a possible movie from Oliver Stone's production company, but the option has long since lapsed.

A 6" Scud action figure has been announced as a part of Shocker Toys new Indie Spotlight line.[6][7] The addition of the figure to the toy line was cited by Schrab as one of his motivations for wanting to finish the issue #21 in his first video blog.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rob Schrab. Scud: The Disposable Assassin #1. Fireman Press. 
  2. ^ Zack Smith. Catching up with Rob Schrab. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  3. ^ Rob Schrab. Scud: What Happened?. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  4. ^ Rob Schrab. SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN #21. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  5. ^ Rob Schrab. Rob Schrab's Blog. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  6. ^ Scud to be 6 inch Figure from Shocker Toys. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  7. ^ Shocker Toys. Shocker Toys Refocuses Indy Spotlight Series 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.
  8. ^ Scud Vblog 1. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.

[edit] External links