Got back from the Long Beach Comic Con yesterday and was overall very impressed with the con, given that it was its very first outing. Saw lots of people who really shouldn’t have been in costume and a few who looked pretty good. Heard Berke Breathed talk, whch was awesome, as the man was a […]
Welcome to the first Wednesday strip! I’ve taken my first step into a larger world… This strip contains my wife’s least favorite joke, which I didn’t really understand until I realized that the reader might think that Dhur is… doing something off screen. He’s not. He could be, but he’s not. See you next Monday! […]
Someone was asking me this past weekend what I do for a living and I answered with “I’m a cartoonist.” It felt good to say that. It felt even better when I didn’t get the usual follow-up question to that which is, “and you make a living doing that?” Instead, I was asked, “So, who […]
Here’s a little glimpse into how my brain works. When I was planning the start of this webcomic, I approached the creation of my buffer of strips in a very assembly line kind of way. First came the writing of 40 or so strips, then back to strip #1 for the rough sketches, then back […]
In a continuing public service, we now present a brief entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia: Half-Elves The Elves and Humans have been on good terms (for the most part) for the past 200 years or so. Given that, half-elves come about “when a human and an elf mommy or daddy love each other very much.” […]
Good Monday to you! This is the last week of only posting the cartoon on Mondays and Wednesdays. After this week, we go to 3 days a week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, just like a grown-up webcomic! Thanks for reading everyone! See you on Wednesday! ~Rob
Dhur’s many things, but a coiner of catchphrases ain’t one of them. My metamorphosis into a webcartoonist is drawing closer to completion, as I’ve been staying up later and later each night, working on the strip. Right now, I’m caught up until early December and I’ve been getting to bed each night at roughly 1:00 […]
Whoops! Sorry, folks, I forgot to get Friday’s strip posted at midnight, like I usually do – still not used to posting on Fridays yet 🙂 Nothing else of note for now, so hope you enjoy having Leo talk at you and I’ll see you on Monday! Rob P.S. Yes, his eyes are on fire. […]
The shoulder shell is back! Truth is, I missed drawing it and even though I designed them, I ended up REALLY not liking the new spaulders. This entire strip seems like it’s tailor-made to have Yakkity Sax played in the background. Now all we need is Benny Hill coming over the next sand dune… Also, […]
… which isn’t surprising. I imagine Jaine’s roaming charges will keep her in debt until her eleventy-third birthday, assuming she lives that long. Not much to say this time around. See you on Tuesday! ~Rob
A brief announcement, folks: MeatShield will be going on a temporary hiatus as of June 18th until roughly the 30th, as my family and I begin the arduous process of packing up all our junk and moving – again. Fortunately, the situation we’re going into will enable us to save up enough for a down […]
UPDATE – 6/19/14: Time has gotten away from me, folks, so even though I really really wanted to put up one more strip before I go on hiatus, I just don’t have the time, what with packing for the move and everything. I apologize for that. I will see you all on July 1st. Take […]
Annnnnd the hiatus is over! Man, this move took FOREVER. You never realize just how much junk you have until you have to pack it all up and move it. Especially when you have twins, which means you have duplicates of darn near everything! Ugh. Anyway, thanks for your patience, folks. _ Strangely, paladins tend […]
And now you know where the crew keeps all their gear… and the drawbacks of said. Jaine’s belt pouches are modified Bags of Holding with arcane reinforcement so that sharp objects (like Dhur’s axe or Jaine’s little-used rapier) won’t tear the bag and dump everything into the Astral Plane. Yes, I thought this through. Yes, […]
Warning: the following contains a teensy bit of soul-baring. If that’s not your cup of tea, no problem and I’ll see you next week. For the rest of you, here we go… 1… 2… 3… Okay, full-on honesty time here, folks. As I’m sure some of you have noticed, I have been fighting creative burn-out […]
Normally, I’d write here about the 5th Edition of D&D and how it looks promising (it does – the long national 4th edition nightmare is over) along with the trailer for Tyranny of Dragons, which is amazing. I might also write about how the new expansion for World of Warcraft, Warlords of Draenor, also looks […]
And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia. SKULLBALL On the Lower Planes, life is a grueling existence and usually very short. Unrelentingly harsh weather conditions, demonic adversaries and a distinct lack of decent take-out food are among the many things that can make a soul give in to despair. However, […]
Not much going now folks… but next week? Hoo Boy! Strip #500 and the 5th Anniversary of MeatShield! See you then! ~Rob
And now, a special guest blog post from Kathy, Rob’s wife. As you may have noticed, this is Rob’s 500th strip. As it happens, it’s also the 5-year anniversary of Meatshield. Both are pretty significant accomplishments! Rob has worked hard to make Meatshield what it is today. He has developed likeable characters, engaging storylines, and […]
Wow! I need to have my wife write my blog posts for me more often! Thank you all very very much for all the kind words, they mean more to me than you could possibly know. 🙂 Speaking of someone writing for me, I hereby cede the floor to the kind scholars at Kilanio University… […]
I think we should cut Jaine a break – she’s a little rattled and out of her comfort zone. I am on the horns of a mild dilemma: My gaming group has finished their first adventure on the high seas in the Lhazaar Principalities and have managed to wrangle themselves a ship and a bare […]
Some folks see prune juice as a “warrior’s drink,” but I put it to you that coffee beats some dried-up plum juice any day hands down. And yes, that’s how I occasionally take my coffee. So now the secret has been revealed! 🙂 I tried an experiment last week. DMs that I’ve gamed with in […]
It’s a funny thing: when I have family from out of town visiting, I somehow become more productive, not less. My in-laws recently visited us from Texas and while they were here, I managed to finish 98% of the second MeatShield book, Against the Gravel Giants. The only thing left to do – the only […]
Earlier in the week, I posted a geek rant on Facebook, where a few things that had been bouncing around in my head for a while finally broke loose. I shall now reprint and expound on that post thusly: DOCTOR WHO: Peter Capaldi seems like a great actor, but I just can’t cotton to him […]
Starting in roughly a week from now is NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. For those of you that have never heard of it before, National Novel Writing Month occurs during the month of November and the goal of it is to produce a 50,000 word novel by the end of the month. Mind you, nobody […]
Poor Jaine, the steps she has to take to keep her friends’ heads from exploding. After all this time, you’d think she would have had to do an alignment check at some point. Living with Dhur and Ch’p makes keeping to a good alignment hard. I have finished the first week of NaNoWriMo and, as […]
For that last panel, I had this scene from an otherwise forgettable Disney movie bouncing in my head. In The Emperor’s New Groove, a bunch of the villain’s thugs get alchemically transformed into animals. One turns into a cow and says, “Umm, excuse me, I’m a cow, can I go home?” Don’t know why that […]
For those of you in the U.S. who aren’t familiar with it, the cyclops prosecutor is wearing a barrister’s wig, common in the UK. Why did I put him in a barrister’s wig? I felt like it. 🙂 Anyway, a brief little bit about true names: in many cultures, there is the name that your […]
UPDATE – 12/22/14: I’m sorry I didn’t post this earlier, but MeatShield will be on hiatus until 01/12/15, which is when my kids go back to school. I need to time to mentally regroup and do the traditional holiday stuff with my family. Happy Holidays to you and yours! One of these days, that DA’s […]
And we’re back from Christmas Vacation! I hope you all had a good holiday season, whatever holiday you chose (or chose not) to observe. This year was a good one and no one got sick at all… until 3 days after New Year’s Day. My wife and I are just coming down off of a […]
I am almost done with my current 3.5 D&D campaign and I’m chomping at the bit to try D&D 5th Edition. One of my regular players will be taking on the task of DM, so I will get to play after a long dry spell. During the long national trial that was 4th Edition, there […]
Just in case you don’t remember, Gerta lives in a halfdome kind of yurt… thing. So, the Great MeatShield Planehopping contest…. *sigh* I think I made it too hard to participate. I probably should have just asked folks to retweet with the hashtag #planehopping. Too late for that now, though. Since no one has yet […]
I have finally recovered from the Cold from Baator. Now I have this annoying non-productive cough that just won’t die. Ugh. Anyhows, back to comic-making! Take care, ~Rob
Rock, meet Hard Place. Where ever could our heroes have ended up? I’m working on making ebook versions of both Books One and Two, as there have been some requests for such. Stay tuned! Take care, ~Rob
I love onomatopoeia. Hey, Glenn over at ComicMix.com has started up the Mix March Madness Webcomics Tournament and MeatShield is in it! There are over 300 webcomics particpating in this; if MeatShield manages to get into the Top 128, we could win this thing. Sure, it’d be like my alma mater, Cal-State Northridge defeating Michigan […]
Orcs ain’t much fer manners an’ stuff. It’s a miracle Dhur turned out the way he did. 🙂 That’s all for this week, folks! Take care! ~Rob
UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the new MeatShield strip will be delayed until Monday (4/13/15) morning. 🙁 I think Dh’oh’s Three F’s beat Conan’s “what is best in life?” quote. It’s easier to remember, anyway. Hasta, ~Rob
“But Rob,” I hear you think, “I’ve run paladins before that have gone to the Outer Planes and they didn’t attract any more attention than the attention they brought upon themselves. What gives?” Patience, Grasshopper. There is a reason 🙂 In other news, this is the first strip to be drawn, inked and colored 100% […]
I remember when I was a kid learning D&D and coming across the Fireball spell and the material component needed to cast it: bat guano. I then had to look up the word “guano.” I remember my teachers being impressed by my vocabulary in elementary school. Small wonder, since I read comic books and played […]
In the D&D games I used to play in back in high school, there was a standing rule that if you called a god’s name often enough on the Outer Planes, they could hear it and might show up to both a) tell you to shut up, and b) unleash their holy wrath upon you. […]
Hope you like the new armor, Becky. I got tired of drawing coffee cans on your shoulders. 🙂 Christiane, a frequent commenter, had told the tale of her paladin in her comment for the strip previous to this one and how she chopped her own head off with three natural ones in a row. This […]
And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia… Grundahr Ghall At the Dawn of Time, when the various gods gathered together at the Grand Conference to determine who was going to do what in the world, one of their number distinguished himself not by his power or wisdom, but by his […]
UPDATE – 6/22/15: My father’s interment is scheduled for 7/3/15. I hope to be back at the drawing table by about 7/15/15 or so, after handling the rest of Dad’s affairs. Thank you all for the kind and supportive comments. Thank you also to those of you who contributed to the GoFundMe campaign to raise […]
I’m back. This past month has been the hardest I’ve ever gone through and I couldn’t have made it through without the support of my family, friends and my readers. From prayers and/or positive thoughts to the actual monetary donations to help pay for my father’s service, I am truly humbled by the love and […]
I’ve often seen Dhur as the kind of character made by someone who’s new to gaming and doesn’t understand how to allocate skills. DM: Are you absolutely sure you want to devote your last three skill points to Craft (needlepoint)? Player: I love needlepoint, yes! DM: Even though you’re going to be playing a Ranger […]
This week’s blog post is a bit rambling; you have been warned. • I was re-reading “Of Dice and Men” by David Ewalt, which, if you haven’t read it, go and do so – it is a very accessible & enjoyable history of D&D. In the first chapter, he refers to the fact that D&D, […]
Where’s Vorpal, you ask? She’s where any dog worth her salt would be: asleep in the kitchen. 🙂 It had to happen: someone’s character in my gaming group got killed. Let me be clear, though: I didn’t kill him – I wasn’t the DM this time around. The character of my brother-in-law’s brother Vern (not […]
In other news… Philo has a vodka cellar? For the curious and/or nitpicky, Philo made more room by expanding into the mountain in front of which his fortress is set. Well, it’s that time again: I’m going to be jumping back into the DM chair. This time around it’s going to be a homebrew world, […]
This goes to show you that everyone can have an emotional blindspot at one time or another. Fun fact: I didn’t find out until long after I was happily married with children that a girl in high school that I thought was just a real good friend in fact had a crush on me. How […]
No, he’s not a White Walker. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. 🙂 Work continues behind the scenes on the Mighty MeatShield Store as I and my brain trust (read: my wife and my friends) are hard at work coming up with some pretty cool stuff for you all. Would you like a sneak […]
For Dhur, being drunk while fighting might actually be an asset? I’ve been trying to veer away from really revealing blog posts lately, as I think they might put some people off, especially newer readers. However, something happened recently that I feel the need to talk about. This isn’t a set-up for a joke. You […]
Fireball: The Great Equalizer. 🙂 Commissions are now open! If you would like a custom illustration by yours truly, now is the time to get your order in! Here’s how it’ll work: All commissions must be requested & paid for by 11/20/15, giving me enough time for production & shipping prior to the December holidays. […]
Why didn’t Philo think of this before? Because of reasons and things. *shrug* I’ve wanted to be a cartoonist since I was 5 years old – somewhere I have proof of that, buried in moving boxes. Like a lot of cartoonists of my generation, I usually cite the “Holy Trinity” of cartoonists as influences: Berke […]
Man, I hope her contract is up or her service provider is gonna be pissed. Wow! I wasn’t expecting the number of commission requests I got, but thank you! This will make this Christmas very nice indeed. 🙂 If you haven’t gotten your commission request in yet, drop me an email at rob(at)meatshield(dot)net and get […]
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! As most longtime readers know, this has been a very rough year for me. The good news is that I am coming out the other end of it and that is due in no small part to the love and support of all of you, especially in the wake of my father’s […]
UPDATE: I spoke too soon. I sat down at my trusty, barely 3 years old iMac to do some standard social media stuff and after being on for about an hour, it decided to shut itself off. Then it refused to start back up again, even after (alert: Mac computer geek speak ahead) resetting the […]
As I said in the last blog post, my trusty iMac (which turned out to be seven years old, not three – how time flies!) died on me. The logic board was the culprit. It would have cost nearly the same amount to fix it than to buy a new computer. Ergo… If I can […]
By the time you all read this, I will have just wrapped up a grueling 1400 mille-long drive from California to my in-law’s place in north Texas for Christmas. By the way, just in case anyone has too much money and wants to spoil their favorite cartoonist (me), I’d really like to get a Cintiq […]
Howdy from North Texas! Hope you all had a great Christmas, if that’s your thing. I had a great holiday and received, among other things, a World of Warcraft DING button (which sounds like a toilet flushing, to be honest), a collection of the art of Tony diTerlizzi called Realms, and (wait for it)… Heward’s […]
The holidays have come and gone and life is getting back to normal, or as normal as my life ever gets, at any rate. We’re in the grips of 2016 now and as longtime readers know, 2015 really put me through the wringer. I’m glad to see its backside. Like everyone else I know, I’ve […]
You know how sometimes you might make a character in a RPG with a few skill points in an obscure skill, like Craft (Weaving) or Conversational Russian, just to see if the GM will incorporate that into the game somehow? You’re about to see that play out in the next strip. 😊 Something I’m trying […]
Halflings – they just don’t get no respect! Recently, Geek & Sundry posted a article about how the characters in Harry Potter would break down into D&D statistics. Trying to figure out what class and, in some cases, races our favorite characters from other media would be in Dungeons & Dragons is a long time […]
The Halfling language is, in my world, Welsh. why not? One of the things that I love about doing this strip is the feedback I get from all of you. There have been more than a few times where a very thoughtful “atta boy!” from one of my readers has brightened my day, and I […]
Apologies to John Kovalic. 🙂 Y’see, there is no Wand of Wonder in the world of Ardris, but we do have the W’Shaa Abelskiver of Cosmic Chance (the recipe’s full name in the W’Shaa Cookbook of Light)! Take care, ~Rob
Can you ID all the items Dhur looted? All $5 and up Patreon patrons already know the answer (so please don’t spoil it :)! So, it looks like Warner Bros. wants to make the next D&D movie more light-hearted and closer in feel to Guardians of the Galaxy. When I first read that headline, my […]
UPDATE – 3/2/16 – Apologies, folks: the new MeatShield strip will be delayed due to this cold/flu thing that has smacked me and my family upside the head. Welcome to all our new readers from Facebook! Hope you like what you see! Our heroes are currently finding their way back to the extraplanar city of […]
I guess this is what happens when you make an ice sculpture of someone (and then confess a longstanding crush). Believe it or not, it’s rather hard to draw people kissing, especially since it’s something I’d never drawn before. Y’see, it’s like there are two Robs in my head: Past Rob and Future Rob. Past […]
I thought about having Ch’p say “Word” to Dhur in that last panel, but I decided that a) I didn’t need it and b) It would show my age. Like I did just now, home skillet. 🙂 I ran a bit behind this week, so this week will be a one-strip week. Next week, we’ll […]
Because, let’s face it, Dhur is one of those guys that if he existed in the real world would be tooling around on the biggest, loudest, most obnoxious Harley he could lay his mitts on. It’s been brought to my attention that The Unnamed Royal Adventuring Company #47 (our heroes) have been woefully bereft of […]
You know what I love? I love it when I post the new social media posts for the latest comic strip, but then forget to actually post the new strip on the website. Yessir, that just makes my day. 🙁 Sorry about that, you guys. No April Foolery today, promise. Take care, ~Rob
Sorry about that subject heading, couldn’t resist. 🙂 I probably should have warned you all last week, but this week (the week of April 5th) is Spring Break for my girls, which means every time I’ve tried to be productive in some way, I’ve been interrupted by 11-year-olds wailing “Dad, we’re BORED!” Thus, this week […]
Hey, it’s Jerry! Remember him? Click here to refresh your memory! And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia. Primordial Elements Terr. Aer. Fajr. Aquo. These are the names of the Inner Planes, each corresponding to a classical element (earth, air, fire and water, respectively). In isolated areas of each one […]
To be fair, expecting Ch’p to know about the W’Shaa in Scrybl is kind of like going up to someone from Texas and saying, “You’re from Texas? My cousin lives in Texas! Do you know him?” Take care, ~Rob
Look at it this way: if all your people were known for was overeating, running around barefoot, and hanging around with dodgy wizards, you’d be a tad defensive too. I’m a day late with this, but May 5th was and is a very important holiday in the history of the United States. I’m of course […]
Poor Vorpal. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go, Becky. Hasta, ~Rob
I see the Three Lost Masters always saying “At Your Service!” as being along the lines of the The Doctor from Star Trek Voyager saying, “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.” It’s just a preprogrammed greeting that they can’t vary. Until now, that is. Oh, and they have legs now, too!
After all the crap that’s been thrown at our little band o’ heroes, I thought some rewards were in order. Oh, and yes, Dhur was functionally illiterate (once he has something read to him, he’ll remember it, but otherwise…) He will probably use this new gift to find out just how much he’s been overcharged […]
So, what do you think of Ch’p’s new duds? His previous robes were the traditional robes worn by W’Shaa monks during their Fielding, the red and gold color scheme of which is then reversed for monks that remain in primary service to the monastery (i.e. non-adventuring monks). For the monks that are also adventurers? They […]
William Faulkner once gave this piece of writing advice: “In writing, you must kill your darlings.” This refers to those parts of a story that the writer has fallen in love with but aren’t needed for the story anymore and can perhaps even be distracting to the reader. It can be a character, a phrase, an […]
What a difference 3 months makes! Thank you all for the extraordinarily kind words during my hiatus/sabbatical/vacation/whatever you call it. I feel much better, less burned out, and ready to draw! I really needed that. 🙂 So, who might that ghostly figure be? Take care, ~Rob
Don’t remember our old pal Gary? Go take look here to refresh your memory. Just to head off any continuity questions: if it was two years ago, why are the ruins still smoking? Good question, you have a fine eye for detail.:) To answer that, I’ll ask you this related question: if it was two […]
It was bound to happen – Dhur contributed something meaningful to the party beyond just “beatin’ up bad guys and takin’ their stuff.” Not much to talk about today, folks. Take care and I’ll see you on Friday! ~Rob
Winning streaks don’t last forever, Dhur. 🙂 I have decided that MeatShield needs to go back to a weekly schedule, effective today. There’s an old saying: “First you get good, then you get fast, then you get good and fast.” I’m working on the fast part. In other geeky news, I’m going to get to […]
I realized something earlier today: Jaine is loaded with magic. She has the following: The Verdant Mantle, which allows her to talk to animals and keeps her young (among other things); Shondella’s Blessing of Connection, which allows her to understand any language (for the rules wonks out there, she has the Tongues spell cast on […]
He’s like an eager 5-year old who’s just been entrusted with setting the dinner table and wants to help EVEN MORE!! And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia… Chronomancy The practice of Chronomancy deals with the magical manipulation of time. One of (if not THE) most dangerous fields of arcane […]
I’m really enjoying playing D&D again, after DMing for so long. Wanna hear about my character? SURE you do! 🙂 I’m running a Human Diviner named Elias Banrion (Elias from the Prophet Elias, Banrion from the Irish for Queen, as in Ellery Queen – here’s who that is). Elias (Eli to his friends) is a […]
Yes, in my world, magical clothing/armor have endure elements imbued in them. Why? Because comics, that’s why. 🙂 This strip is going live on Election Day here in the US. Today is probably the most stressful election in decades for everyone, no matter what side of the fence you sit on. Like a lot of […]
Just in case you all missed it: Dungeons and Dragons was inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Play! Like many of you, I had no idea that the Toy Hall of Fame existed, but there you go. Take care, ~Rob
In D&D, there has always been four classes that, nine times out of ten, make up your standard adventuring party: Fighter (or “fighting-man” as it was originally called), Wizard (or “magic-user”), Rogue (“thief”) and Cleric, the guy who can heal with a touch and ward off undead. The fact that our little gang of misfits […]
Note to observant and/or longtime readers: Yes, I did retcon Kilanio’s descriptor just a tad, from “City of Towers,” to “City of Seven Towers.” Why? Two reasons: 1) It sounds cooler this way, and 2) seven towers are a lot easier to draw than an entire city of them. 🙂 Besides, there’s already a City […]
One of these days, I’m going draw a comic strip that doesn’t have a metric ton of detail in it. No cityscapes, no horses, etc. Yep, one day… 🙂 Next week, I’m going to be restarting the Patreon campaign for MeatShield. I’ve learned a few things since I ran my last one and I’m ready […]
And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia… Kilanio Royal Palace Also known by the nickname “Warpwood Estate,” the palace of the ruling family of Westhame has it origins dating back to the founding of the kingdom by The Magnificent Nine, the heroes who explored the western half of the continent […]
Ah, Aniera, I’ve missed you. I guess she changed her mind about marriage. Sadly, however, this DOES mean that Jonus would be Jaine’s step-brother… if he hadn’t been disowned and thrown back into his prison cell. Take care, ~Rob
*Apologies to Aaron Williams :)* Apparently Yeagar wasn’t available to help out. Sorry, King Franz – ain’t no coming back from that. Not much to talk about today, folks. See you next week! Take care, ~Rob
One of the rules of writing comedy (or whatever it is that I do) is that you shouldn’t explain the joke. Explaining a joke is the surest route to killing said joke. However, I realize that not everyone reading this has been playing D&D since the late 70’s, so… I’m about to explain the previous […]
Why do I hear Tracy Morgan’s voice when Dhur says “we’re gonna get drunk”? Next week, a new Encyclopedia Ardrisia entry: the Taviot Library! See you then! ~Rob
I’ll be frank with you folks: some of these strips, while they do advance the story, are also just for me. This is one of them. For those of you new to the strip, I lost my father in June of 2015. His name was (and is) Jimmy Chambers. I planned on naming the soon-to-arrive […]
Jaine’s mom has connections. She was a bard, after all – those people pop up everywhere… 😉 The aforementioned EA article on the Taivot Library is being postponed to next week when it will be more appropriate. Also, apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time. 🙂 Take care, ~Rob
*massages hand and wrist after drawing the third panel* Ouch. That’s a lotta detail. And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia… THE TOVIAT LIBRARY Situated on the grounds of the University of Kilanio, the Toviat Library is the greatest repository of knowledge in the world. Named after Oslof Toviat, the […]
After the last strip, this one and the one following it, I think I’ll be done drawing bookshelves for the foreseeable future. 🙂 Lyria is the creation of loyal and longtime MeatShield reader Janessa R. Some among you might remember that I had a Patreon campaign running for about a year. By contributing at different […]
So, this is happening… I’m really excited about the Patreon campaign starting back up, if you can’t tell. However, It dawned on me that some among you might not know all you get by becoming a patron of MeatShield. Here’s a look at the Patreon reward tiers: Babarian – $1 or more per month The […]
Dhur just put one whole point into his Bluff skill and is itching to use it! While I was drawing this strip, something occurred to me: how would a Dungeons & Dragons-style city handle emergencies like fires, giant sinkholes, hurricanes, and earthquakes? Would there be a department that handles such matters, like a fantasy-world version […]
I thought clerics were supposed to have high Wisdom scores? Breaking News: I expect to have the third MeatShield Book, The Tomb of Errors, available by July 1st, 2017! As in the last two books, this will have special additions to it, including Philo’s stats. However, I am entertaining suggestions for other bits of bonus […]
No question, Vorpal knows her name. 🙂 Take care, ~Rob
Yes, Carl named the ship himself. No, that’s not a typo. 🙂 Since my daughters’ birthday lands on Father’s Day, my family decided to do Father’s Day for me today (6/17/17). Twin #1 made me several handmade chocolate candies, which were awesome.:) Twin #2 made me this: She took a Beginning Ceramics class and at […]
Nothing like having a little… leverage on a scumbag. 🙂 Often, when I write my characters, I hear their voices in my head. I’ve talked about this before. I used to hear either Billy Bob Thornton’s character from Sling Blade or Yosemite Sam when I wrote Carl, but now? Now, I hear Michael Rooker’s voice […]
Plus, Becky talks to her god and he talks back. She also has a puppy that has a history of eating entire inns. I am off for the Lone Star State as of July 4th, so my daughters (in their first airplane ride ever) may get to watch the fireworks from above! I plan on […]
Poor Brother Leon, trying to bail out the sinking boat that is the Bitter-Ore clan. See you next week! ~Rob
Man, you leave him unattended for two seconds… I’m seeing lots of “Doctor Who’s gonna be a WOMAN??? Nuh-uh! He’s a dude!” (or words to that effect) posts popping up on my Facebook feed, many by people that I ordinarily find to be progressive, rational people. My response? About. Frikkin’. Time. They made the Master […]
Just read the blog post title with the voice of Ralph Wiggums from the Simpsons. It’ll make sense. 🙂 Okay, last time I had a little mini-rant about Doctor Who. It’s nice to know that most folks reading this are pretty much of the same mind as I am regarding Jodie Whittaker’s casting. You folks […]
He might do some Almond Cranberry Biscotti too if he has time. I am taking next week off, folks, as today (July 29) is my birthday and a week off is my birthday present to myself. I’ll see you all week after next. Take care, ~Rob
Just a little after-dinner conversation about underground escape networks. Like you do. Don’t remember Dhur’s brother, Ghar? Click here for a refresher! Take care, ~Rob
Hey, no one said parenting half-orcs would be easy! I have a tiny favor to ask, folks. I’ve been learning more about SEO (search engine optimization). This is so that more people can discover MeatShield, and thus live better, slimmer, debt-free, happier lives with clear complexions and thicker, more lustrous hair ;). What […]
You ever look at pictures of yourself when you were a lot younger and shook your head at your fashion and/or hairstyle choices? That’s kind of what it’s like for me looking back at my older work, which I recently had to do to see how I drew both Mona (Dhur’s Mom) and Ghar. Man, […]
Parents know just how to embarrass you, especially in front of your friends. We’re back! I finished up my temporary assignment with FEMA on Dec. 14, then drove to North Texas for the holidays. Over my time at FEMA, I helped survivors of FIVE different disasters (four hurricanes and the Northern California wildfires). I learned […]
Figuratively! They can figuratively smell fear! Yes, I about near killed my hand drawing all those bricks. The next comic strip I do is going to be nothing but talking colored shapes, like triangles and polyhedrons.;) Thank you all for participating in the survey I posted in the last blog post. So far, 89 people […]
I kind of view the Skulls like the Rover in the BBC TV show The Prisoner, except they’re skulls. And they talk. And can probably vaporize you with a look. Take care, ~Rob
I gotta say, The Inconspicuous Inn is starting to grow on me as a tavern name, supplanting my previous favorite, The Inn of the Moaning Lungfish. Here we finally meet Rochar, a D&D character run by MeatShield Patreon patron Foradain! Described as a halfing archer and ranger, Rochar is slightly taller than most halflings and […]
Hmm, that coat looks familiar…. I’m thinking of restructuring the rewards tiers for the MeatShield Patreon membership. Here are the reward tiers as they stand now, with editorial comment afterwards: $1.00 per month (Barbarian Level) – Access to the MeatShield Patreon Feed. I don’t think this needs to be changed too much, but I do […]
I’ve been wanting to bring Philo back for a while now. That look on Jaine’s face makes it all worthwhile. 🙂 No deep insights or pithy comments this week, folks! See you next week! Take care, ~Rob
Not too sure what’s going on here? Take a look at this and then this. That ought to bring you back up to speed. 🙂 Tonight, my friends, I get to play D&D. Not run D&D as a DM, but play as a player. Ever since Xanathar’s Guide to Everything came out, I have been […]
Apparently Philo lost his 3-D goggles at some point. I don’t think he cares. 🙂 Take care, ~Rob
That Rochar, he’s a rebel, that one. Last week, I mentioned big news. The big news is… We’re moving back to Texas! This is something that my family and I have been mulling over for over 5 years. Southern California, while it never has been the most affordable place to live (unless you live waaaaaay […]
Ahh, yes, the Great Onomatopoeia Battle of 2018, I remember it well… I love sound effects. 🙂 And now, in a continuing service, an entry from the Encyclopedia Ardrisia… ARTIFICERS Magic exists in many forms on Ardris. There is divine magic wielded by devout clerics or self-righteous druids; arcane magic controlled by studious wizards, unpredictable […]
Like any evil wizard worth his salt, Malvat Magh has a contingency spell in his back pocket. Will we see him again? Time will tell… Take care, ~Rob
Yes, for those of you new to the strip, that purple guy is indeed Philo. Philo’s a changeling, which we found out about wayyy back here. Take care, ~Rob
Yep, they have a ship now. In case you don’t remember, here’s where Dhur was given his assignment. Take care, ~Rob
We bring the epic of the Empire of the Mithril Skulls to a close, only to face a newer, greater threat: Thesis Presentation! It hasn’t been touched on in a VERY long time, but Jaine is actually a Bardic Graduate Student who has been working on her thesis project, a ballad about a great hero. […]
I should put out a MeatShield book titled Tales from the Moaning Lungfish, which would be a play off of the title Tales from the Vulgar Unicorn. Don’t know if I will or not, but that would be a cool title, IMHO. Hasta, ~Rob
I took a page out of Dave Kellet’s book and drew a slight departure from the main strip. I’ve always wanted to do a short strip featuring Vorpal and what she gets up to when she slips away from Becky. Yes, slips away – Vorpal purposefully finds a way out from under Becky’s gaze. She’s […]
Know someone who might like the strip but is intimidated by having to wade through 660+ strips just to get caught up? The MeatShield Primer is the perfect jumping-on point! Tell your family and friends! Post it on the social media outlet of your choice! Print it out and slap it up on game store […]
How much was it? Let’s put it this way: if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.:) I will be taking Thanksgiving week off from the strip, as both my kids and my wife have the entire week off! How often does that happen? In the meantime, I hope you all have a Happy […]
Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day. 🙂 Hey, I got myself interviewed! Yay! Kurt Sasso of Two Geeks Talking interviewed me recently and the interview is now on YouTube.It’s a teensy bit long (about 40 minutes) and due to video streaming problems at the time of recording you can’t see me, […]
NO I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING THERE’S SOMETHING IN MY EYE THAT’S ALL– *ahem* Take care, ~Rob
I thought about putting a sign on that booth that read “Sail the Friendly Seas,” but decided against it – too close to home (United Airlines, whose motto is “Fly the Friendly Skies”, employed my dad for 33 years). Also, welcome to the first cartoon of 2019! Take care, all! ~Rob
When I was around seven years old, my father’s work transferred us to San Francisco. On one of our family outings we drove across the Golden Gate bridge and my mom pointed out the Palace of Fine Arts to me as we drove by it on our way into the Presidio and then to the […]
Gastropubs is defined by the Chambers Book O’ Info as “an excuse to charge customers $17 for an artisan grilled cheese sandwich.” Dhur’s in for a big surprise… Take care, ~Rob
They are a chatty folk, those bards. Also, yeah, her mom calls her “Sunflower.” I think it’s cute. I call my kids “Peanut” or “Sweetpea” interchangeably – so there. 🙂 Also, I have no idea what that guy/girl is behind the counter. Some sort of fey creature? I dunno. 🙂 ~Rob
So, what do YOU guys think happened here? Let me know in the comments. 🙂 I know I’m in the minority in this, but I’ve never liked Clue – neither the board game nor the movie. I might like it more if it also came with options like “Mister Redbeard in the conservatory with a […]
Not that Jaine and Dhur aren’t in big trouble, but consider this: this guy is a campus cop at a school for bards and other artsy-fartsy types. The biggest problem he’s probably ever had to deal with is breaking up heated arguments between a bunch of drunk undergrads. BTW, not besmirching the “artsy-fartsy” types – […]
Eli Oduglig, Attorney-at-Law, at your service. His mom gave him that briefcase when he graduated night law school (435th in his class!). Take care, ~Rob
For all the D&D grognards out there: yes, I know that the rules state that Speak with Dead can be cast again in 10 days time after being cast by someone else, but according to the house rules for MeatShield, it’s a one-time only deal. In my strip, as in my games, story trumps rules […]
I’m sorry for the extended silence, folks. I wish I had a better story, but the truth is, I fell victim to procrastination on an epic scale and mismanaging my time after working all day. Anyhoos, the farther along it went, the harder it was to break out of it. I’m back now. Thanks for […]
Howdy folks! Jaine is finally going to do it – she’s finally going to perform her magnum opus, The Ballad of Dhur! Also, that priestess in the center? That is the alter ego of none other than longtime MeatShield patron Amy Hamaker! As a patron at the Archmage level, she became entitled to a cameo […]
Prof. Tunny probably goes through a lot of interns that way; kind of how Murphy Brown went through secretaries… Like everyone else in the world, my family and I are sheltering in place from this stupid virus. We’re all healthy (so far!) and I hope you all are healthy as well. One positive thing about […]