SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN 1994-2008 - thank you.
cover by Doug Tennapel
Hey, guys.
Today’s a big day for me. Scud’s conclusion hits the stands this afternoon. After 15 years this project has taken me to so many places. Right now, it seems very surreal. The world is tingling at a different frequency. It’s hard to describe. I can’t believe I was capable of doing this amount of work. 764 pages of art. 8-12 hours a day, that’s over 9,000 hours.
Scud has taught me so much. Commitment. Endurance. Craftsmanship. Honor. The book quite literally made a man out of me. Twice.
All the while I was growing up, you guys were growing up with me. I get fan art, books, cartoons and movies all the time and you all blow me away. So much talent out there. I am humbled that I could inspire such awesome creativity. And very, very proud.
...
But what about you? Yes, you- the one who hasn’t taken the plunge. Don’t think I can’t sense you; sitting in the back of the room, hoping you will go unnoticed. You have so much inside of you, don’t you? Those ideas and dreams are so big, you feel like your head will burst. It hurts sometimes, doesn’t it? It’s lonely too. Nobody understands. When will your time come? – I’m telling you, that day will happen but YOU have to take the first step.
But you’re scared. “What if I’m wrong? What if my dreams are dumb? What if nobody likes them? What if I work really, really fucking hard and nothing happens?”
I’m not going to promise that the water isn’t cold. But I will promise that once you’re in, your body and mind will adjust, and soon, you’ll be swimming. You won’t win all the the time (because nobody can) but you won’t lose all the time either. Take comfort in that.
Here, I’ll give you a push: You are a creator. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE.
Everytime you feel like quiting on your dream, get up and look into the mirror and say “I REFUSE to be beaten.” Then turn around and get your ass back to work.
This is a direct order coming from me, JUMP IN. Do it. Now. Tomorrow is for other people and you are special.
Good luck. I’ll be waiting.
Rob
72 Responses to “SCUD THE DISPOSABLE ASSASSIN 1994-2008 - thank you.”
- 1 Pingback on May 8th, 2008 at 5:23 am
do you think you will ever get back into comics at all, not necessarily scud but just comics in general, your material is very original and your artwork is great it would be a shame not to keep doing it, issues 21-24 were the best artwork ive ever seen, i would like to see schrab create another comic thats violent, funny and black and white
all good things must come to an end
cant wait for number 24 im buying it first day
I just saw the first five pages on newsarama. I’m going to cry in the food court at the mall, huh?
*damn not having any indy comic shops in Providence.
I desire a Scud official Movie/TV series/Beach towel.
Damn, I still remember when I first discovered Scud, surrounded in a hotel room in LA by a bunch of perpetually drunken art students. Every time I hear that it’s going to be “done forever” it just doesn’t seem real after a decade long hiatus. This is one of the few comics I actually get nostalgic over.
this is the only comic i actually looked forward to every month and hunted every back issue down on ebay, im not a hardcore comic book geek but i sound like a total nerd when i talk about scud
Looking forward to it. Nice cover by Doug. I hope you keep doing comics when you can, Rob! And movies, and TV.
Man.. Tennapel makes me have to put on my envy pants…
Well man, I’m not sure how it feels to end a comic, but I hope you do feel better by wrapping it up.
If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have discovered it.
I, right now, have the 3 newest issues, and (hopefully) will get the 4th tomorrow!
I’m so addicted to it!
Great work man!
This is an massive achievement that very people ever manage. With all the super hero movies out there making huge $$$$, why not have one for Scud.
I can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ve been waiting for 10 long years to read the conclusion of my favourite comic ever, and so far it’s been more than worth the wait. 21-23 have been incredible and I can’t wait to see how it all comes together. To me, hearing about the new issues was like when they announced new Star Wars movies, except these don’t suck balls. And there are four of them instead of three. Both have gold robots though. Anyway, thank you sincerely for finishing Scud after all these years.
Yes, thanks!!! Your comic is one of a few I actually dig. There just isn’t much out there that grabs my attention so intensely. Yer up there with Vasquez and Hewlet (man, I wish the fuck he’d get back to doing comics! At least, every-so-often. His art rocks!). As does yours so I hope…HOPE!!!...to see something in comics by you again someday.
Anyhoo, gonna go buy 24 now. Latah!
Just bought it, read it…loved it!
Wow! That’s some inspirational stuff right there. I can’t wait to read the last book.. I’m going to battle downtown traffic at lunch for this one! Thanks Rob. You were such an inspiration in my art growing up.. and now!? Keep up the good work. Can’t wait for the future!
Great words Rob. I went through my own Scudification about 5 years ago when Sillicon Valley was in a major downturn. My daughter had just been born and there was literally no jobs out there. In one of the darkest times of my life, I was able to pull through it by starting my own software company. That was a life changing experience.
Sometimes things become so bad that you either give up, or you find a way out. When you don’t have any money, your creativity and determination can become much stronger. The will to survive often pushes you to things that you wouldn’t be able to achieve otherwise.
no. thank you.
hey rob. I haven’t read words as powerful as these since i first read Dave Sim’s guide to self-publishing. speaking of self-publishing, you definitly should think about a vlog about how to start self-publishing. i would love to see the schrab version of doing a comic for a living. Dave Sim and Rob Schrab, two independent giants. rock on. now that scud has a definite ending. I look forward to seeing the movie in many years to come. thanks for the reads. well worth the price of admission.
thanks so much for this rob.
your the reason i am a comic artist today. you gave me that drive.
congrats man, this is a great day.
I just got the last issue on my lunch break. I never thought I’d be so glad to see a series end. After years of just accepting its incompletion, it was exciting to see the series start up again and now end. Scud will always be one of my favorite comic books ever. I was surprised to see the series have a happy ending, congrats on a great run.
FUCKING AWESOME ENDING.
I love love love that last page. So well put together.
I managed to acquire Drywall: Unzipped before reading this one so the whole Mess business finally made sense to me.
Such a great story.
There needs to be a Scud video game. I think the technology’s finally caught up to the book. It would really be something special.
I’m just blurting out scattered thoughts now. Great story, great ending, loved the Tennapel interview at the end, very inspirational essay here, I’ll see you on Almost Every Tuesday next week. Whoo!!!
ok this morning i woke up and thought to myself…. its the last day of scud.
I mean sorry to be the only one disappointed (and not int the story cause it was a terrific final issue) but at least all this time (ten years) fans got to look forward to the possibility of something… and now everything is so…. final!
I needed two more pages about Scud and Sussudio…. do they stay in heaven, go back to earth? anyway i have one more question…. in the last question on the interview you mentioned some other story ideas that have to do with scud and drywall and mess, is there any chance in hell youll do another comic -like drywall unzipped -just about the two best brothers in comics? maybe you could call it Mess: Unhinged lol. anyway i would love to see you do another color issue on the computer… oh well im taking up to much room!
CONGRATULATIONS AND THANKS FOR DEDICATING ALL YOUR TIME TO A COUPLE OF FAITHFUL FAN BOYS! SINCERELY ROB, YOURE MY HERO!
Thank you.
Well, Rob my issue #24 should come in the mail any day now. I’ve really enjoyed these last few issues. I actually got into Scud at issue 10 and I remember being at a small comic shop in Grafton, WI and picking it up and loving it. Then the day I actually found a first printing of #1 was just amazing. It was really cool that someone from Milwaukee was doing it too…close to home. Now all these years later…..it’s cool to finally have the conclusion…even though I always hoped it would continue on and there wasn’t an end to Scud. I’m 26 now….and I remember searching every so often to see what happened and if there would ever be a #21. I found something you wrote on your site about what the ending would’ve been, so that’s all I expected to ever get. But actually getting the comics and going out in such a big way with some amazing art, that is determination and honor indeed.
You have real talent and I’d like to think, Rob, that this isn’t goodbye to the comic world. You should at least stop in or do a one-shot or miniseries here and there. We’ll still be here. Life may be busy, but your art is great and you should keep in touch with it from time to time. Thanks for everything Rob! Best of luck to you.
I can’t lie. Issue #24 brought tears to my eyes. Rob, thank you very much for doing this. Scud went out perfectly, and while I’m very sad its over, I’m also incredibly happy to finally see it all come to an end. It was worth the decade long wait. You did an excellent job, and it couldn’t have been done any better.
So thanks.
My favorite issue of the second coming of Scud. Glad to see the last image of Drywall was as a kid. The kid in all of us. Thanks Rob.
Wow. Thank you Rob. Really, thank you. Artists of all stripes enrich the world with their creations, as you do. And as if that’s not enough, not only do you bust your ass to make the stuff in your head real for everyone else to see – but having done it, you stand on your mountain of accomplishments and offer encouragement! Wow. Thanks again. Best of luck in everything you do.
It was love at first sight…
When I very first looked at your youtube channel, and saw this comic book artist was bringing back an old series I had never heard of, really intrigued me. This was February 2007.
I kept track of the updates, until finally, February of 2008, I went to my local comic shop, and to my suprise, I had seen a comic book. It stood out to me, because I knew what it was.
Scud the Disposable Assassin, #21.
I instantly picked it up. I knew I had to have it.
#22, I ordered online.
#23, bought on Free Comic Book Day Free Comic Books, seriously, what’s better than that!?! at the same local comic shop
And Today. I now possess #24.
It’s like, this feeling of utter happiness, because even though I just started reading it, It’s already one of my all-time favorites.
Mr. Schrab, you sir, have inspired me to keep going at my comic, and to someday achieve what I really want to do. Be a comic book artist.
So now, I leave you to go get something to drink, get relaxed, and start reading the last issue of my beloved Scud.
Thank you, thank you for finishing this, for without it, I would not have known about it, and it’s really a lifechanger.
RyuI can’t believe it’s done, and all I can sit here and say, is thanks for letting me come along for the ride.
The ending, the heart, it just was too poetic.
It indeed was, the death of an over-used muse.
I think I’ll finish my writing that I’ve put off the past few years. Thank you for the inspiration and the realization that you really do just need to take a step before you can start walking.
I just picked up #24 and LOVED it! Such a satisfying ending. Congratulations man, after 15 years you deserve it!
It really couldn’t have ended any other way. The ink on the heart…jesus tap dancing christ, man, I sighed like a little girly. Love the take on god, too.
It’s the end of an era Mr. Schrab. You’ve finally after all this time…made my day. The same way you did back in 1994 when i saw that little yellow robot on the cover of issue #1. Well done.
This makes me happy. Really. Scud is, and always has been, one of the few stories I’ve read with genuine emotion built into its core. It’s the fuel that keeps the comic awesome, and the lack of it is why so many other comics out there suck balls. The final image, of all the characters happy in their own little heaven nearly brought a tear to my eye. The only sad bit was the deus ex machina of everything getting magically “fixed” at the very end with no real impetus. The resurrection of the Black Octopus was so clever, I was hoping Drywall and Mess’s story would end just like that. I suppose, though, that you really did have only this one chance to make everything right with Scud, so I forgive you for taking it.
I sincerely hope that, even with Sarah Silverman, and whatever movie deal you’re working on with Harmon at the moment, you do take some time out every once in a while to make some good art just for the hell of it. Art is magic, magic is art, and you sir, are one damn fine magician.
Peace, dawg.
I remember being a wide-eyed child at my first San Diego Comic Con when I first stumbled upon the book that would change the way I looked at comics forever. I met Rob that day and he signed my issue of #1. I came back the next year and bought all the issues that my local store didnt carry and got them signed too. As I grew older comics lost there novelty to me and I moved on. About a year ago, as I was moving some old boxes from the attic, I found my issues of Scud and started reading. It reminded me what someone with fresh ideas and artistic integrity could bring to an often-overlooked medium. Needless to say I tracked down the TPB’s and have bought every issue of the conclusion and all I can say is hot damn….Your an inspiration to not just artists Rob, but everybody who left something great unfinished. Thanks so much for finishing Scud, and I hope that the future finds you enjoying all the success you deserve. You are a testament to dedication, hard work, and all around shit-kicking awesomeness.
Mr Schrab, it is truly awesome that the comics has it’s conclusion.
I await it with baited breath!
But, might I ask on details of the big Scud book (is that still going ahead?), as that’s the one I’m really waiting for. I even have a place for it on my bookshelf already.
Thanks, Rob!! For the books and everything!
Rob,
I am so impressed with the ending it is hard to discribe in words. I knew it was going to be a good ending but yet i thought it was going to be bad. As in Scud dies, Sussidio wasnt brought back to life, and other tragedy. Yet what I read yesterday was a good, good ending. I was so happy with what you decided to do, that if you wanted to take 15 years to come to that conclusion, it would have been fine with me.
Im sure the tragic ending you would have written in 98 would have still been great, but yet a different kind if great. I guess what I am saying is thanks for not killing Scud. You have given him the ending he deserved and us the fans the ending we deserved.
Thanks again and i will look forward to having the Whole Shebang and making everyone I know read and enjoy your Epic story.
Hey, I loved the new ending. It was well worth the ten year wait to see the story come full circle. If Scud had blown up in 95 it would have been one more drab moment in a year filled with shit and disappointment, confirming my belief that there is nothing worth living for. Instead Scud went to sleep and for ten years I grew into the dry wall that I am today. There was a time when I thought I would self-destruct if I did the things the world was programming me to be, but now after years of riding the roller coaster of high highs and low lows I am finally happy with who I am (LAME). Scud found his happy ending and now its time for the rest of us to press on and do the same.
Thank you for giving us a Robot bastard filled with hope and determination!
-EanFace
ps Will you ever release the first ending you inked and painted?
PPS Please check out my web-site, its dope!
Aidon:
To be honest, I feel like the original planned ending would have felt unnecessarily depressing and left a bitter taste in the mouths of fans and been forgotten by everyone else. It would have reduced this fun action story about unique characters with a dense mythology to a pointless exercise in nihilism. There are stories out there that need sad endings and I hate it when they cop out to please the lowest common denominator (The Ruins, most recently, ruined the book’s ending), but Scud deserved a happy ending that ties up its loose ends. Unlike certain fans, I actually really like the Horse series and the well of hopelessness it digs towards the end because there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing the characters succeed against the worst possible odds. If we got to 21 and everyone just died, it would have been dishonest to the rest of the series, not to mention crushing. And nothing strikes me as less false than overly sad or overly happy endings. There’s always a temptation to go one way or the other, to portray the world in stark black and white (uh, for lack of a better phrase), but truth in art lies somewhere in the middle, I think.
Really, I’m glad it worked out the way it did. I worry if the book were finished ten years ago and Scud killed the earth, I never would have heard about it. The cliffhanger kept the story alive in all of us until it was ready to be finished. And I can’t think of a better ending than the one we got.
I still can’t get over that last page. Drywall and Mess with their mom, Hank chilling, Scud and Sussudio embracing… and God massacring angels in the background. It never got too syrupy, it was just this beautiful happy ending with the perfect mix of Scud-style violent irreverence.
Pat
Thats what i was getting at, im just not that good with words.
“I still can’t get over that last page. Drywall and Mess with their mom, Hank chilling, Scud and Sussudio embracing… and God massacring angels in the background. It never got too syrupy, it was just this beautiful happy ending with the perfect mix of Scud-style violent irreverence.”
...I’ve never wanted spoilers on a post more in my life.
D:
Thanks for thinking up Scud, thanks for bringing him to us, thanks for sharing yourself through him, thanks for having the knackers to go back 10 years later and finish the series, thanks for the words of encouragement. Just thanks.
Rob… just finished reading #24… freakin’ amazing, man. I swear to god I almost shed tears at the end… and then that double-page spread at the closing had me laughing so hard that I DID actually shed tears! Seriously, great work… and thank you so much for finishing up what was always destined to be a great story.
“Ho Ho Ho”
Tears sir. Tears. The story’s climax had me crying… then that final image of God devouring the renegade angels had me laughing… (My girlfriend was driving. I literally couldn’t wait to get home to read it.) You brought everything full circle so masterfully sir. Tying together Scud’s strange metaphorical romance with Jeff with his literal one with Sussudio, compounded by her, again, full circle transformation back to a new version of Black Octopus was superior storytelling.
I had a feeling you were going to give Scud a very happy ending by the enthusiasm you jumped into this project with, but I had no idea it would be this good. I wasn’t disappointed in the least, and I doubt anyone else was either. (I should mention too that the interview at the end with you and TenNapel was really inspiring.)
Speaking of inspiring, your words above were great sir, so after writing this, I’m getting back to work on my own stuff. Reading the final Scud book made me a lot more confident about the content of my animation, and I’ll let that comment be a hint at what the thing’s gonna be about.
Can’t wait for you to see what I’m cooking for the fan film project.
Thanks for a great comic, sir. Can’t wait for what’s next. (Scud or not, I’d love to one day see a Schrab feature film Prays to angel-eating-roving-Santa-God.)
”...I’ve never wanted spoilers on a post more in my life.”
I’m not sure what this means but I hope it doesn’t mean you’re reading the feedback from a book you haven’t read yet?
If so, I apologize for letting anything slip.
Rob thank you so much for everything. I live on the complete other side of the country from you and you have impacted my life so much. I started reading Scud in 1997 and picked up as much of your material as i could. I am a film/video major college senior right now, and you have inspired me within with medium with your amazing artwork, both video and comic. I’m a huge fan of everything you do, and i love how so much of your material is just goofy chroma key puppet stuff, and i say to myself “hey i can do that too!” Someday i hope to be out there in the film/video world, and i’m hoping i can work with my idol (you) on a project some day.
Your last words of inspiration here mean so much to me, because i believe your right, and it’s dudes like you that make me believe in myself.
I’m picking up the last issue this week and i’m so sad it’s officially over. Scud has been a huge part of my life the last ten years.
Keep up the wicked awesome work, Rob, and i’ll be watching/reading/listening every time.
-Dane
just finished issue 24. it was awesome. i loved it to pieces and it’s so cute that you made sussudio look like kate. i’m kinda sad to see it all end but fuck it’s been an awesome ride. can’t wait for the omnibus.
Been reading it 6 times a day. This is magnificent!
Rob, thanks for a fantastic ride dating back to when I was a kid. I remember being so confused as to what happened to my favorite kid and 10 years later while moving into a new apartment I found all my old Scud comics and wanted to find out what you were doing.
Love that you’ve kept active, Robot Bastard rules by the way, and I hope to see you enter the world of comics again (and soon!).
Take care
-k
and by favorite kid i meant comic. I was caught in the excitement of reading the last issue.
“I’m not sure what this means but I hope it doesn’t mean you’re reading the feedback from a book you haven’t read yet?”
I’m in the UK, kinda screw release times for me.
I waited many years for this comic to finish and despite so many other things claiming to be worth the wait, this certainly was. Sussudio mending the broken heart will be one of my favorite “happy endings” of all time. Thanks for not going the other way and blowing up the earth. Scud was simply… perfect. Words can’t express it that well sometimes but thank you. thank you for a beautiful ride and letting us go with you.
Thanks a lot for these words Rob. I hope someday I’ll say it to someone too = )
IT MUST GO ON!!!
Or a new SCUD must be born!
I’m still wondering what happen to old Scud. From issue 1, it was like a retro Scud with cannons.
Or is it all an annoying loop thing? Scud somehow messes with time and just loops round, and round, and round.
What?
Rob-
When I first heard you were finishing Scud after so many years I screamed so loud that I scared a lady in the street. I just finished the last issue and I have to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Such an amazing end. It makes me hopeful for my own heart. The metaphor you used in the title of #24 is something I hope to one day achieve. I too let my heartbreak fuel my art and hopefully someday I will make peace with it.
I would like to say you inspired me when I met you in Milwaukee at the premiere of Robot Bastard!, you gave me a nod at the end of our brief meeting and I knew you understood. Now, I am working on my first comic book and staring my own publishing company. We are called the MASD (Milwaukee Art School Dropouts). Thank you for inspiring me and your words in this message as well. That was just the push I needed. Where can I send the book when its done? I want you to have the first copy.
Milwaukee misses you, come hang sometime!
Sincerely,
Sam Lozoff
aka: John Scorn
I just read issue #24. It’s awsome and I just need to say…
Thank You.
You are the reason I stayed interested in, and decided to make a real go at making comics! I even dedicated my first published comic to you. You are an inspiration; the closing of the scud series was a great one. Thank you.
Rob,
I just wanted to tell ya, I read the last issue yesterday, and a tear came to my eye…. not because Scud ended, and because Im a baby.. but because I was there too…
When Drywall and Mess ran over and hugged their mother, and reverted back to their childhood, I realized what had happened… everyone was in Heaven, and dreams became realized.
I was reading Scud back in college, and that was about the time I had my first love…you know the girl you would do anything for, the one you would marry blah blah…
...and it ended.
It took me a long time to forgive myself for things I didn’t know, things I couldn’t control… to learn to love again.
jump ahead to 2008, and I am married to the most wonderful woman, and I realized what Scud was about….
about doing what you believe in, learning to forgive yourself, and in the end, after all the shit that you went through… you still get the girl (maybe not the same one you wanted all those years ago), and realize that the shit you went through is the same shit that millions of others go through when they decide to give completely of themselves to another.
...It’s nice to see you turned the corner, Rob… and also for helping me realize I turned the corner as well…
Thanks for everything… Truly one of the best things I have ever read, and the wait gave me time to grow as well so I could really understand this story.
“What?”
Sorry, not issue 1. Scud #5 has a Scud unit with “Die Live” on it’s back. Also looks like it’s taken a hammering over it’s life and is clock work powered.
The old scud blast some eggs and Jeff bust out from hospital.
It’s either a different Scud or just the way Jeff sees our Scud. Beacuse the same looking unit is in issue #9.
Fantastic. Utterly fantastic with goobs of awesomeness splattered over everything that jumps off the page. I can’t beging to explain how much it means to me that you’ve returned and completed my favorite comic book series of all time. The ending was note perfect. Perfect. I honestly felt emotions stirred as the SPOILER heart was made whole END SPOILER. Thank-you Rob.
It’s just the way Jeff sees our Scud. Beacuse the same looking unit is in issue #9.
ROB!
How do I get hold of Harmon? You did your deed and SCUD FOR LIFE MY FRIEND. but the only missing piece left is La Cosa Nostroid.
ROB,
I just bought the Scud toy. $40.00 of pure awesome, or so I hope…
ROB?
Why are you so awesome Rob? Why are you so awesome? Rob, you’re so money, you don’t even know.
I can’t believe its done! It was a great read. When the ombinbus comes out, I plan to reread the entire series from beginning to end. (I also really like your call to action for creators.)
Greatest quote in the world:
“TORCH!” – Rob Schrab, Sockbaby 4
Good job on finishing SCUD…and reading your post makes me want to make stuff all the more.
You know Rob, if it wasn’t for you bringing Scud back, I wouldn’t be reading comics at all right now.
But thanks to you reviving Scud, now I’m in the comic store every Friday buying stuff.
None of it even begins to compare to Scud for me, but regardless, thanks for rekindling an interest in something I hadn’t messed with in years. =)
It was a great run, but i seems more like the start of a new era for scud not the end.
Where can this big-ass-compilation be acquired? I looked everywhere online, I was a scud freak when I was younger
Try here!!
http://www.tfaw.com/Profile/Scud-The-Disposable-Assassin-The-Whole-Shebang-TPB___320902
i just got 24 today coz i had to order it in
Re-read it all on the weekend, and something hit me in #19. Can’t believe I never spotted Tom Baker in there before. Also noticed in #9 Scud’s werewolf arm was his left at one point…
Scud, the comic that keeps on giving…