Heat: The Space Age of Pro Wrestling

GRUNTS
by Jeff Martin

1. INTRODUCTION

Boots in the mud and rifles over their shoulders, the GRUNTS march ever-onward through the hellscape that is their existence, intent not on victory but on the only true measure of their success: trying not to die. Equal measures gallows humour and brutal violence, GRUNTS isn’t about war heroes – it’s about the guys who just want to see another day.

2. ABOUT ME

Creative Team/Contact Information:
Jeff Martin (writer, artist)
Email: jeff@rentathugcomics.com
Phone: 1-780-690-0577
Mailing Address:
9147-175 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5Z-2M4

My name is Jeff Martin. I’m a cartoonist from Edmonton, Alberta.  I have released several graphic novels, including Redcoats-ish: Jeff Martin’s War of 1812 for Renegade Arts Entertainment, which can be found here, as well as three self-published books (HEAT: The Space Age of Pro Wrestling Volume 1, Hockeypocalypse Season 1, and Hockeypocalypse Season 2. I was the fourth artist-in-residence at Happy Harbor Comics, the only such position in North America. I’ve also been publishing comics online at my site www.rentathugcomics.com since 2007, which is currently the home of HEAT: The Space Age of Pro Wrestling.

2a. SPONSORSHIP

Please make sure that you refer to the letter of sponsorship, as Happy Harbor Comics has developed an innovative strategy for bringing Grunts to market.

 

3. STORY

Concept
Grunts is a mature readers war comedy that follows a single squad of infantry soldiers in the midst of a civil war that has consumed the continent of Sather for nearly a thousand years. The current era of the conflict between the West and East is inspired heavily by the First World War, having devolved into defensive trench warfare in the primary theatre of battle due to the advent of machine guns and repeating rifles. With neither side being able to establish any sort of lasting dominance, both belligerents have slowly dedicated the totality of their societies to trying to win the war, including long-standing conscription policies. The world in which the war is being waged and the reasons for the war and it’s continuation are secondary to the characters, who deal with an existence of manual drudgery punctuated by terrifying periods of trying not to die.

Very little information about the war itself is provided throughout the course of the story, as the primary purpose of Grunts is to examine the war from the perspective of the infantry, who don’t really know or care to know many of the details of why they’re stuck in the position they’re in, they just want to live long enough to get out of it.

The protagonists are the members of Wombat 2-1, a five-man infantry section in the service of the Western Army. While the particular composition of the squad will change over time (the comic has a substantial body count, and characters will be cycling in and out of the squad due to injury/death), we begin with Salty, Chunk, Smut, Wiggles, and Boffo (see the character profiles in the Art section for more on them). Lit replaces Boffo in the second chapter of the story.

Production Status
All four of the volumes have been completed, with only minor layout and graphic design work remaining.

Synopses – Volume 1 – 4

Volume 1 – Skeeterville
The first story takes place in a remote swampland far from the main theatre of battle. Eastern troops attempt an ill-advised and poorly executed assault on the Western garrison of Fort Fraser (nicknamed “Skeeterville”), including our protagonists in Wombat 2-1. The East unveil an experimental super weapon – a lightning cannon! It turns out not to be an ideal weapon for use in an environment hip-deep in water, however, and ends up ensuring Eastern failure when it overloads and explodes on it’s second shot.

Volume 2 – Blackbeard’s Treasure
Wombat 2-1 are rotated into the main theatre of operations, which is heavily inspired by the Western Front of World War I. Blackbeard, Wombat 2-1’s conniving company captain, co-opts the squad from their normal duties to help him investigate rumours of a wine cellar full of very valuable vintages in an abandoned chateau in the no man’s land between the Eastern and Western trench lines.  During the excursion, the squad are spotted by an Eastern raiding party en route to the Western trenches and find themselves caught in a firefight. Blackbeard gets his wine, but it costs the life of his adjutant.

Volume 3 – Life in a Hole
This issue features a series of short stories, a bit like the war comics of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The stories feature Wombat 2-1 entering the trenches after their “reconnaissance” mission with Blackbeard. While the troops undertake a variety of menial but dangerous tasks, rumours circulate that command is planning for an upcoming offensive thrust in retaliation for the battle at Fort Fraser, which everyone hopes is false because while life in a hole may be miserable, leaving the hole and being shredded by machine guns and artillery is decidedly less desirable.

Volume 4 – The Skeleton Woods
It turns out the rumours of an upcoming offensive were true. The Western Command has ordered an attack against an Eastern hard point that they believe they can overwhelm with sheer volume of troops and artillery fire. Wombat 2-1 are part of the division designated to assault the Skeleton Woods, a former forest (now blasted stumps and skeletal trees) atop an Eastern-held ridge. Naturally, this goes poorly, with the artillery fire stopping early enough that the Eastern troops are afforded ample time to lay down withering fire. The woods are eventually taken, only to be retaken by the East in a counter-attack shortly thereafter. The whole thing turns out to be as pointless and costly as the Eastern attempt to take Fort Fraser. Except with less rain.

3a. SCRIPTS

As requested on the graphic novel submissions page, the full script for Grunts can be downloaded here. I don’t break page scripts into panels until I start to thumbnail the page, as that’s part of the fun of sitting down to draw the strips.

4. ART

Main Characters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Characters

Chunk – Conscripted after losing his job at a munitions factory to a machine, Chunk is not what most officers would consider an ideal soldier. Lackadaisical, grumpy, and not in particularly good shape, Chunk is also prone to indulging in various forms of larceny to supplement his meagre army pay.

Salty – A grizzled and battle-hardened squad leader, Salty has seen more action than the rest of his squad combined. Having earned his sergeant stripes in blood (both his and other people’s. It’s a war, after all; there’s a lot of blood involved), Salty meets challenges with rifle fire and foul-mouthed tirades.

Smut – An active participant in the army’s omnipresent black market, Smut earned his nickname by amassing a porno stash so vast it could almost be considered a museum. Brash and quick to anger, Smut brings almost as much fire to fighting the East as he does making money off of his fellow grunts. Almost.

Wiggles – Sarcastic and whimsical, Wiggles frequently gets on the nerves of his squad-mates. Despite the effects of his personality on his irritable brothers-in-arms, Wiggles is a clever and effective soldier as long as he doesn’t get distracted.

Boffo – Boffo’s joviality and girth hide a crack shot and a reliable, if dim, workhorse. Well-liked by his fellow grunts, Boffo’s attitude is one that many soldiers wish they could emulate. It would probably be a lot easier to do so if things around them would stop exploding.

Lit – Bookish and awkward, Lit volunteered to fight the war as part of a misguided desire to better record its history. He quickly learns that everything about it is terrifying, yet fascinating. But mostly terrifying.

Grunts PDF
Click on the text above or the image below to download the PDF file of Grunts. It contains all 117 story pages, along the the chapter “covers.”