I rocked this past Christmas! Yup, got the perfect gifts for my Marines, “Terminal Lance” a comic for Marines, written by a United States Marine. It just so happened my Lance Corporal son opened his Knifehand comic before his brother, the Corporal. What ensued was quite the scene.
As David opened his present a smirk came across his face. He immediately covered the title and began to tease and taunt his older Marine brother. “You won’t guess what I got, and you can’t have it! It’s awesome!” (said with great possessiveness and gloating)
“You don’t get one. You’re no longer a Lance, so you’re no longer part of the underground” The taunting continues, remember these are men (did I just say that of my sons??) and they are quibbling like six year olds.
After about 30 minutes the Marine Corporal got to his copy of “Knife Hands, Terminal Lance” under the tree.
You can pretty much get the gist of the conversation just by the expression on his face. “I do so rank! I have my own copy of Terminal Lance, so there! HA!”
Terminal Lance is a mature comic written by Lance Corporal Maximilian Uriarte, USMC to poke fun at the various absurdities in the Marine Corps. Both my sons love this comic and my youngest had me send his the weekly editions during boot camp.
Each comic is accompanied by an essay that explains the back story. If you’re a Marine Mom I caution, before you head to the Terminal Lance site, you may not want to read the essays. They may render you blind. But it’s Marine, adult, male humor, and not meant for Mom’s. I made this mistake last summer as I read one particular essay and immediately had a visual image of my youngest son I did NOT want in my brain.
I do read the website, and the Facebook page, because, in a way it’s how I understand my boys. I learn a little of the lingo, a little Marine culture, and thus feel as though I share a part of their lives.
MCRD San Diego at graduation and I’ve watched many YouTube videos with several drill instructors getting in a boot’s face with several knife-hands.
Terminal Lance Sample Comics
- Boot Camp: The Swarm
- Knife Hand Anger Gauge
- The Might Knife Hand (additional blog)
Related Marine Corps Articles
- Marines Engage In Reckless Behavior Due To Lack Of Safety Brief (duffelblog.com)
- Just don’t call him Mad Dog (utsandiego.com)
- Required Reading for Marines
Don’t forget to visit my CafePress Marine and Military store if you are looking for custom Marine Corps gifts. Just click on the image below and it will take you right there.