‘Terminal Lance’ Tuesdays: The MCMAP novice and recruiting Max Uriarte to Marine Corps Times

(Artwork by Maximilian Uriarte)

In March 2010, Marine Corps Times wrote a short story about then-Lance Cpl. Maximilian Uriarte, creator of the popular web comic “Terminal Lance.” He came to our attention because his website, which had been live for about two months, had racked up an impressive 80,000 page views (now in excess of 93 million!) from Marines enthralled with his ability to jab fun at the inanity that sometimes defines life in the Corps. … That, and we were curious about rumors a master gunns was angling to have the site shut down.

We put Max on our payroll within the year. His first contribution for Marine Corps Times appeared in print on Page 7 of the issue dated Dec. 20, 2010. I believe inclusion of his perspective has made our opinion pages more engaging and, certainly, more entertaining. I hope you all agree.

Max reminded me recently that, in spite of this lengthy partnership, Marine Corps Times had not found a home on our website for any of the excellent work he’s produced for the newspaper. That oversight is being corrected now, with creation of what I’m calling “Terminal Lance Tuesdays.” Each week, we’ll pull one of Max’s strips from our archive and post it here on Battle Rattle. The first, “Tan-Belt Ninja,” originally appeared in the issue dated March 28, 2011.

“Tan-Belt Ninja” appeared in the March 28, 2011, issue of Marine Corps Times. We’ll be posting select “Terminal Lance” strips from our archive every Tuesday.

Be sure to check back here every Tuesday for another “Terminal Lance” strip from our vault. Once again, this is work that, heretofore, has appeared only in Marine Corps Times’ weekly newspaper. Enjoy!