Skin Horse
Encyclopedia
Skin Horse is a webcomic
written by Shaenon K. Garrity
and Jeffrey Channing Wells, and drawn by Garrity. The storylines center around the misadventures of the staff of a little-known government agency working on "Project Skin Horse". The strip started on December 31, 2007 and updates every day of the week (although the Sunday updates consist of fan art, sketches, and background). Skin Horse is part of Webcomics Nation
, where it is free to read. It is also syndicated on GoComics
, where the past month's updates are free to read, with further archives available to subscribers.
is responsible for "Project Skin Horse", a program for rescuing and resettling non-human sapient beings created by mad scientists. For example, in the "Cowardly Lion" story arc, a lion augmented with human intelligence is roaming loose in a zoo. Skin Horse field operatives subdue, transport, and resettle the lion in a sanctuary for sapient large cats. The rescued sapient beings are referred to as "clients". With the exception of the character Tip, the employees of the agency are themselves rescued former clients. An informal name for the organization is "Black Ops Social Services".
Unlike Garrity's earlier comic, Narbonic
, mad scientists do not play a central role. Rather, their monstrous creations do.
Although the strip was conceived by and is drawn by Garrity, she and Wells co-write, brainstorming ideas together, with some scripts written by Garrity and others by Wells.
The title is taken from a character name in the 1922 children's book
The Velveteen Rabbit
, where one passage reads: "'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse, 'It's a thing that happens to you ... Then you become Real.'"
, a passionate cross-dresser
and an almost supernatural seducer.
consisting of a swarm of bee
s that thinks with a single female mind. Most of the other agency employees are nervous around her, Tip in particular since he is fatally allergic to bee stings.
of destruction with a clockwork
brain, Moustachio is the receptionist
at Project Skin Horse. He has a limited long-term memory and needs wax cylinders from cold storage
to remember his earlier days. His legs were removed by the British government as a safety precaution. He thinks and speaks like a 19th century gentleman and has little regard for or knowledge of new technology.
military program intended to weaponize him by secretly installing him in a virtual reality
, then removing his brain and implanting it in a V-22 Osprey
–a military tiltrotor
aircraft–and finally subconsciously training Nick to control the Osprey as if it were his own body. In spite of Nick's love of shooting virtual bad guys, he abhors the thought of killing real people, and so joined the Skin Horse team.
s agent who joined the American police force after "very accidental and surprising death of Yeltsin
." He was introduced in the "Cowardly Lion" story arc, and later became an Annex One security guard.
. When his application to the American Kennel Club
to recognize the "Genetically-Engineered Super Battle Dog" as a recognizable breed was denied, he vowed to force the organization to change its position by conquering the United States
using said dogs. Bram died before accomplishing his goal, however, and his corpse was reluctantly eaten by his creations.
-themed mad scientist
brought in on a work release
program to repair Moustachio during the "Brave Little Toasters" story arc.
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
written by Shaenon K. Garrity
Shaenon K. Garrity
Shaenon K. Garrity is a webcomics writer and artist, best known as the creator of Narbonic. She is one of the most prominent cartoonists in the Modern Tales network of commercial webcomic sites, and became the site's editor on August 1, 2006...
and Jeffrey Channing Wells, and drawn by Garrity. The storylines center around the misadventures of the staff of a little-known government agency working on "Project Skin Horse". The strip started on December 31, 2007 and updates every day of the week (although the Sunday updates consist of fan art, sketches, and background). Skin Horse is part of Webcomics Nation
Webcomics Nation
Webcomics Nation is a webcomic hosting and automation service launched on July 29, 2005 by Joey Manley, publisher of the subscription webcomic site Modern Tales. It is a service designed for online cartoonists. Webcomics Nation is not a spinoff of Modern Tales like Graphic Smash, serializer, and...
, where it is free to read. It is also syndicated on GoComics
GoComics
GoComics is a website launched in 2005 by the digital entertainment provider Uclick. It was originally created as a distribution portal for comic strips on mobile phones, but in 2006, the site was redesigned and expanded to include online strips and cartoons...
, where the past month's updates are free to read, with further archives available to subscribers.
About
An unnamed secret government agencyGovernment agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
is responsible for "Project Skin Horse", a program for rescuing and resettling non-human sapient beings created by mad scientists. For example, in the "Cowardly Lion" story arc, a lion augmented with human intelligence is roaming loose in a zoo. Skin Horse field operatives subdue, transport, and resettle the lion in a sanctuary for sapient large cats. The rescued sapient beings are referred to as "clients". With the exception of the character Tip, the employees of the agency are themselves rescued former clients. An informal name for the organization is "Black Ops Social Services".
Unlike Garrity's earlier comic, Narbonic
Narbonic
Narbonic is a webcomic written and drawn by Shaenon K. Garrity. The storylines center on the misadventures of the staff of Narbonic Labs, which is the domain of mad scientist Helen Narbon. The strip started on July 31, 2000 and finished on December 31, 2006. On January 1, 2007, Garrity launched the...
, mad scientists do not play a central role. Rather, their monstrous creations do.
Although the strip was conceived by and is drawn by Garrity, she and Wells co-write, brainstorming ideas together, with some scripts written by Garrity and others by Wells.
The title is taken from a character name in the 1922 children's book
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real is a children's novel written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real through the love of his owner. The book was first published in 1922 and has been republished...
, where one passage reads: "'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse, 'It's a thing that happens to you ... Then you become Real.'"
Tip
Dr. Dennis "Tip" Wilkin, a relatively new field operative and the only fully human employee of Project Skin Horse, is a decorated former captain of the U.S. Army, a trained psychologistPsychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
, a passionate cross-dresser
Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...
and an almost supernatural seducer.
Sweetheart
Captain's Fancy Valentine Sweetheart is a genetically modified sapient dog, created by a mad scientist. She now works for Project Skin Horse as a field operative. She is generally the most clear-thinking and rational team member, but periodically exhibits feelings of insecurity.Unity
Unity is a "necrotic" being: dead tissue animated through a secret military process. A field operative for Project Skin Horse, she is Sweetheart's best friend. Unity was developed to be a bio-weapon, but proved to be too hard to control and was therefore moved to Project Skin Horse. Unity is good-natured, likes guns, and is inclined to use gratuitously unnecessary violence.Gavotte
The administrative leader of Project Skin Horse, Gavotte is a collective beingGroup mind (science fiction)
A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon's science fiction novel Last and First Men ....
consisting of a swarm of bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s that thinks with a single female mind. Most of the other agency employees are nervous around her, Tip in particular since he is fatally allergic to bee stings.
Moustachio the Thinkonium
A 19th century wind-up automatonAutomaton
An automaton is a self-operating machine. The word is sometimes used to describe a robot, more specifically an autonomous robot. An alternative spelling, now obsolete, is automation.-Etymology:...
of destruction with a clockwork
Clockwork
A clockwork is the inner workings of either a mechanical clock or a device that operates in a similar fashion. Specifically, the term refers to a mechanical device utilizing a complex series of gears....
brain, Moustachio is the receptionist
Receptionist
A receptionist is an employee taking an office/administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting area such as a lobby or front office desk of an organization or business...
at Project Skin Horse. He has a limited long-term memory and needs wax cylinders from cold storage
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
to remember his earlier days. His legs were removed by the British government as a safety precaution. He thinks and speaks like a 19th century gentleman and has little regard for or knowledge of new technology.
Nick Zerhakker
A young adult, introduced in the "I Can Fly" story arc, video-game obsessive Nick was unknowingly co-opted into "Project Whirligig". The blackBlack project
In the United States and United Kingdom, a black project is in the vernacular a classified military/defense project, unacknowledged publicly by the government, military personnel, and defense contractors. Examples of U.S...
military program intended to weaponize him by secretly installing him in a virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...
, then removing his brain and implanting it in a V-22 Osprey
V-22 Osprey
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is an American multi-mission, military, tiltrotor aircraft with both a vertical takeoff and landing , and short takeoff and landing capability...
–a military tiltrotor
Tiltrotor
A tiltrotor is an aircraft which uses a pair or more of powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles at the end of a fixed wing for lift and propulsion, and combines the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft...
aircraft–and finally subconsciously training Nick to control the Osprey as if it were his own body. In spite of Nick's love of shooting virtual bad guys, he abhors the thought of killing real people, and so joined the Skin Horse team.
Konstantin
Russian black opBlack op
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
s agent who joined the American police force after "very accidental and surprising death of Yeltsin
Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
." He was introduced in the "Cowardly Lion" story arc, and later became an Annex One security guard.
Dr. Virginia Lee
Introduced in the "I Can Fly" story arc as a mad scientist wannabe and member of a secret organization known only as "Anasigma". She was involved in the creation of both U.N.I.T.Y. and "Project Whirligig".Captain Bram
A Canadian mad scientist who created Sweetheart and her pack mates, and developed a virus to afflict humans with lycanthropyLycanthropy
Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...
. When his application to the American Kennel Club
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. Beyond maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official...
to recognize the "Genetically-Engineered Super Battle Dog" as a recognizable breed was denied, he vowed to force the organization to change its position by conquering the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
using said dogs. Bram died before accomplishing his goal, however, and his corpse was reluctantly eaten by his creations.
Chris and Marcie
Two nerdy scientists working for the Department of Irradiation in Annex One, Chris and Marcie are often found gaming with (and within) Nick. Tip and Marcie briefly dated until she dumped him for Chris in the "Tin Soldier" story arc.Dr. Berenice "Tigerlily" Jones
BlaxploitationBlaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
-themed mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
brought in on a work release
Work release
In prison systems, work release programs allow a prisoner who is sufficiently trusted or can be sufficiently monitored to leave confinement to continue working at his or her current place of employment, returning to prison when his/her shift is complete...
program to repair Moustachio during the "Brave Little Toasters" story arc.
External links
- Skin Horse home page
- http://www.gocomics.com/skinhorseSkin Horse page on GoComicsGoComicsGoComics is a website launched in 2005 by the digital entertainment provider Uclick. It was originally created as a distribution portal for comic strips on mobile phones, but in 2006, the site was redesigned and expanded to include online strips and cartoons...
]