|
In 1979 an ex-green beret named Barry Sadler wrote a book called Casca: The Eternal Mercenary which chronicled the life of the Roman soldier who was given the job of marching some guy he'd never heard of named Jesus to the cross and standing guard until he died. He decides to help Jesus out by stabbing him with a spear, then Jesus curses him to live as a soldier until the second coming. His tragic heroic flaws are that women can't help but fall in love with him after he demonstrates his shocking sexual prowess and he occasionally gets his sword/bayonet stuck in an enemy's rib-cage. Sadler (and his ghostwriters) wrote 22 books in the series, covering Casca's life spanning his Roman days to his experience in the Viet Nam war. The series continues to this day, and is currently on book #45, released in September of 2016. The original covers looked like this:   based on a picture of the author:  For some reason the covers were redone and now they look like this:  1  2  3  4 5  6  7 8  9  10 11  12  13 14  15  16 17  18  19 20  21  22I think Casca's vague stare and weak cosplay should be immortalized, since he must still be alive somewhere in our world.   Here's a song written (and performed by!) the author to inspire you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK9KdJWTfQY Malachi Constant fucked around with this message at 23:52 on May 4, 2017 |
#
¿
May 4, 2017 23:48
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:55 |
|
|
GORILLA BASTARD posted:I've read the first book & a few others a long time ago. I remember liking them quite a bit. Up to book #45 you say? Hmmmm Meh, I've heard that the books after Sadler died just weren't the same. But maybe they've cut back on the scenes of women being raped who suddenly get turned on mid-rape.
|
|
#
¿
May 5, 2017 01:39
|
|
|
That's where I've seen that expression. I couldn't place it till I saw this.
|
|
#
¿
May 5, 2017 23:46
|
|
|
I can't help but think you people are not taking Casca: The Eternal Mercenary seriously. That's more like it.
|
|
#
¿
May 6, 2017 16:28
|
|
|
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2017 01:39
|
|
|
Elfface posted:So, wait. Is the guy serially reincarnated, or just immortal? And how come the curse also comes with time travel powers to be in Ancient China despite being cursed by a dying jesus? He's immortal and has healing powers like Wolverine. He first travels to China in ~100-200 AD. His full name is Casca Rufio Longinus. The spear he used becomes a sacred relic called the Spear of Longinus (As seen in Wolfenstein: The Spear of Destiny). Vampires are not real. Only Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the guy that stabbed him are real. Geez.
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2017 09:34
|
|
|
Pierogi posted:giddyup! 
|
|
#
¿
May 7, 2017 22:46
|
|
|
Svdl posted:video games In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them....maybe you can hire... The "meh"-Team 
|
|
#
¿
May 10, 2017 02:21
|
|
|
Ultimo Hombre posted:Just found out that you can download them on Kindle Unlimited. I think I might try to read a few and see if Casca's adventures still are as fun now as they were when I was 12. Hope you like rape and awkward sex scenes!
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2017 17:58
|
|
|
Sunswipe posted:What happens if Casca has a body part severed in battle? Does it grow back, or is it impossible to cut something off him? He had his hand cut off. He just stuck it back on and it healed. He conveniently never gets blown to pieces.
|
|
#
¿
May 15, 2017 23:16
|
|
|
I approve this development. 
|
|
#
¿
May 20, 2017 01:07
|
|
|
Well, that's just disrespectful.
|
|
#
¿
May 21, 2017 17:42
|
|
|
This is still stickied?
|
|
#
¿
May 26, 2017 15:10
|
|
|
Jeffrey of YOSPOS posted:Gonna goldmine it when it's truly done, don't wanna forget about it. If you want to PM me when it's done I'll unsticky it and it will be in your hands!!! Gosh, I can't wait!
|
|
#
¿
May 29, 2017 02:27
|
|
|
Okay this is still here, so before it goes away I thought I'd give you an idea of the actual Casca books as a cis white guy since some people have expressed an interest in reading them. First, women are one of three things in these books. Either a whore, a beautiful princess, or something approaching a man. Women are routinely raped, and in at least one memorable scene the woman is raped by a friend of our hero but initially resists, then start enjoying the rape. The whores are generally not judged harshly when they are individual characters, but are broadly dismissed as a class. They get killed a lot, too. There is tons of violence, of course. There are many scenes of people dying in the rage of battle in horrible ways. Men and women's genitals are cut off and out, swords are thrust into mouths, heads are crushed, and so on. All described in loving detail. Race is problematic. Black people are pretty much always described as savages who worship animal gods and eat human flesh. Asians are randomly violent except for the "good ones" who teach Casca martial arts or offer wise council to leaders. The books stay away from the modern USA, but still the 1st century Italian Casca manages to pass for an American during the Vietnam war. (Surely he learned English from the proto-British?) Good guys always win and bad guys always die, except when the good guy loses his "woman" or the bad guy's bad-guy-ness is emphasized by how he kills innocent people Casca is sworn to protect. Here's the good things. The history is reasonably accurate, though there are common errors and some ignorant/racist stuff. Learn history elsewhere so you can spot the errors. Casca generally despises all the gods and priests he finds in whatever land he is in. (Even being forced to live forever hasn't convinced this skeptic!) The good parts of the various religions are pointed out along with their bad parts, including Christianity. He generally finds all of them an impediment and destructive to their civilization. Casca generally wants people to live peacefully. Whenever he's in a position of power (King of a German region, God of a central american culture, advisor to Genghis Khan) he does his best to create a peaceful culture who don't want to attack other people, just live and raise families in peace. If you're an undergrad or a documentary-maker you'll find fruitful substance in Barry Sadler's novels. A soldier who was in Vietnam who hates war but writes about gruesome deaths and peaceful societies? Wunderbar! Oh, and the pretty pictures everyone made were lovely. Leagues above mine.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 2, 2017 05:20
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 20:55 |
|
|
VelociBacon posted:I mean show me a white american vet in the 70s/80s who wouldn't predictably write with these problematic issues plaguing his work. Yes, and...?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 2, 2017 12:38
|
|