Turn Signals on a Land Raider

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Turn Signals on a Land Raider is a Warhammer 40,000 comic with a rather unique concept.

The story features Kren and Frep, two crewmen of a Land Raider tank for the Space Marine chapter: "The Emperor's Pointy Sticks."

Only, they're actual Warhammer 40,000 gaming models, not a real army of the Emperor's finest. Even so, all the equipment actually works, so coming under a withering barrage of fire means you have to worry about getting hit by the dice as well as the bullets.

Which is just as well, as the Emperor's Pointy Sticks aren't exactly the most fearsome army of Super Soldiers.

Unable to publish the comic due to copyright reasons and with his sponsorship having come to an end, the comic ended on Monday 3 August 2009, with the 667th strip, after six years.

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Tropes used in Turn Signals on a Land Raider include:

• After Action Reports are often given of how many of the opposing units were taken out by the Emperor's Pointy Sticks by their commander. Usually, just 1.
• Amusing Injuries: It's impossible to count the number of times Kren and Frep had been blown up, burned, or eaten alive, only to come back at the next game.
• A-Team Firing: Played straight by the Emperor's Pointy Sticks. They sure do seem to roll quite a few ones...combined with More Dakka (Often through the Beam Spam route) for comedic effect many times. Lampshaded almost every time.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Doubly Subverted in one strip where Frep takes on a Epic 40,000 titan model (he's the giant, but the titan is STILL a titan...) and played straight whenever a to-scale titan is featured.
• Author Avatar: The space marine terminator captain looks VERY similar to how the author depicts himself in the comics...
• Awesome McCoolname: Super Jackhammer Carrier Tank.
• Axe Crazy: Mary, arguably. The orks too.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: When Frep is complaining how Steven Colbert used "Freem" and should be sued for Copyright Infringement, Kren points out the whole comic revolves around the concept [1]
• Butt Monkey: Poor Harkon...
• Catch Phrase: "Its LIONS!", * FREEM*
  • Also : KA-* insert action here* !
• The Chew Toy: The entire Emperor's Pointy Sticks chapter. Especially Fren, Krep and the Land Raider Jack.
• Crack Pairing: In 40k fluff, I think anyone knows why the pairing of a daemonette and a SM qualifies for this. Subverted in that it actually WORKS In-Universe since they're all Punch Clock Miniatures.
• Doppelganger The Pointy Sticks of the Emperor. Of course, they're no better......
• Dumb Muscle: Frep says Harkon is one of these here.

Frep: Seven feet of genetically engineered killing machine; brain the size of a walnut.

• Eye Scream: Played for laughs (and on at least one instance subverted) with Sgt. Yellow Pine's bionic eye.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": There's a character who literally is named Barkeep.
• Fluffy Tamer: Frep. He keeps a Chaos Boar from Warhammer Fantasy (who'd somehow managed to destroy an Emperor-class Battleship) and a Necron Scarab for pets.
• High-Class Glass: Prime minister Harkon sports one of these here.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Played hilariously straight by everyone OTHER than the Emperor's Pointy Sticks. If a shot can hit them, it will hit them. Almost never fails.
• Ironic Echo: One of the earlier strips (dating back to the 4th edition) had Orks getting the "No new Codex blues." A few years later, after an upgrade...

Krep: Kommandos? With burnas?! From any side of the table!?!!? Ork: Who's got the "no new Codex blues" now?

• Hurricane of Puns: This strip. Frep sure needs to learn when to quit while he's "ahead."
• Hyperspace Base: Corporal Cavendish's WWII tank model. So much so that a squad of Terminators got LOST when they were supposed to disembark because they took a wrong turn. Leading to a squad of enemy Space Wolves getting lost too.
• Kill It with Fire: Mary Napalm the Sister of Battle. Word of advice: stay away from her when she has her favorite toy.
• Made of Iron: Double Subversion They never die (except for extras at certain points), but they are almost GUARANTEED to get "killed" in the gameplay sense of the word. Overlaps with Death Is Cheap.
• Medium Awareness: Partial, in that they are fully aware that they are models in a TT game, while not aware of being in a comic strip. In fact, one strip has Kren placing an order for Krep's daemonette girlfriend.
• Mundane Utility: Whenever Jack or a weapon is used for something other than its intended purpose...which happens quite frequently. This can "backfire" though...
• Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: During the Tavern arc, Frep and Kren, and of course, Jack, easily steamroll warhammer characters until they're out of ammo at least, unless if the rule is adjusted where "a Dice is a dice", as a Black Orc said.
• Oh My Gods: "Emperor's [lengthy description]!"
• Only Sane Woman: Sister Mary, at least in the arc where the duo traded Jack and Harkon for a bar.
• Raging Stiffie: Here. Safe for work, by the way.

Random Marine:"Emperor protect my pants!"

• Ridiculously-Human Robots: How the Necrons are depicted whenever they appear.
  • Weirdly, this is EXACTLY how many fans are seeing the 2011 Necrons Codex update.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: It stopped because it was becoming too time-consuming and expensive to do. The reason the lawyers got involved is that the only way to really give it a chance to make enough money to continue was to make it into a book. But Games Workshop refused to grant permission.
• Shout-Out: To The Emperors New Groove, Terminator, and Finding Nemo in the dialogue -- and that's just for starters.
• Stop Helping Me!: Generally the situation that arise whenever another army co-opts Jack and crew to proxy. May have something to do with the fact that Kren and Frep misuse the resources/abilites of whatever army asks them to help out. Ironically, these are the only times they actually seem to WIN.
• Team Pet: No less than three : a Chaos boar straight from Warhammer Fantasy Battle, a Necron Scarab, and "Onesie," a dice which only rolls ones when Kren and Frep are using it (but which roll sixes every time it's used for calculating their damages...)
• Thanks for the Mammary: The author, being blinded by a camera flash, walks into the cameraman's wife here.
• Theme Naming: With the exception Kren and Frep, the whole Emperor's Pointy Sticks chapter (Brother Ginkgo, Sgt Yellow Pine...).
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Always overlaps with More Dakka. The crew of Jack always seem to be on the receiving end of a ridiculous amount of fire. As an example: 21 Lascannons in their first match.
• Too Dumb to Live: The crew of Jack, and especially Frep.Who uses turn signals in the middle of battle?!?
• Too Much Information: Kren says this to Frep here.
  • Again, here. Same subject, same characters.
• Twin Threesome Fantasy: TWINS THEY WERE.
• Unfortunate Nick Name The Fiery Loins space marine chapter (Its LIONS!).
• X Meets Y: It's Warhammer 40,000 meets Toy Story.
• Your Head Asplode: The author suffers this in this strip due to illness.