Space Marines V

Rocket Pack by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

He peered through the grimdark with his IR goggles. Off on their left flank a formation of Elvi had just unleashed one of their traditional choreographed ripplefire volleys, the stocks of their Dallyguns coming to their shoulders in a perfectly synchronized wave. As usual, it looked impressive as hell. Also as usual, it told the enemy exactly when to duck.

Space Marines IV

Space Marines III

Spaceman with Umbilical by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

The Space Marines! The Space Marines!
The wonderful, glorious Space Marines!
When chitinous aliens are seeking your spleens
Who do you call for? The Space Marines!

Space Marines II

Alien by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Sergeant Hardrock of the Space Marines bounded across the barren landscape, his enormous duck-foot sabatons  leaving deep prints in the ash. He understood their necessity: with the powered armor and weapons weighing half a ton, it was the only way to keep ground pressure within reasonable limits. But he hated the way they spoiled the generally intimidating look of the armor. There was a reason that recruiting posters only showed the Space Marines from the knees up.

He paused and triggered the voice activated controls. "Scratch back. Up. Up. Left. More. Stop."

At least they had finally got that right in the Mark VIII hardsuit.

Space Marines

Disintegration Gun by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

"There will come a day" said Commander A'ragorn of the Space Marines as he slung his still smoldering blast rifle and surveyed the charred greenish Orch corpses that surrounded them "when we will meet an alien race that hasn't been ripped off from Tolkien and had the serial numbers filed off. But today is not that day."

He struggled with the sling, silently cursing the grotesquely oversized shoulderpads of his space armor. Not for the first time.

Epic Citadel of the Space Marines

Epic Citadel of the Space Marines by ~WillMcLean on deviantART
 
This illustration of space marines is available for purchase, as a print or on many fine products. Watch this blog for further products celebrating the venerable SF trope of space marines, that has become a generic commonplace of the genre, yet still finds new value in new forms for many artists.

Games Workshop Claims It Owns the Term "Space Marines"

Space Patrol by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Games Workshop has apparently taken the position that their trademark of "Space Marines" allows them to prevent authors from writing about space marines without their permission, or at least authors unable to afford expensive litigation like M.C.A. Hogarth.

This is a trademark claim, not copyright, so extensive prior use doesn't prevent the claim. What makes it bogus is the long and frequent use in science fiction of space marines as generic description. It's like trying to trademark the use of "chocolate cake". Also, no reasonable person would confuse Hogarth's space marines with GW's hulking brutes in cartoonishly oversized shoulderpads.

If you're a GW customer you may want to tell them, politely but firmly, that this kind of behavior is damaging their brand.

Shame on you, Games Workshop. Shame.

Welcome to Planet Crater

Welcome to Crater by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Yet another Star Saga illustration.

Spaceman with Umbilical

Spaceman with Umbilical by ~WillMcLean on deviantART

Space Patrol

Space Patrol by ~WillMcLean on deviantART