Tom & Artie, the Interdimensional Mercenaries
TOM N ARTIE was created by HazeAmaze, it can be read on its own website, Tapas, Webtoon, and FurAffinity
Its spinoff series TOM N ARTIE TALES can also be read on Tapas
DISCLAIMER: The Imgur Purge of May 2023 deleted most of the linked scans. Until I am aided in reclaiming all missing images, this message will remain here. Regardless, the blog will continue being updated with new scans.
Welcome back to my blog! Today, we're gonna spice it up a little bit and cover a duo! Although I personally think both are capable of fighting in their own matchups, c'mon, it's in the title for a reason! Why shouldn't I cover one over the other? I'm also branching off researching to another webcomic site, Tapas (previously known as Tapastic). Webtoon is far from the only source of webcomics I will be researching, as there are so many host sites out there that are goldmines for unexplored series. I'd also like to thank y'all for the 100 views on my Ihwa blog! I was expecting it to do way worse, but for a blog covering seriously niche characters, I'm glad I was able to reach that amount of people with my first one! Without further ado, let's delve into the carnage…
Background
"Missed? Please, I'm the only one here who actually aims." - Tom
"Come on, Tommy Boy. Don't be mad because your shot was off. I'm sure it happens to all the trained mercs at your age." - Artie
The multiverse is a deadly place if you’re unprepared for whatever dangerous creatures and people that await you. But when it comes to these interdimensional mercenaries, they can handle whatever the worlds throw at then. Meet Tom Sunshine Bliss and Artie Artillery. One is a muscular unicorn, the other is a short cartoon character. One is a responsible tactician, the other is a killhappy loose cannon. They couldn’t be more different from each other, but they’re an inseparable duo that you can count on for getting the job done.
Little is known about their origins besides their military backgrounds or how they met. But they’re notorious enough to have a combined bounty of 30,000 chips on their heads. They go on all kinds of adventures across the multiverse as long as the contract pays. It can be as hectic and action-filled as invading a camp of killer robots or capturing an escaped criminal with a bounty, something as mundane as providing a robot with computer supplies.
When it comes to the thrilling missions, Tom is the brains of the operation and designated leader. His usual strategy is to let Artie go wild while he picks off enemies from afar. But when the situation calls, he’s able to think on the fly and come up with a new approach. He encourages Artie’s reckless and trigger happy behavior, valuing how much of an unpredictable scamp he is on the battlefield. Although Artie can be a lot to handle with his love for carnage and his frequent quips, Tom puts up with his more outgoing self and they exchange a lot of banter. When by their lonesome, they’re typically poking fun at each other in a friendly manner.
The money they collect usually goes towards Artie wasting it away on booze and gambling or paying their landlord, who lets them take refuge at a bar mercs like them flock to. They're always eager for great pay, so when you’re in a tight spot and need people to do the dirty work for you, you know which unconventional team to call.
Equipment
Tom
EMP
An explosive that disables technology
Dimension-Hopping Device
Tom's the one who owns their means of teleporting through dimensions. It's a wrist device that lets him and any amount of occupants warp to any dimension they want.
Heavy
A machine gun that fires rounds of lasers. It likely isn't light-based because it runs on ammo and at one point it hit metal and didn't melt through it.
Flash Grenades
Hah! Now you're blind!
Laser Pistol
His pistol can shoot small red lasers, though he doesn't use it enough for it to demonstrate many relavistic qualities.
Horn
It was bound for this to come up eventually. The ammo runs dry, he can stab someone with his horn.
Laser Cannon
A huge weapon like that really packs serious ammo. The impact of its blast is devastating.
Shotgun
Gotta keep it simple sometimes.
Gatling Gun
For Tom to channel his inner heavy weapons guy.
Pistol
Unlike normal pistols, this one seems to have explosive bullets.
Earpiece
Used for long distance communication with Artie and others.
Tag
It's pretty much a tracking device.
Tele-Com Gun
A gun that transmits messages into beings that have communication receivers.
Machine Gun
Another simple but effective blaster.
Rifle
Some situations call to really put distance between his opponents.
Knife
It's as sparkly as his mane!
Bottle Gun
Tom's getting creative with this one!
Artie
Chainsaw
His good ol' trusty chainsaw, able to slice and dice through anything in his path.
Mallet
Perfect for bonking people so hard they'll be seeing birds over their head
Baseball Bat
Watch him get a home run with it.
Giant Pistols
Bruh how are they so big??
Bomb Defuse Kit
Implied he defused an anti-matter bomb with the defuse kit.
Boomerang
Crikey! For some reason he owns at least 200 of them!!
Dynamite Sticks and Knife
He just has all these lying around, and likely knows how to effectively use them.
Golf Club
Anyone up for some bomb golf?
Bombs
You want 'em? They're yours, my friend.
Ms. Toasty
She's a fire hazard.
Giant Cork
A convenient way to ruin giant death cannons.
Shield
A sizable shield that can block explosions.
Battleaxe
That's one huge axe…
Axe
That's more normal. It's strong enough to cut through metal.
Acid Launcher
A gun that fires balls of acid, which can melt through multiple floors
Welding Tool
Handy for sealing entrances.
Sword
The blades he stows away in his sack are generic, but good for slashing.
Cannon
Yep, he owns a cannon. He's creatively used to to launch himself out of while wielding an axe AND used it to shoot a bunch of random weapons he stuffed inside it.
Kitchen Sink
In this case, it seems he has everything AND the kitchen sink.
Smaller Pistol
Even though it's smaller than the ones as big as his body, its bullets can cause large explosions.
Grenade
Sometimes these are more fun to use than his cartoony bombs.
Anvil and Safe
Why use either one when you can use both at the same time?
Mousetrap
The mousetrap is actually kind of left field…
Earpiece
Used for long distance communication with Tom and others.
Giant Hammer
Pretty much self explanatory.
Pistol
Aww, it's a petite lil pistol!!
Poisonous Pills
It's never elaborated on what these pellets actually are, but they have stink lines and forcefeeding that copy printer creature caused it to foam at the mouth, so it's probably bad news.
Rocket Launcher
It shoots a decorative rocket that can cause a sizable explosion. Also can I just mention how badass this looks?!
Mace
The brutal bludgeoner.
Spear
Great not only for hurling at enemies, but attaching explosives to them too!
Crossbow
I'm shocked he's used a crossbow before ever pulling out a bow & arrows.
Newspaper
Seeing as he can pull it out of nowhere and bap someone with it, I'm counting this as part of his arsenal. Cry about it.
Tommy Guns
He can dual wield them. Fun fact, one of them is his 43rd favorite gun!
Decoy
It can walk and talk, but unlike Artie, he's made of stuffing
Binoculars
Sometimes it's nice to just kick back and watch the action unfold
Bath Tub and a Toaster
Artie can either force his enemies into the tub to electrocute them… or do it to himself in an attempt to psychologically torture them. Either way, he'd need an outlet to pull it off.
Spyglass
A thin spyglass with a cartoony appearance. A bit ironic that Tom doesn't have any peeping devices.
Walkie Talkie
A long distance communication tool more in line with his old school military image
Helm
Doesn't have much practical use besides the reference, but knowing him he could absolutely find a way to weaponize it.
Fridge
I guess the Indiana Jones maneuver works in this universe too!
Abilities![]()
Tom
Dimensional Travel![]()
I explained it before in the arsenal section, just wanted to reiterate that Tom is the one capable of bringing himself and Artie across worlds.
Physical Strength
He may be more comfortable fighting from a distance, but he's still 250 pounds of pure muscle and really packs a punch.
Artie
Hammerspace
Artie has a near-limitless supply of weapons stored in his small backpack. He's like a walking swiss army knife of weaponry!
Weapon Mastery
He has extended knowledge on how to use all the weapons he packs thanks to his army experience. He even knows how to make mustard gas.
Flight
He can use his ears to fly, but can be weighed down easily if he's carrying a heavy load.
Jumping Out of His Skin
Sometimes a mission calls for Plan S, in which Artie spits out his entire skeleton to spread chaos while his flesh remains immobile. Grody. It doesn't come with any other extra perks, it's just convenient to do when he's in a tense situation. This may also imply that he can remain alive even if he's reduced to a skeleton.
Powerful Breath
I'm just going to attribute this strong breath technique to the fact he's a toon and not question it.
Feats
Overall
- Both were cornered without guns by fifty armed blokes, and Tom set off an EMP bomb to disable their weapons and Artie finished the job by dicing every single one with his chainsaw.
- Completed 10 contracts in 10 different dimensions one day, including destroying a horde of robots, rescuing a princess, defusing an anti-matter bomb, draining a contractor's ex-wife's bank account, and interrogating a lawyer.
- Artie destroyed a camp site by chucking a bunch of bombs at it with his golf club.
- Both successfully infiltrated the base of the tonic troops, which contains hidden turrets all around it and an anti-magic field. During said mission they singlehandedly killed more than 20 troops and caused millions of dollars in property damage, none of them managing to hit Tom or Artie once besides the Director himself. Both secured the Director's death by blowing up the whole underground base.
- Artie has experience in the army back in his dimension. He was mainly a tanker. Tom also used to be affiliated with the Unicorn Army, but his past hasn't been explored yet.
- Both outran the Director's greatest weapon, Nicole, while riding on a cart full of weapons.
- Completed 5 contracts in numerous dimensions in one day, including defending a train from robots, helping a being collect souls, and corporate espionage.
- Both completed a contract where they convinced a trained cyborg warrior to return home. During which, she caused the space shuttle they were flying to short circuit, making them jump out and land on an airborne pterosaur
- During a contract, both killed a horde of copy printer monsters that kills anyone that dares to quit their office job.
- Fought against Gabby and Gigi from the video game GUNGUNGUN, who regularly clear out hordes of train cars full of bandits and are fast enough to dodge bullets.
- Artie tricked the professional bounty hunter and sniper Sylvia to shoot through his helmet… which he left on a raised poll. He proceeded to trick her again with a decoy of himself
- Both defeated Sylvia in a game of Capture the Flag in Splattercrash, the show where grudges are settled between mercenaries in three rounds
- Tom one-upped Artie in getting a criminal to confess a thingamajig's location by stabbing the goon in the artery
- Both fought alongside Morty—the protagonist of the upcoming comic book MORTY—in destroying a cybernetic giant from the inside
Strength
Tom
- Shot a robot slightly taller than him in half
- His huge laser cannon damaged a being much larger than him
- Destroyed a bunch of drones with his gatling gun
- Caused a small explosion with his pistol, which was able to be contained in a decently-sized lab
- Strangled a bounty, Troni, who was a formidable opponent that attempted to strangle him. He eventually knocked her out when weakened from a fall.
Artie
- Crumbled a robot's exterior by shooting it
- Caused an explosion this big with numerous bombs (Based off a pixel ruler app, the target is 70 pixels, the explosion is 310 px. Given the average man is 1.77 meters, the diameter of the explosion is 7.83 meters with a radius of 3.91 meters, likely small building level)
- Strong enough to lift objects the size of his small body.
- Has weapons that can cut through metal.
- His acid launcher melted through multiple floors (doesn't show how many floor in the 8-story facility it melted through due to a timeskip)
- Shares the pistol feat with Tom
- Tossed a grenade at the bottom level of the tonic troops base, which caused an explosion that destroyed the rest of the eight-floor building (we don't see it actually engulfing the whole facility, but when the group teleports above ground, they witness the top of the base get blown up by the grenade that Artie threw. This link contains several calcs for building level, town level, and small city level+ due to the explosion of the entire underground base and the crater it leaves aboveground)
- A rocket he launched caused a small explosion inside a train car
- The explosives on his spear caused a small building-sized explosion, destroying the loft a sniper was perched in.
- Blew a gust of wind that pushed a large monster off the crane he was controlling
- Artie and the mercenary Morty set off two bombs inside a giant, blowing it up from the inside. The giant is at least big enough for all three to roam inside its body.
Speed
Tom
Artie
Durability
Tom
- Endured being slammed into the ground by the Director's telekinesis
- No-selled being stabbed in the back by his soon-to-be girlfriend
- Endured an attempted strangulation
- Took a shock gun to the back, which he quickly recovered from after being momentarily dazed.
- Many deflected bullets rained upon him, which he was able to tank
- Survived a bomb exploding
Artie
Weaknesses
Tom
- Although well built, he's more prepared for fighting long range than up close.
- All of his weapons run on ammo, so he could eventually exhaust them. At least he can ask Artie to supply him if he runs out.
Artie
- He generally doesn't think things through before jumping into action.
- His small frame makes him nimble, but vulnerable.
Matchup Potential
Although I haven't figured out a good duo matchup for Tom & Artie, I think there's a solo matchup
Artie vs Peacock (TOM N ARTIE vs Skullgirls)
(thumbnail by Vibe Check)
Vibe Check
Out of Peacock's variety of matchup options, Artie is the one I vibe with the most. Yeah, the connections just boil down to wisecracking wildcard killjoy criminals inspired by the rubber hose animation era—which doesn't really delve into Peacock's disturbing origins or Artie's bond with Tom—but the fight and banter potential for this is off the charts! Getting the banter out of the way, both are known for their witty humor and their love for violence and cartoony shenanigans, so the interaction potential pretty much writes itself. But then there's the fight itself, which can wind up being both destructive and entertaining. Both have a huge assortment of weapons at their disposal that can have some really fun exchanges. Like, imagine Peacock shooting a cannonball at Artie, only for him to hit it back at her with his golf club, Artie being pinned under Lonesome Lenny uses his bomb defusal kit to stop him from blowing up in the nick of time… only for Peacock to send a George waddling up to him causing Lenny to explode anyway—but he jumps out of his skin to avoid incineration and continues the fight as a skeleton, and Artie having a literal "Random bullshit! Go!!!!" moment where he just tosses a bunch of random weapons at her. In terms of who I think wins, I gotta give this to my girl Peacock. At first I thought she stomped, but after being provided with the grenade calcs the AP gap is way closer than I thought. He may be faster than her too depending on how fast the laser dodging feats get. And of course there's a lot to discuss regarding their wacky arsenals, but I feel like she has better dura and AP.
