Interview with Allan Yoskowitz of Doomed Scholar Studios

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Jimbo: As you should already know, we at Jimbo's (all one of us) love to promote the up and comer. I've also made a comment or two about the way things are going in entertainment and how that needs to change. I feel happy to announce that I have come across a person who I believe is headed toward giving us all the type of entertainment that we need moving forward. His name is Allan Yoskowitz, and he is the founder of Doomed Scholar Studios. Say Hi Allan!

Allan:  Hey out there.  Hope you are all well.

Jimbo: So tell us a little about what you're looking to do with Doomed Scholar Studios. Kind of a broad mission statement. 

Allan: Too much of what we’re given is about socio-political messaging these days, and not whether or not the people watching are enjoying it.  The point of watching TV or a movie is because you enjoy it!  All we are getting (a lot of the time) is a lecture.

Jimbo: Ok, I hear you about all of the woke stuff, but just to be sure, you're not talking about excluding people, right? Isn't it more about providing quality programming?

Allan:  I am not talking about excluding anyone.  People have the right to enjoy what they’re watching, and Doomed Scholar Studios is going to give them (to use your words) ‘quality programming’ to watch.

Jimbo: Alright, I understand what you're saying. So tell me this. Do you have anything you're working on now that you can kind of hint at? Just to kind of give people an idea of what you're working toward in more concrete terms.

Allan: There are a few...  I can tell you I really haven’t seen anything out there like what we’re talking about. 

Jimbo: Awesome. Ok, so obviously you're looking to start a business making movies and TV shows, hence the words “studios” in Doomed Scholar Studios. But tell me this Allan: Are you also working on anything in print or online?

Allan:  I’ve coauthored two novels, Codename: WINTERBORN and Codename: UNSUB with Declan Finn.  Post-apocalyptic science fiction.  I haven’t really written anything in a long while, beyond the development of the concepts that are being developed for DSS.

 Jimbo: Awesome. Now, I've been following you a bit on the Facebook group you just mentioned. Something you talk about frequently is entertainment as a business and how it's important to make a profit. I love that angle. Tell us all a bit about what you think the importance of making a profit is.

Allan: The United States is a capitalist nation.  Entertainment companies (in a capitalist nation) are is supposed to produce material people will enjoy in order to make money from the effort.  

Maybe it won’t all be on a show directly.  Maybe selling toys or something else related to the show…

But that’s the purpose behind a business.  To make money on a product or a service, whatever it is…  like a doctor’s care, or paying money to go to a theater and see a movie. 

But there are specific people you need to make a good profit for if you want to keep getting your paycheck.  

Your investors.  

You want to make good money for yourself?  You make good money for them.  Simple.

Jimbo: I get it. Let me ask you this though, Allan: Would you call a movie, for instance, that lost money a success or a failure? What about a TV show that didn't pull in enough viewers to pay its bills?

Allan:  Like I said, the ultimate purpose of a movie or a TV show is to make money.   If they didn’t make a profit, I’d have to call either a failure, no matter what I thought of them personally.

To be a success both have to make a profit; even if they pay off whatever it cost to make the project, they have to make a good profit for the investors or those investors aren’t going to give you money to make more movies/shows.

Jimbo: Ok, so what you're saying is that, as the head of Doomed Scholar Studios, you're looking to make products that not only entertain, but also make money does that sound right? If so, what types of content are you looking to both include and exclude to make a good product?

Allan: That’s absolutely right.  I want people to enjoy watching what we’re giving them, and because they’re enjoying it, spend the money to see future projects.  To want to see the characters again, and to spend their money on being able to (by, say, buying our material on a streaming service, or buying related goods).  

What types of content do we want to include and exclude to ‘make a good product’.  That’s actually a very tough question, Jimbo sir.  Like I said, we want to keep politics and social messaging from becoming a ‘major issue’ in our product.  They are going to ‘show up’, I am not going to deny it’s a part of life to see those things.

There are a lot of issues I’d like to avoid, but that isn’t possible.  Things like race, religion and sexuality.    They’re part of life, and you have to acknowledge them as part of life.

Doing that doesn’t mean we have to make a lot out of them, though.

Jimbo: Hold on, Allan. Are you honestly telling me that you can make a good show, whether for TV or a movie, without including overt political messaging? Isn't that a bit of a reactionary stance on your part?

Allan:  We can’t eliminate every political or social issue… but we don’t have to be blunt with them.  Keep it subtle, and if anything, you’ll have viewers talking more about what they’re watching because they’re talking about what their favorite characters are saying, and what the ongoing storylines mean… and they’ll keep watching to find out.

Jimbo: Wow. I like that stance. It's something I've encouraged here on my blog as well.  Ok, Allan, one more thing before I let you go: I know I'm not a perfect interviewer. I always feel like I've left the one thing that my guest most wanted to talk about off the list when I do this. So, tell me, what else should I have asked you? Don't forget to answer your own question.

Allan: Well, why am I doing this.   I am a martial arts instructor; I have been practicing Taekwondo for thirty years, and am a fourth degree black belt.  I assist with instructing kid’s classes.  I want them to have fun when they’re watching something, just like they have fun at the school.

I enjoyed going to the movies and watching TV when I was younger.  I want them (and their families) to enjoy it the same way I did, and hopefully someday to enjoy it that way with my own family.

These days when they watch, they’re getting lectured.  How is that fun?

Jimbo: Awesome. Thanks for sharing that and thanks for stopping by Jimbo's. You're welcome back at any time Allan. Make sure you keep us posted on any projects that you have coming up!

Allan: Well, with my thanks, Jimbo sir.  I’ll let you know what we have going at some point in the near future, believe me!

P.S. Allan wanted me to mention that he is currently having a contest to design the logo for DSS. Please join the Doomed Scholar Studios group on Facebook and/or MeWe if you plan to enter. Rules are listed below:

1. Any submissions must be personal, original work (preferably by a member of the DSS group)
2. Submissions can be hand-drawn or computer-developed.
3. Submissions (images) must be 'signed'.
4. Images cannot be 'graphic' (they cannot contain blood, nudity or violent activity)
5. ONE image per competitor.
6. .JPG, .PNG, .GIF and .PDF files accepted (up to 2MB)

Send work TO:

http://www.gkmasterson.com/doomed-scholar-studios-icon-submission/

Great Sidekicks of Science Fiction and Fantasy

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(This is not my work. If I had any clue who made it I would credit them.)

So I saw this meme posted last night and it got me thinking. I love Ron (DON'T CALL ME WON WON) Weasley. I mean, who doesn't love a guy who does everything he can for his friends? Who doesn't love a guy who sacrifices himself to save others? I mean, there are times when I found Ron to be a bit dense and sometimes a little annoying. Let's face it though, even though sidekicks can get on our nerves sometimes, they're important and our heroes would frequently be in a huge bind without them. So without further ado (or any adon't for that matter. Why does everyone forget about that?) I present to you Jimbo's Totally Awesome List of Totally Awesome Sidekicks of Awesomeness. Or Sumfin'. Look, titles aren't my thing.


Ron Weasley: Whoever wrote that meme did a better job of this than I probably could, but you have to mention the kid. The way he sacrificed himself in Wizard's Chess would have earned him a medal in any military on Earth. He's heroic and self-sacrificing. He eats a lot and can't always see the obvious, but that's no his job. Ron is sidekick excellence personified and he amazes me because of it.

Chewbacca: Oh, I'm going to take some for this one. But yes, Chewie was totally Han's sidekick. He went where Han said. He did what Han did. He handled the little stuff. I mean, he had a bigger gun and that's cool, but when push came to shove, he followed Han. He made no move to better himself, really. He was the main supporting character in Solo. This dude is a sidekick.


Robin: Yeah, this one's obvious, I know. I can't leave it off though. Listen, I started reading comics in like the first grade but even before that I was watching the 1960s Batman live action TV show. I wanted to be Robin with the big yellow cape and all of the cool toys to play with. I mean, seriously, who doesn't want a Batarang to throw at bullies? So, yeah. I mean, he got to live in a big house and run around in a cave. He got to ride in a car that blew literal fire out of the tailpipe. He got to solve crimes and kick butt. And oh yeah, he helped Batman too. This is kind of an ironic pick for me because I stopped watching DC movies after Batman and Robin came out (the “Holey Rusted Metal comment set me off and I'm not sure why) but, let's face it. Dick Grayson/Burt Ward for the win! Screw the movies, they sucked anyway.


Samwise Gamgee:

Frodo: No, Sam. I'm going alone.

Sam: I know, Mr. Frodo. And I'm coming with ya!

So it's been a minute since I've read the books or watched the movies and I probably borked the quote. I blame you for remembering it wrong. Obviously, being the all-seeing and all-knowing Jimbo, I would know better than you what was said. Or sumfin'. Maybe I'm just talking to hear my head rattle. I'll never tell.

Sam is Ron's only real competition for best sidekick EV-AR!! I really mean that. This guy went the distance when no one else could. He stood by his main character through everything. Frodo's mission was Sam's life's work. He put up with Gollum when he didn't have a choice. He fought giant spiders and did whatever was necessary. He even ate crap food without complaining (much) and he was a freaking hobbit. He sought no glory for himself, he worked only to help his friend in one of the hardest times of his life. Of course, I'd have been making missing finger jokes all the way home from Mount Doom and, from what I can tell, he never did that but nobody's perfect. So should Frodo give him a four out of five or a nine out of ten? (Give it a minute and you'll get it. Maybe.)

The Narrator in the Mikey Mason song (Not Quite) The Chosen One: He wasn't given a name in the song, but he will be named Tiberious in an upcoming novel. I can't wait to read this one, because I bet it's going to be awesome. At any rate, this guy finds directions, holds torches and cleans dragon shit off of treasure. I mean, seriously, listen to the song (I hear his music is free on bandcamp.com right now due to Covid 19) and laugh your hindquarters off. Seriously, this guy rocks.

Andy Keaton: Somewhere out there someone under thirty-five is staring at their screen confused right now. Listen, if you haven't seen Family Ties I'd imagine that it's got to be available for streaming somewhere. This kid used to crack me up. At five he could itemize big-brother Alex's decuctions for him. He went everywhere and idolized his big brother. This kid was so fun to watch. And no, that's not Science Fiction or Fantasy, but what the hey?

Screech: While my opinion of Dustin Diamond is a bit lower than what it probably should be considering the fact that I'm a Christian, the fact remains that Screech was what made the rest of the gang work. His comic relief was epic. He was the classic spaz. I miss this guy. And besides, as a nerdish type myself I couldn't help but identify with him.

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.

I fought with this one, but it's true. Inigo Montoya is a man's man with his own goals, yet he sets them aside to help his buddy Westley. Montoya ultimately does realize his own goal but only while assisting in the pursuit of Westley's. He's a monster swordsman. I feel it every time he yells “I want my father back you son-of-a-bitch because I lost my dad a long time ago. The circumstances were different but the feeling is the same. But hey, they all rescued Buttercup and Montoya helped make the movie interesting in spite of the acting of Andre the Giant.
So that's what I've got. Feel free to drop some of your favorites in the comments.

Some products related to the properties above are available for purchase at the links below. If you click my link and buy literally anything from Amazon I get a small percentage of your purchase.

Rusty and Company by Mike R.

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Some Dungeons and Dragons campaigns are super serious. They are over the top intense with lots of political intrigue and massive consequences for each mis-step of the Player Characters. There may be a damsel fair that needs saving, or an imminent invasion coming from just over the horizon. There will almost certainly be a need for gallantry and derring-do. Life and death will hang in the balance with every die roll and you'll have an extra character rolled-up and stashed in your Player's Handbook just in case the worst happens. I've played in those campaigns. They're a hoot.

You know what else I like though?

Campaigns full of hi-jinx and hilarity. Campaigns where zaniness is a daily occurrence. Campaigns where nothing is as it seems because it's all funnier. Campaigns like the one depicted in Rusty and Company by Mike R.   (By the way, does anybody know what the R stands for?) I mean seriously, what could be funnier than a campaign where the PCs are a Rust Monster, a Mimic and a Gelatinous Cube.

No, really. I'm asking because I don't know either.  Anyone? Bueller?

Thanks for all the help guys. *smirk*

Seriously, Mimic is my favorite. He's the one who usually speaks for the party, since Cube doesn't have a mouth and Rusty really only thinks about eating metal. I mean, that's what rust monsters do, soooo....

Yeah.

It makes sense right?

Listen, I'll be the first to admit that Rusty and Co. is not really for the guy who thinks that the Battle of Helm's Deep was a relaxing waltz through easy-land. If you're the kind that demands grimdark, well there are definitely things out there for those tastes. If, on the other hand, you're the kind of person (like Mr. Jimbo my own-self) who likes to watch the gag reel, or the guy who refuses to take himself too seriously, then you NEED to start reading Rusty and Company.

The art for this comic is freaking gorgeous. I loved it from the second I discovered it. It's lush, well detailed and rendered in amazingly bright colors. I can't get over how well this thing looks. It's weird. I grew up in the days when comics were either purchased from your Local Comic Shop (whom I loves and respects) or printed in your local newspaper (which actually do still exist even if they've become way more expensive than they used to be.) In short, they were always in hardcopy. The weird thing is, even if it was a Steranko, no comic in 1985 ever looked this good. And yes, I know that the reason for that is technology but for an old fart like me, it's easy to appreciate something this gorgeous.

I love the way Rusty and Co. is organized. If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons, or really any tabletop role-playing game, then you get how it works. The heroes go off on an adventure. Whilst (I got to use whilst in a sentence. Five points for Jimbo!) doing so, they encounter many different things, some good, some bad, some ugly. They overcome the obstacles (probably) achieve their goals (hopefully) and return none the worse for wear (who am I kidding?) to find that all is good in their favorite hang out (or possibly that the town has been razed by marauding orcs) and toss back a few good beers in the presence of their companions (unless of course, the orcs got the inn when they sacked the town or they're a bunch of broke level ones who are happy to be able to afford cheap swill.)

Mike R. sets his web-comic up pretty much the same way. He calls them “levels” just like when you level in your favorite RPG, but each level is an adventure onto itself. As they make their way through challenges using methods not always available to the common adventuring group (I mean, can your rogue rust a lock and then eat it?) we're entertained and often surprised. Mike R. likes to think outside the box and it shows in his writing. Then again, I suppose my first clue should have been when his comic featured the cast that it did.

Between levels/adventures we're treated to Critical Missives, an interview/letter answering interlude. The art is not as gorgeous (it's black and white for one thing) but I'm pretty sure he does it for a break and there's nothing better than Mimic answering questions. If he was any funnier, he'd be the Rock. I love reading Critical Missives if for no other reason than because it's a good way to chuckle and get my Rusty fix while Mike works out his next level.

My only real gripe about Rusty and Co. is that it's only a once a week web-comic I mean, I get the fact that I get to read it for free and that Mike R. probably has other things going on in his life and that I should probably stop complaining...

I saw you all nod when I said “stop complaining.” You're not ALWAYS supposed to agree with me, only when I want you to. I mean honestly, please catch up.

...But honestly, it's a long time between Wednesdays. I mean, I suppose he needs his time to make the comic as well as he can and he's doing an amazeballs job, but I'm a whiny fan (you weren't supposed to agree with me here, either. *SIGH*) and I'm going to cry uselessly until my nose gets plugged and my head hurts just because I can. I mean, it's my blog, right?

Of course, I see you all thinking out there. You're wondering if, over the course of roughly two hundred comics, whether the group expands to include more than just the three characters that I've named and who they might be.

*Looks over right shoulder*

*Looks over left shoulder*

Lean close and I'll whisper then answer in your ear.

*waits until you lean in close*

READ THE COMIC AND YOU'LL FIND OUT!!!!

Haven't you people learned that I don't do spoilers? Sheesh!

Bottom Line: 4.75 out of 5 Lost N00bs

The first Rusty and Co comic (and you really should start at the beginning) can be found at this link.

Some Of My Favorites on World Book Day

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(I know I have some author friends who read my blog. I hope I didn't hurt any feelings by not including people for the sake of friendship.)

I'm getting reports that today is World Book Day. I'm also getting reports that World Book Day is on April 23. I'm going with today because I feel like writing this post today and who knows what April 23 will bring? I thought that, in celebration of the day (allegedly) I'd share some of my favorite books and series in a format known as “Whatever Category I Can Extract from My Third Point of Contact.” I dunno if that works as a concept or not, but it's the one I'm going with.

Book Above All Books: First and foremost, I have to mention the Bible. I'm a Christian. That's just the way it is. I find it to be uplifting and amazing. Having read the Bible, I also find that most of the crap its detractors say to be false, but how can I compare my knowledge of what's written, having actually READ it, versus their feelings?

Best Fantasy Novel: I wanted to go with Dragons of Autumn Twilight here, but I'm actually going with Dragons of the Hourglass Mage. Either way, the book is by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I wanted to go with Dragons of Autumn Twilight because it was the book that made me fall in love with the Fantasy genre, but really I enjoyed Dragons of the Hourglass Mage more because I'm a huge Raistlin mark and also because, honestly, the same authors wrote Hourglass decades after Autumn Twilight and they were just better writers by then. Practice makes perfect, right? And a couple of decades of practice can make even the best authors better.

Best Fantasy Trilogy: Oh dear. Oh God. I just, I mean, this is how I take my fantasy and uhh.. Well...
I'm going with the Dwarven Nations Trilogy by Dan Parkinson. Yes, that's two straight Dragonlance references.  I need to buy a new copy of that at some point. Listen folks, its dwarves, doing dwarven things and playing lots of loud drum music. I love this trilogy. Flint Fireforge, Bruenor Battlehammer and this trilogy are the main reasons I'm working on writing a novel starring a dwarf and the D&D campaign I DM is centered around dwarven cities and towns. I'm not ever sure if this is still in print, but if it is check it out. It's a good time.

Best Fantasy Series (More Than Three Books): I'm an unapologetic fanboi and it should come as no surprise to anyone that I'm going with Harry Potter for this one, especially after my praise of J.K. Rowling last post. Harry Potter has captivated the minds and hearts of millions, including mine. The world is beautifully crafted, the character growth is real and sustained and if I hate Umbridge worse than Voldemort, who cares? They're both evil. (And I've studied totalitarian regimes and what they did IRL. Umbridge was every bit the totalitarian that Mao, Lenin and Hitler were.)

I want to make an honorable mention to Brent Weeks and his Lightbringer series here. You didn't quite make it, but if my ex hadn't bought me that copy of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone...

And now I can hear my dad in the back of my head talking about hounds and rabbits.

*AHEM*

Continuing on...

Best Science Fiction Novel: Ya know, I've been reading Science Fiction for longer than I've been reading fantasy. I've read a lot of Science Fiction novels. I've bought them, checked them out of libraries and borrowed them. There is one that stands out for me though. It's the one I spent three decades searching for because I checked it out of the Ferndale Public Library when I was a wee little Jimbo and couldn't remember what it was. I know some people don't like Robert A. Heinlein, but that's their problem. For favorite novel, I'm going with Citizen of the Galaxy. It's a story of love, of profit and of freedom. I know most Heinlein fans prefer his other works, but they can bite me. This is my list and for me it doesn't get any better than this.

Best Science Fiction Trilogy: Suzanne Collins, take a bow. I almost didn't read The Hunger Games Trilogy. I bought my first Nook the weekend that The Hunger Games movie came out and they offered me a free copy of one of the books, so of course I went with the first one. I had heard it was all girly and love-triangly (That's totes a word. Get over yourself.) and not worth reading, but it was free and I had a lot of room on my Nook and no books to fill it with yet...

And I went to see the movie with a girl I knew that weekend. I was hooked. Within a week of seeing the movie, I had read all three books. It does have a bit of a romance angle to it with the Katniss/Peeta/Gayle love triangle but there is A LOT more to it than that. The first novel was gut-wrenching. Seriously, if you haven't read about the Reaping do so. Catching Fire was insane. Mockingjay was off the chain crazy. I'll never quite get the part where Katniss was shooting down jets with a bow, but no book is perfect I guess.

...and both of David Brin's Uplift Trilogies get shafted. Sorry bro! Love your work!

Best Science Fiction Series (More Than Three Books): Oh Gosh, O Jeez, I mean, this is how they do it now-a-days right? Everything is a never ending sequence of awesome. You know what, it's my list right? I just found two subcategories for this hanging from my posterior. Are you ready? (And yes, that's a cop out. Whatever. My blog, my rules.)

Best Science Fiction Series (More Than Three Books)(Multiple Authors): Kill aliens. Get paid. Live the free-wheeling life of a merc and get rich if you survive. If you missed it, I'm speaking of the  Four Horsemen Universe, started by Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy but expanded to include too many authors to name here. I'm lazy. But dude, if you don't like cruising the star lanes and looking for trouble why are you here? Plus Asbaran Solutions has the best combat sequences I've ever read ever. Yes, I wrote ever twice on purpose.

Best Science Fiction Series (More Than Three Books)(Single Author): Admiral Steadholder Lady Dame Honor Stephanie Alexander-Harrington is one of the most amazing characters ever and the Honorverse is amazingly well-built with characters that live and breathe (well, unless you're Paul Tankersley, but I digress) . In order to fit this into the Single Author category, I have to limit the winner to the mainline Honor novels, but the ancillary novels are amazing as well. I just needed a loophole here.

Best Alternate History Novel: Roma Eterna by Robert Silverberg. Listen, I grew up on watching Ben Hur and reading Roman History from the library. Granted, I study American History because I speak the language (serious historical work is done in the vernacular and I don't speak Latin, Classical Greek or Italian) but I've always loved both Roman history and art. This one presupposes that the Roman Empire never fell and survives to the modern day. I reads like an anthology but it's really entertaining.

Best Alternate History Trilogy: The Celtic Crusades by Stephen R. Lawhead. I'm told his Robin Hood stuff is really good too, but I haven't gotten to it. This is a trilogy split between modern day Britain and the Crusades. On one hand, we have a character studying what came before as part of a secret society. On the other hand, we get flashbacks to the actual Crusades and the recovery of several Christian artifacts. These books were amazingly well done and entertaining. I need to read more Lawhead I think.

Best Alternate History Series (More Than Three Books): I'm going with a super long series that is actually several serieses (is that a word) but is all one timeline. It's by Harry Turtledove. It starts out with How Few Remain, continues through The Great War Series followed by the American Empire Trilogy and the Settling Accounts Tetralogy. Combined their known as the Southern Victory Series. I just learned that. At any rate, the series pre-supposes a Confederate victory in the American Civil War and continues the timeline up until the end of World War II. It's a bleak time in the Americas when war comes to the home continent and people die in droves. It's really amazing.

Oddly enough, my second place for this award was the Turtledove series where aliens invade during World War II and my third place was Crosstime Traffic, by -you guessed it- Harry Turtledove. Seriously, if you like Alt-Hist read this guy.

I could go on for days, but I need to get to work. If you feel so moved, please do share some of your favorites below.

Some of the above mentioned books are available at the links below. If you click my links and buy literally anything I get a small percentage at no cost to you:

RIP Gary Gygax

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Today marks the twelfth anniversary of the death of one of gaming's greats. Gary Gygax was the impetus for the creation of Dungeons and Dragons but he was more than that. An entire generation of geeks grew up on D&D. It's more than that though, too. Three (maybe four) generations of geeks have grown up with Role Playing Games in general, be it tabletop roleplaying games like yes, Dungeons and Dragons, but also GURPS, Heroes Unlimited, Shadowrun, Pathfinder, the Star Wars RPG (yes, George Lucas invented Star Wars but without D&D there's no RPG to go with it.) or the early platform RPGs like the  Final Fantasy franchise, Wizardry and the Phantasy Star franchise, and MMORPGs like  World of Warcraft, Everquest, City of Heroes, or Elder Scrolls Online. That all started with Dungeons and Dragons.  Every bit of it comes from a game that started in someone's basement.

It's more than just Role Playing Games though, too. The D&D legacy has helped build geek culture in ways that go far beyond gaming. The Lord of the Rings novels were published long before Dungeons and Dragons ever hit the shelves, but without the growth in the fantasy genre promoted in large part by D&D in the form of its players and fans. Willow, Dark Crystal and even The Princess Bride all owe a large debt to Gary Gygax and his game whether they realize it or not.

And, can you say card games? The original audience for Magic the Gathering was, yup you guessed it, RPG players. Yu-Gi-OH and Pokemon both descended in large part for MTG and are part of Gygax's legacy as well. Of course, when MTG first came out and a flurry of card games followed there was a D&D based one named Spellfire. It didn't catch on because it wasn't as cool as Magic (and I've played both) but it was there nonetheless.

Speaking of card games...

All of the fantasy card games have one thing in common: Art. Seriously. I've already reviewed Beholder. The fact remains that some of the best fantasy art over the last forty-plus(!) years was either created for Dungeons and Dragons or descends from it. I love fantasy art. When I was married and had a bigger budget I went to the local Ren-Faire and came home with new art every single year. I bought it at art fairs. I went to a local place that features local artists... and left disappointed. There wasn't any fantasy art. But pretty much any fantasy art (with the possible exception of Cthulu related stuff) descends from D&D art somehow.

Let's not forget comics. Not only have there been like elebenty bajillion different D&D titles but the parodies are excellent. Seriously, if you haven't checked out webcomics like Darths and Droids (I cast Summon Bigger Fish because I'm a Cheddar Monk) or Rusty and Company (I haven't reviewed Rusty and Company? Why haven't I reviewed Rusty and Company? This is a travesty. THIS WILL NOT STAND!!!!)

And guys.. The novels. Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Eberron, the other ones that I'm blanking on...

They're all based on Dungeons and Dragons settings. Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman are two of my favorite authors of all time. Their first book was Dragons of Autumn Twilight. R.A. Salvatore is another one of my favorite authors. He got his start writing in the Forgotten Realms. (And can we get a decent Drizzt Do'Urden movie PLEASE?!??!??!?!?!?!?!?) He was the editor of the Everquest line of novels as well and I already noted that EQ was a descendant of D&D and therefore Gygax.  (Does anyone know where I can get my hands on the old Spelljammer novels?)

There are, in my estimation, only three true giants in the field of Fantasy Fiction. The first is Tolkien who wrote Lord of the Rings and really created the modern fantasy genre. Before him, we had several ancient mythologies for fantasy stories and not much else. Since Tolkien, we've seen an explosion of Fantasy. Without Tolkein I don't think D&D would have taken off the way it did in the 1970s.  I certainly don't think it would still be here.

 Most recently, we have J.K Rowling. Harry Potter is something that has taken over the world. Of course, J.K. Rowling also pushed the Young Adult Genre to new heights and pretty much singlehandedly added the Young Adult sections to both the bookstore and the library and so she's a giant in other fields than JUST fantasy, but it all starts with a magic casting boy named Harry Potter. In a way though, probably the most impressive thing about Mrs. Rowling (whom I loves and respects) is that she is maybe the only fantasy author since 1977 who didn't draw on Dungeons and Dragons fandom at the beginning of her career. Most of the Harry Potter fans that have been there since the beginning were not old enough to have played D&D before they started reading HP. (Yes, I played D&D before I read Harry Potter. I was also in my late twenties when I read Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Oh, and there were four books out by then.) Geek culture is exploding in the United States right now, and a lot of the reason for that is a British woman who can write like a champion.

The last, but definitely not least, is  Gary Gygax. I've covered a lot of the reasons above. Yes, a lot of what he did was derived from Tolkien. The fact remains that he invented the modern Roleplaying Game. Gygax did every bit as much as for RPGs as Tolkien did for fantasy in general and J.K. Rowling did for the Young Adult genre. And do you know what else he did?

That's my daughter Riley at our gaming table.

Gygax and his game have brought people together and created friendships on a huge scale. A love of Dungeons and Dragons has created friendships and brought families together. When my then-wife was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I declared that I would one day play D&D with my kid. My ex thought I was crazy because “She won't be interested. She's a girl!” I just shook my head. One of the happiest days of my life was the first time my kid showed up at my gaming table and I got to present her with her first dice. I was a proud papa that day. There are millions of stories like mine. And we owe that to Gygax as well.

So rest in peace, Mr. Gygax. We miss you. I know you're somewhere banging out some natural 20s and steamrolling mobs. I'll see you when I get there.

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Awesome Fantasy Art

(A big thank you to Cheri Duncan for recommending a topic on a day when I couldn't get my brain and my fingertips wired together. Thanks to my friend Bruce and several of my fellow Ravenclaws for their assistance in producing this post.)

Friends! Romans! Countrymen!

Yeah, whatever.

Listen folks, I haven't been in the market for Science Fiction and Fantasy related art recently because reasons, but I hope to be in the not-too-distant future. I love the look of something related to a fantastical world. I think I'm going to do posts in the near future for both Science Fiction and Superheroes, but for now I'm going to concentrate totally on Fantasy because well, I mean, it's my blog right? So anyway, here we go.

I mentioned the Art of Dungeons and Dragons in a recent post. I love that. I always have. The picture above was taken from the Second Edition Player's Handbook. I've love that pic for thirty plus years now, and I specifically went looking for it for this post.Fortunately, the Google-fu is strong with this one and it was pretty easy to find.  And while we're on the subject of D&D Art...

Larry Elmore is one of my most favoritest artists ever. It was his work on Dragonlance (with an assist from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman :P) that got me started as a fantasy fan for real. The only real fantasy I had read before that was Lord of the Rings, and I never really realized that there was a whole genre to go with it. Go figure. Still, this guy is the dean of all fantasy artists. I was a fan before I knew I was a fan. It wasn't until the advent of that interwebs thingy that I found out who any of my favorite artists were. He was one of the first people I found out about though. I mean, anyone who did original and official Raistlin Majere art is awesome and he did it well.

Of course, not all fantasy art, not even all GOOD fantasy art is related to D&D. Brian Froud is an artist with a long history who helped out with Dark Crystal: Age of Rebellion. I loved that show and a large part of what made it so cool was the way it looked. The gelflings were cute. The sets were magnificent. The skeksis were evil and terrifying and a lot of the credit for that goes to Brian Froud.

Oh, and he also did The Labyrinth. I mean, just in case one Fantasy classic wasn't enough, why not two? He probably did some other really cool stuff too, but I'm not really an expert on the man. I'll leave it up to you guys to put some stuff in the comments if you want.

And of course, there's Tom Sullivan, who does a lot of Chthulu art. Look at that piece. It's amazing. My friend Bruce suggested that I include him, and he was right. A quick glance through this guy's stuff shows that it's all amazing.

Of course, not all fantasy art has to be super-serious. Those guys are amazing.I love the fact that those artists seem to jump off the page. Looking at that first Larry Elmore  picture, I can almost see myself skinning that dragon and using its scales for a shield. Not all of the good stuff has to be realistic. So let's feature a lesser known (not my fault, I've talked about her here before) artist named Cedar Sanderson.

I commissioned that piece for my now ex-girlfriend. I'm really happy that I did. It turned out fantastically awesome. The ex is in to Chthulu plushies (Which are also art, but don't tell your college professor I said that.)

and I thought it would be something that she would really enjoy. I was right. Of course, Cedar does all kinds of stuff. Her chainmaille dragons are really cool. She does lots of paintings, not just Chthulu. As a matter of fact, it was one of her dragon paintings that inspired me to have her paint the Chthulus. True story. Cedar writes a lot too and I've reviewed some of her stuff, but this isn't a post about writing.

As a matter of fact, the only item I got to pick out for my oldest daughter's nursery was a painting of a cutesty dragon with  a butterfly on its nose. My ex-wife picked out a theme of faeries and butterflies and I snuck the dragon pic in on the excuse that it had a butterfly in it. SCORE!!!

And then there's the in-between stuff:

SIGH

That's the cover of the first Harry Potter book I ever read, and it was drawn by Mary Grandpre (technically, that last e should have an accent, but I'm not sure how to do one on blogger.) That lady can draw! But here's my point about her work being halfway between realistic and cutesy: It doesn't really look life-like. It's more cartoony. On the other hand, it looks realistic enough that you're really drawn into it. Like, I  can see a realistic version of it in my head while I'm looking at the book cover. I really like this kind of work. It kind of makes me feel like a kid again, just looking at it.  One day maybe I'll be a big enough author to have a book cover by her. On that day, I'll probably die of happiness, but at least I'll die happy.

Ok, so let's see, we've got Books, TTRPGs, Movies/TV shows, Fan Art and  Comics,. OH. I know what I forgot:

Video game art is fantabulous and absotively has to be included. I went with two of my favorite MMORPGs because I could, but there is a lot more to it than that. Let's face it: Video game art goes back decades and a lot of the best stuff is fantasy based. Fantasy Star, Shining Force, God of War, , Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, I could go on for days. Some of the art is a bit dated now, but that'll happen in the gaming industry over the course of forty years. It's all gorgeous for the time it was produced though. I think the visual/immersive aspects of good video game art  that moves on the screen and sucks you in. What Everquest player can forget the first time they ran across the West Barrens and had to flee from a Young Kodiak?

And last (on this list) but certainly not least, is cosplay. Cosplayers pour immense amounts of time, effort and money into their creations.  They deserve some credit and their individual takes on popular characters aren't really all that different in principle from comic book artists and the different way they draw characters.

That's what I've got. You guys tell me what I missed in the comments., I'll be back soon with SF art!

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The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin by L. Jagi Lamplighter

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Alright guys, I have a confession to make. Even though I'm most definitely not part of the generation that grew up on Harry Potter, I have an addiction to it. I follow HP Facebook groups. I've gotten both of my daughters hooked on it. I'm a flat out J.K Rowling fanboi to the point that I even know that it's pronounced like “bowling.” (Note to international readers: Most Americans don't know that. They pronounce it like the ow in “cow”.) So when I picked up a copy of The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin by L. Jagi Lamplighter, I was pretty amazed.

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is most definitely not a Harry Potter clone, but it has some similar elements that made it feel simultaneously comfortable and exciting. Why? Well, it takes place in a boarding school. The inhabitants of the World of the Wise (as magic users call themselves) also like to ride around on brooms, although Rachel's is definitely unlike any other broom I've ever read about anywhere. And, of course, it is a fantasy story set approximately in modern times. I love that aspect of it.

The titular Rachel is our heroine and she is quite the intrepid young lady. She has been admitted to Roanoke Academy for the Sorcerous Arts a year early (aged thirteen instead of fourteen) and she is raring to go. This is a thirteen year old that I can admire. She works hard, doesn't make excuses and is extremely brave. She's also smarter than you average bear (that's why she got admitted early) and has one hundred percent recall of anything she's seen or heard. She often uses that to her considerable advantage. I like this chick. It's too bad she doesn't actually exist. I'd try to get her to hang out with my daughters.

Rachel is a member of an old-school magical family that's kind of important. She's a member of a noble family and her father is a higher-up in the magical law enforcment community. People know who she is. She's not as famous as some others, but she definitely gets recognized. I kind of liked this aspect of her. Rachel is for sure not the Chosen One per se. There is no legend following her around. She has just enough renown to get the other important characters to notice her and yet still has enough humility to get along with almost anybody.

Rachel ends up in a situation that not many adults would do well at facing and comes out of it a champion. Seriously, one would have to think that perhaps Mrs. Lamplighter has done some reading about Medal of Honor winners from the United States. Rachel has no quit in her. She can go to war at my side anytime. I mean, just as long as she doesn't stand too close. Chick takes a beating like a champ, but I'd prefer not to be taken down as collateral damage just for being next to her.

And it's weird too, because she doesn't come to school to be some kind of hero. Yes, she wanted to have some adventures but I doubt that what she had in mind came anywhere close to how it all shook out. This is a girl who wants to learn all there is to know about magic and enjoy herself along the way. I admire her commitment to learning. She's like Hermione in a way, only more so.

In Harry Potter it's just accepted that every student studies every type of magic. So we see Harry in everything from Transfiguration to Potions. That's not so at Roanoke. The students there are sorted into houses not based on some nebulous personality trait, but on what form of magic they wish to study. Rachel is an enchanter. She plays music and uses it as a focus to cast her magic. One of her friends is a thaumaturge. He uses objects as a focus. Thaumaturgy has a bit of a rough reputation and it's something that Rachel struggles with when deciding whether or not to trust him. I'm not going to go through all of the types of magic, but I like this system.

In a world where you can specialize in very narrowly defined fields in the world of the Unwary (those are non-magical type folk) it makes sense that a mage would specialize in an area of magic too. Concentrating on one area often makes someone better at what they do than studying an area in general would. I like the way this works. Of course, I've got something similar in my current Work in Progress so I may be a bit biased.

Her cast of friends is also pretty amazing. You've got some royalty. Add to that a touch of dragon-killing commoner. Throw in a dash of that one dude from the other side of the tracks and the occassional  surprisingly on our side guy and it really is a good time. The cast mixes well and is believable. These kids are something else.

WATCH OUT!! FLYING FLAMING SKUNK!!!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Sorry, flashback. Where was I?

Oh yeah...

The action in this book is awesome. There are some wicked fights and some terrifying visions. The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is not a story for the faint of heart. Things move quickly. Sometimes stuff explodes. It's not always clear what kind of magic is being used by who. This is a Young Adult novel, but it's supercharged. When things get moving, they go quickly. There is very little time to stop and breathe. Don't get me wrong: I like a nice relaxing read every once in awhile, but I much prefer something that doesn't let up and that's The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin. 

Also, a word to the wise: The title page clearly states that The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is based on the works of Mark A. Whipple. I feel like I should make some type of comment on how well I see those works reflected here, but I haven't read them. That much having been said, I had absolutely no problem following the story and look forward to reading the rest of the series.


Botto4.75 out of 5 Talking Dragons

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin
L Jagi Lamplighter
Wisecraft Publishing, 2016

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin is available for purchase at the following link. If you click it and buy literally anything from Amazon, I get a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you.