The Death of King Arthur: The Immortal Legend

            Living in the world today, technology is becoming more and more necessary. We depend on it for much of what we do each and every day. As much as I enjoy and participate in our modern conveniences, and the stories of the day, every now and then I relish my chance to dive into the past and explore a classic, like The Death of King Arthur: The Immortal Legend, from Peter Ackroyd. This book is a modern, abridged retelling of the classic collection of Arthurian legends by Sir Thomas Mallory, called Le Morte de Artur. And while it is considered modern, especially in comparison to Mallory’s own archaic text, there is still an old fashioned style to be found in Ackroyd’s translation that pulls us back to a simpler time, though just as complex and dark.

            For all my life I have loved stories about King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and yet I have never read any version of this particular collection. I thoroughly enjoyed this edition, and found myself savoring the prose. I was also surprised by the maturity of the content. While these tales sing of a romantic pseudo-mythic era, there are powerful moments that have the potential to make even Game of Thrones blush. I highly recommend this volume for anyone looking for a new take on an inspiring classic, which deals deeply with the human condition in a mythical way.

Marvel / Disney Star Wars Comics

            There’s a lot to be said about Disney’s acquisition of George Lucas’ Star Wars. The first thing I remember, which many friends and fellow fans lamented, was the Disney Death Star shot that obliterated the original Star Wars Expanded Universe content, prior to the release of The Force Awakens in 2015. The Expanded Universe took the beloved Star Wars franchise and added over 30 years of additional content to enjoy, in the form of novels, comics, video games and animation. But all of that was ended when Disney took over, and this left many fans feeling betrayed.

            I had recently heard from a friend that Marvel has since been put in charge of creating all-new Star Wars stories in comic book form for Disney’s own Star Wars Expanded Universe, and I was very apprehensive. But having been reassured by my friend that they were good fun, I gave them a shot. He wasn’t wrong, if I’m honest. Marvel has worked closely with the Star Wars story group to really make all of the films in the franchise feel further fleshed out and lived in. And what’s more, they tied all of the films together in very meaningful ways that truly expand on the worldbuilding of the galaxy. One example has characters from the original trilogy traveling to planets from both the prequel and sequel films, as if to reinforce the idea that all of the films, regardless of the decade there were made, all belong to the same shared space. Another such example is the inclusion of aliens from the prequels popping in stories surrounding events from the originals, or sequel film aliens showing up now in prequel-related stories. 

             The idea of that larger shared space is very successful in this regard, and the characters and stories that bridge the films together are handled with care and finesse. Arguably, I enjoy far more what Marvel is doing with the Star Wars property than Disney itself. 

Me Too & Time’s Up

            This is year has seen a lot of change in the rights of women, and I couldn’t be happier for it. I was lucky to have grown up with an unbroken nuclear family, but most of my childhood was spent around my mom and my two younger sisters, as dad was usually at work during the day. I grew up understanding women in a way many of friends did not, and my own relationships with women have been far stronger for that reason. That said, I could hardly contain my anger and disappointment when stories started cropping up about celebrities, officials, executives and other men of prominence being involved in sexual harassment cases against women, and often times children also. 

             Me Too has been a positive support group for women to come together without judgment or fear and stand beside one another through their individual experiences – while conquering them. And Time’s Up sought to take that a step further by calling out these men, creating a sense of fear for those not yet caught, or those beginning to follow down the unacceptable path of their forebears. This movement is long overdue, and begins with men in high positions of power and status. If these particular, manipulative deviants can be brought low, so can those average men who walk amongst us doing the same thing.  

J.R.R. Tolkien

            Popular culture has erupted in the last fifty years or so, becoming a staple to the everyday lives of most people today. Our books, shows, films and video games are brimming with pop culture successes, and franchises reign supreme. But for me, it is typically in older works that I’ve found the most joy.

            J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth is a timeless world of fantasy stories, wherein books like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are found. But while most people today were likely introduced to this mythical world through the film franchise created by Peter Jackson and his team at Weta in New Zealand, the truth is that Tolkien’s creation has been around far longer, and served as the inspiration behind an almost endless list of other properties. Middle-Earth redefined the fantasy genre. It’s themes, races, and plots served as the basis for nearly every fantasy book or film for nearly thirty years, and it still holds tremendous influence. And now, what the Tolkien’s books have done for other fantasy books, Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s books have gone on to further inspire the visual identity of other fantasy properties found through film and video games.

            Without a doubt, Tolkien’s mythology is powerful force, and arguably the most iconic and influential fantasy world to date. Tolkien served as a tremendous influence for my own work, though I have also sought ways to remain true to my own work, and not merely a derivative of Middle Earth.

The Medium is the Massage – Marshall McLuhan

            Marshall McLuhan’s The Medium is the Massage was a very quick, fascinating read. I very much appreciated its message regarding time, and the changing of society through the times. Technology, and our means of communicating, is always changing, and Marshall had the foresight to see many things that were headed our way.

            The layout of the book, and the placement of its text and pictures is what makes it famous. It’s interesting how there is a soothing effect to be felt in reading such a unique book. It encourages you to take your time and really investigate the themes it covers in a thoughtful way. I also particularly enjoyed the interactive portion involving a mirror, so certain pages could be read. It’s a book that explores and experiments with the tool and craft of communication.