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.