In a previous post I noted at the guys at Dreamlike (Now Slayer Gaming) piqued my interest in Warhammer Fantasy battles. I watched two battle reports, one was their very first one, where Tom’s Ogre army took on Dwarves in one and High Elves in another. Since then I have started both Skaven and Beatmen armies. I admit I really like Skaven, but both were begun because I was able to get near complete armies on and off the sprue at very cheap prices.
Several weeks ago, while cruising a used bookstore I found a pile of army books. Empire, Ogres, Tomb Kings, Orcs and Goblins, all “current” hardback. All ten dollars a piece. (They also had a stack of Forge World Imperial Armour books for 15 a piece…it was a good day at the used bookstore…)
Looking through the books I became very interested in one army in particular: Ogres. The very first army I ever saw played. They’re very different from any force I’ve seen, Monstrous Infantry, big brutes, no alignment, and a “SMASH and EAT” philosophy. Also relatively cheap to start.
My local Games Workshop store has started a Fantasy escalation league and, though I had Skaven and Beastmen armies, I decided to give Ogres a shot. I got the regiment starter box and away I went.
The league starts at a miniscule 250 points, which if I included even my cheapest general option left me only 150 points for troops.
Because of this point restriction, the standard troop structure is waived and only core units have to be fielded with extra points given for fully-painted armies. With that in mind (and being completely trapped in the house for days due to ice and snow) I started my Ogres. This was the result:
I went all ironfists, due to the extra save. They’ve already got 3 attacks plus impact hits and stomps, so I went for a parry/increased armor save instead of an additional weapon.
At the time I thought I had to have an HQ. I got the maneater on the right to proxy a bruiser or butcher since my actual models were on order.
These guys are a blast to build an paint, and the regiment box gives you so many bits, with some crafty purchases I was able to nearly double the number of ogre bulls I can field by spending about 25 dollars.
I’ll be playing my first escalation game this week and as I’ve never played a REAL game (only here’s how this works games) and never done anything with ogres I’m gonna lose. It’ll be a BLAST. I’m looking forward to it!
I’d like to drag the world kicking and screaming from Batman worship for a bit and snap everyone into reality. He’s kind of a bore and to quote Ben Yahtzee Kroshaw, he’s always the dullest character in everything he’s in. That expands to most of his movies (not his 90s animated series though which was GREAT) and DC in general seems to make movies that are so severe and so serious with themselves they are difficult to really enjoy.
Marvel on the other hand somehow gets it exactly right…and I find their expanded universe on film to be an extreme source of inspiration.
I haven’t really been in to reading comics since I was about 20. I think it’s a valid creative art form but many of the stories at the time were so hashed and re-hashed I felt I’d seen a lot of the best there was to offer. I’ve seen a few here and there since and even read some newer Judge Dredd material but nothing captured me like the Fatal Attractions and Age of Apocalypse stories in the 90s.
But Marvel MOVIES have been doing just about everything right recently. From the great X-Men franchise which, despite a single rocky entry, has had its ship righted and full sail since the excellent First Class to the absolutely stunning achievement of the Infinity Wars story they’ve been building up to for years now.
I can’t remember any other franchise in history that has crossed so many stories, so many characters, and so many genres to tell what will end up being one, super, super-hero story. Furthermore, Marvel has the wherewithal to know NOT to make every movie a super hero story. DC hasn’t gotten the hang of that… Even at their best with films like The Watchmen DC’s tone is such a drag it’s hard to say the movies are “fun” to experience.
They can be space stories, science fiction stories, fantasy stories, social justice stories. Marvel turned the entire “comic book” genre on its head with these movies. Even critics who often excoriated films based on this so-called ”childish” material, now have found how broad and operatic these narratives can be.
For me, I see how even minor stories, LIKE Guardians can be utterly re-invented and turned into something we’ve never seen before, and even better than expected. How a universe can be moulded to fit a medium, and how vast a universe can be…even when only experienced in 120 to 180 minute blocks. I’ll list a few of my current personal favorites below:
Guardians of the Galaxy: It’s better than the Avengers. That’s right Joss Whedon lovers… It’s better. More fun. More action. Clever without being snarky, funny without being brash. It’s heart but doesn’t wear it on its sleeve. It’ll even bring a tear to your eye. It’s everything we LOVED about Star Wars minus everything we hated about it. No melodrama. No choppy writing. Everything fits, and everything works. I watch it more than any of the others.
X-Men: First Class/Days of Future Past: I can’t decide which of these two films I like better. First Class was a stunning study in the dichotomy of opinion. Militants versus peaceful protests. Marvelous acting. Amazing story telling and perfect casting. Days of Future Past brings everything we loved about the first Bryan Singer X-Men movies and combines it with everything that made First Class such a revitalizing shot to the franchise. Patrick Stewart/Ian McKellan and James McAvoy/Michael Fassbender Xavier/Magneto relationships and actor choices are phenomenal. Oh and Quicksilver. Terrific…
Captain America: First Avenger/Winter Soldier: I thought I’d HATE the first Captain movie. A hero known as a goody-goody just couldn’t be appealing could he? Yes he can. You cheer for him because though he becomes a hero he does it for the right reasons and uses his abilities in the right way. WWII sci-fi story WITH Hugo Weaving as Red Skull?! Oh and Hayley Atwell. Yeah. Worth it. Winter Soldier is the Bourne story. Good guys may be bad…old villains may be able to help… Action packed and one of the tightest stories I’ve seen on screen in a while.
Yes that’s not all of them but those are the ones that find their way onto my Bravia the most. I’m not telling the entertainment world anything it doesn’t already know…but those seeking inspiration don’t have to look far with this material out there.
Why would a writer/illustrator find inspiration in a documentary about animation voice actors? All forms of creativity can help other creative people. Nothing is more empowering than hearing a whole slew of creative people discuss why they love being creative and their own creative process. That’s exactly what John DiMaggio’s documentary I Know that Voice! did for me.
I’ve been a fan of animation since I was a child and I believe many kids share a love of cartoons. Brought up with Garfield and Friends and The Real Ghostbusters as personal favorites and then adding great cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, even then I knew the characters were voice actors behind mics and even noticed crossovers, like Garfield and Peter Venkman had the same voice. I loved the character voices and how much they added to the characters, so much that if they changed the voice to the wrong kind of performer it could put you off the show.
Futurama is the show that truly brought the art and skill of voice acting into full light. Billy West, John DiMaggio, Phil LaMarr, Tress McNeille, and Maurice Lamarche all voiced performers in other shows I knew. The shows’ characters were so unique I wanted to know more about them. The more I learned the more I learned the actors behind them. This led to listening to the audio commentaries for the entire series repeatedly (EVERY episode as commentaries check them out they’re as good as the show!). I remember hearing of DiMaggio’s documentary when it was still in development when he mentioned it during one such audio commentary and it immediately piqued my interest. When I saw it on Netflix I was psyched.
I Know that Voice features much of the cast of Futurama and more. The voices from Rugrats, Batman, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, and even Looney Tunes all make an appearance.
You hear about how it is acting first. How doing a silly voice, or imitating a famous character is nothing…anyone can do it. In my favorite segment they clearly point out how it is not enough to sound like Porky Pig…can you do Shakespeare as Porky Pig? Followed by clips of your favorite voice actors reading a famous monologue from As You Like It.
You get to know not only the process of the actors, but of voice directors. Casting agents. How the show is assembled. How they all interact. Even the history of the art in animation (the voice recording started out with radio talent and is indeed still pays homage to its radio roots during the record.)
DiMaggio himself is present, but not overpowering, which shows his dedication to the project, as he seems to have a personality that is naturally a showman. Here he pays homage to his friends and colleagues and takes a background role. Which is another element of the voice acting population: they all seem to have reduced or lack of star ego. That camaraderie is impressive, especially in show business!
John DiMaggio “the voice of Bender and others” as he says often in the Futurama audio commentary.
This entire process was profoundly inspiring to the creative process. My own writing and creative brain is deeply moved by the processes of others, and you won’t find a better example of a process in action than I Know That Voice! AND the extra bonus is it’s damn entertaining!
During my high school years I became fascinated with early 20th Century culture to such an extent that I used to check out from our local library recordings of 1920s radio broadcasts and shows. I loved the genre and it feels like something that has become lost as we’ve become a more screen-based society.
When I heard that Black Library produced audio dramas and audio books it immediately piqued my interest and I tried one.
The first one I bought was Raven’s Flight by Gav Thorpe as it was the most prominently displayed on the website at the time. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I’d listened to audio books before where it is merely an author or a celebrity reading the text. In some cases, as with some Star Wars books the reading was accompanied by sound effects as well. In the case of the Black Library audio books and dramas it is far more like the radio shows I found as a teenager. They are acted rather than read, the sound effects are integral and take place during the performance as though you were listening to a film rather than watching it.
Since then I’ve obtained all of the audio dramas that sounded the least bit interesting and I’ve never heard a bad one. There have been one or two where the plot took a turn that made me less of a fan of it, but none have been poorly made, badly written, or subpar in performance or production. As last time I’ll list some of my favorites and/or favorite aspects of them, again in no particular order:
Chosen of Khorne by Anthony Reynolds: This one had such an impact I spent weeks drawing a picture related to it. Chris Fairbanks’ performance as Kharn is incredible, the story is tight, and the production is excellent. I’m a staunch 40K loyalist and even I loved this traitors’ story!
Trials of Azrael by CZ Dunn: As a Dark Angels fan I have a lot of options for audio dramas but this one has remained my favorite. While it has a few plot questions, the resolution and acting is so good I can ignore them and just enjoy it. Plus Dark Angels story + Chris Fairbanks as Kharn + Pandorax campaign make it extra appealing.
The Garro series by James Swallow: One of the best series and follows on from the Horus Heresy novels (Flight of the Eisenstein to be specific). Garro, former battle captain of the Death Guard now servant of Malcador the Sigillite has a number of excellent stories and some of the best-produced dramas I’ve experienced. Toby Longworth if by far my favorite voice talent in the Black Library audio drama pool and his Garro is tight, grizzled, and fiercely passionate about his cause, even when it runs counter to his masters’ goals. By all means listen to them in order but Sword of Truth remains my favorite.
Veil of Darkness by Nick Kyme: I’m not an Ultramarines fan nor am I a Cato Sicarius fan but this story is one of the best. Very well acted (Sicarius has a youthful arrogance to his voice that matches the character perfectly) and with one of the best single-stories I’ve heard it has been in my car’s CD player a number of times since I first gave it a listen.
Caiphas Cain – Dead in the Water & Caiphas Cain – The Devil you Know by Sandy Mitchell: Toby Longworth strikes again turning in a tremendous performance both as the elder Cain narrating his adventures and the youthful Cain experiencing them (as well as all kinds of characters in between) mixed with the great production, Sandy Mitchell’s wry writing style comes off perfectly and provides an excellent complement to the written character.
The Sigillite by Chris Wraight: This one is actually two parallel stories, one told in flashback the other taking place as the same character discovers the importance of his previous actions. Once again Longworth shines, this time as Malcador, giving him a voice full of power, age, weariness, fear, and awe. It’s a remarkable story.
Censure by Nick Kyme: A Horus Heresy story about Sergeant Aeonid Thiel and his experiences on his return to destruction-ravaged Calth. He faces not only the remnants of abandoned Word Bearers but the environment itself. His penal legion companion and he have an almost Lethal Weapon level of interaction.
Deathwatch: Mission Purge by Gav Thorpe: A wonderful single-story of a Deathwatch inspection led by Captain Artemis himself on a rogue trader’s ship. Of course everything goes wrong and the motley xenos hunters have to fight their way out of danger. It has a very unique feel and one of the best climactic music stings I’ve ever heard…
The Glorious Tomb by Guy Haley: A surprisingly moving story from the perspective of a fatally wounded Black Templar kept alive to continue his fight for centuries from inside a dreadnought. You hear his confusion over the passage of time, his distance from the outside world, his pain and mental anguish. It extremely potent and very well performed…you guessed it Toby Longworth is back to give one of the most powerful performances I’ve heard to date.
Shorts:
Warmaster: An amazing soliloquy. The now fallen Horus justifies his actions to a silent audience. If I had to do a reading for an acting class I’d choose this one.
Veritas Ferrum: a small story-driven by the main character of Durun Atticus as he navigates his strike cruiser Veritas Ferrum into the catastrophe as Isstvan V. The performances and productions shine again as wily tactics and loss of humanity take center stage.
The Eightfold Path: Chris Fairbanks as Kharn in the fighting pits. It’s Kharn narration for 13 minutes and as glorious as one would expect. Worth it just for his rueful bloody laugh if nothing else.
With Baited Breath: A Raven Guard captain finds a dying guardsman and listens to his story. Great deeds…
There are countless others that have been spun repeatedly in my various CD players and queued into a playlist on my various devices. If you’re a new 40k fan these stories are EXCELLENT for mood and storytelling; setting the tone for the Grim Dark in a way more accessible than some weird people may find the dense omnibuses or the numerous, long-running series. For established fans they are a great way to hear well-known stories brought to terrific life with care and thoughtfulness.
With a new year and the hope of my own creative wellspring finally pouring forth I thought I’d take the time to examine some of the sources for my creative inspiration. This week I’m starting with a humbling catalogue of the Grim Dark (and world of fantasy) that is the Black Library.
Named after a library of esoteric and powerful knowledge, Games Workshop’s publishing wing is a remarkably diverse and impressive publishing enterprise. From gothic sci fi, to rousing action, and from grim brutality, to raucous humor, the Black Library offers something for everyone, and indeed I was a fan of the stories prior to partaking in the table top game that spawned them, my first novel being the Assault on Black Reach which I purchased shortly after buying the starter set of the same name.
I find the worlds depicted by the Black Library authors to be deep and complete. Everything has layers upon layers and builds atop decades of history already put into the stories and characters within.
Some of the authors are terrific, some are quite good and the same can be said for the quality of the stories they tell, but I can honestly say I’ve never read a bad one. Merely some less impressive than others. I thought I’d give a breakdown of some of my favorites, broken down by broad type and in no particular order of superlative.
Favorite Series
Horus Heresy by Various: Simply some of the best science fiction you’ll read anywhere. The series is vast and deep, providing a prequel view of some of the famed characters you may do battle with on the tabletop. The first four novels are sequential and could have been printed on pure gold leaf they are so ostentatiously brilliant. Want to know how the whole thing started? Here’s how. And if you don’t feel a pang of tragedy at Isstvan something is broken in your soul…
Caiphas Cain by Sandy Mitchell: Can the grim dark future be wry and funny? With a rakish and self-serving (at least according to him) hero like Commissar Cain you beter believe they can be. Sandy Mitchell (aka Alex Stewart) created a hero both likable and slightly devious. He’s altruistic and at the same time totally self-obsessed, told in the first person (with commentary footnotes from another reader, Inquisitor Amberley Vail) it’s marvelous at giving a personal obscured perspective on things. The series takes him from his humble beginnings seeking a quiet posting away from danger to all over the galaxy fighting every kind of enemy on every front. Each novel is different and each one spectacular. If you need a laugh and great adventure, pour yourself a glass of someone else’s best Amasec and open a Caiphas Cain book.
Last Chancers by Gav Thorpe: Gav Thorpe is my personal favorite Black Library author and his take on the penal conscript legion of Colonel Schaeffer one of his best works. I read the whole thing at night during a week-long trip to Chicago and loved every bit of it. The first novel is by far the best, but by the time you reach the third book’s rousing conclusion you really have a chance to look back and see how far these characters have come.
Favorite Short Stories/Novellas
Yarrick Chains of Golgotha by David Annandale: This novella/short story is simply stunning in its narrative. From the capture of the imposing Commissar Sebastian Yarrick by his arch nemesis to his exciting attempts at escape, this one has you hooked from the beginning. When you get to the end and see just HOW dangerous his infamous and nefarious captor really is to him and the Imperium it’s hard not to start the book over and read it all the way through again. I know I did. Very few books can make me say, “Ohh…whoa” out loud like this one did at its conclusion.
Survivor by Steve Parker: The tale of a young boy surviving in the ruins after an ork invasion. It’s a great story with a sharp narrative, but the reveal of the boy’s identity makes it even more powerful. A short read but one that definitely sticks with you.
Dark Vengeance by CZ Dunn: Some 40k players are all about the win. Others are all about the story. I’m in the latter category and this story is a great example of the game brought to narrative. Released to coincide with the 6th Edition starter set, Dark Vengeance tells the story of the characters and armies you get with that box. Not only that but you get a relatively realistic portrayal of how a battle between these two armies can usually play out on the table; who lives, who dies, who’s valuable and who’s just a pawn. A great place for beginners who are just getting into the game with the starter set!
Favorite One Offs/Unique
Fifteen Hours by Mitchel Scanlon: This one’s tagline got me: “Basic Training: Four Months. Planetary Transportation: Seven Weeks. Life Expectancy…Fifteen Hours.” I loved this book. Not only is it 40k World War I style, but it’s also 40k told small. Not great heroes or famous battles, just one of trillions of guardsmen and one of millions of battles. The story doesn’t revolve around our heroes and neither do the events. We merely see a vast war through their very small scope. It’s All Quiet on the Western Front with orks and lasguns and simply a terrific read.
Deff Skwadron by Gordon Rennie & Paul Jeacock : A 40k comic about ork fighter pilots. It’s as good as it sounds. Let’s face it orks are funny and brutal. Their single minded desire to fight and kill is highly entertaining and this comic captures that mood both in a great set up and magnificent orky-art. If you read no other 40k comic definitely check this one out.
Headtaker by David Guymer: It’s not ALL the grim dark! This fantasy story revolves around my favorite fantasy battles character. With all the betrayal and backstabbing you’d expect from skaven…Queek Headtaker leads his armies, fighting against his allies as much as his foes…and showing everyone who really is the most clever rat in the under empire.
Next week I’ll tackle the audio drama/audio book arm of Black Library which is definitely worth its own separate study!
I never understood that phrase until very recently. I always thought I did but in the spirit of my “let it go” 2015 mentality I thought I’d share how I came to realize what this really means. I apologize for the length of this post but most of us can relate and this is the last, final release of this whole thing!
In November 2012 I left a job with government I had been in for 9 years. It was my first full-time position and though the pay was low I often convinced myself it was worth it due to the laid back atmosphere and a lot of the personalities there. I met some of the most interesting people working there. When I first started right out of college it seemed like a great place. Chances for growth, good benefits, and caring leadership. Over the years there was a subtle, then a not-so-subtle shift. The pay stayed low and with the increase in benefits prices (benefits that started to get worse) I actually netted less in 2012 than I did in 2011. But from when I started in 2003-about 2010 it felt mostly ok. We liked to complain about processes and personalities, and we could goof off a bit (paperwad wars that lasted a few weeks) but overall it was just work that could be done then left at the office.
Sometime in 2009-2010 things really started to change. The leadership had a shakeup and new people came in. One of my friends actually became a second-in-charge, and there was talk that even I’d get to move up. I’d already gone from entry level, to mid-level, to project management and committee chair so it felt like things were proceeding ok.
My last year there all my illusions were suddenly and violently ripped apart and reality became clear. I was named “co-head” of a new department. I was kept at my previous salary despite essentially managing other employees and still chairing and budgeting for my committee. I considered it ok, it was still a move up and into better things. Then came the yearly evaluations. The other co-head and I were asked to provide these for our direct reports. I wrote honest but well-tempered evaluations, pointing out where things could be improved but always measured this by how what could be considered “defects” were often bonuses. Yes some of us took extra time to perform a task others might do in a fraction of the time, but the end result of that individual’s work was often subtly far superior due to her training, experience, and natural eye. Yes some of us might take some time to have non-sequiturs and discuss movies, video games, or kung fu for a few minutes but that kind of atmosphere is the reason we were considered to be the “best” department to be around by visitors. We were all friendly and morale was high, even when hitting roadblock after roadblock in our work.
During my evaluation (I was one of the first to be evaluated in my group) I was told I received one of the very few (I’d heard less than 5 out of 100 but that could’ve been untrue) perfect scores and was told by the big boss “we can’t do what we do here without you.” When I inquired whether I would qualify for any kind of extra compensation based on my performance I was told “you aren’t qualified.” This despite money spent in this organization on PC replacements every two years, iPads for directors, and catered food for some ivory tower departments.
When the rest of the team was evaluated I discovered that many of my comments were edited and only the negative focused on. It turned out, according to the bosses, people were wasting time (and cruelly told they wouldn’t be replaced when they left) or talking too much. Parts of what was intended was taken out of context and used against them.
I felt awful that something I said could have been used this way. That I should’ve been more careful. And that I’d been used as an unwitting spy against my colleagues. I fired off an email the following day to the staff involved and the leadership saying as much. I received a minimal response, but at least one employee did get his evaluation amended.
This is what I felt like they made me do…
It was at this point that I went from being so valuable “they couldn’t do what they do without me” to being a pariah. Simply by speaking out against what I saw was an injustice I wasn’t included in meetings. Duties shifted to the other co-head (who was far more “compliant”) and any talk of my performance (which was universally regarded as exemplary) resulting in further advancement silenced.
More importantly the management had proven themselves to be willing to do anything, sell anyone out, and use anyone in order to get the side of the story they wanted. There were people they didn’t like and they used others to hurt them.
Given that environment I started looking for a new job. A friend of a friend turned me on to a startup department in a private company. It wasn’t in my field but given the chance to move up and out I interviewed. I liked what the manager had to say about being involved from the ground up and teamwork and when I got the call I was being offered the position I took it. This surprised essentially everyone I knew as we all assumed we’d be in our familiar “ruts” forever.
I turned in my two weeks’ notice and not one person in management seemed to care. They seemed only to care if I agreed to stay in my current job at my current salary (doing supervisor work for 26k pretax yes 26k after NINE years of perfect evals and TWO promotions…). So I turned in my two weeks and got ready to leave.
Even in my last two weeks I spent full days finishing an exhibit I was working on to make sure it was done in time for a media event planned for the political boss of my organization (which entirely by consequence was held on my last day). I finished it just in time and one of my best friends managed to get food and the press there for the guests (it was for veterans of the Korean and Vietnam Wars.) I was even to say a few words to the crowd about the importance of this display.
Before I got up to talk my organization boss stood up and made some comments. One of which announced it was my last day and added, “well money talks.” After everything that had happened that comment was shocking to me. Everything I’d done, almost anonymously there, all the extra time I put in, all the hard work I’d done right up until the end was put into the light that I’d left them because I was unappreciative of them. Given the audience I ignored his jibe and stuck to my comments about how important the exhibit was (one of the veterans highlighted called it “the best day of his life”). And with that I left that place.
This is tempting…but rarely fulfilling.
The new job was strange. My new manager made it clear we all are needed to follow the same procedures and made us feel appreciated for doing good work. In my off time I built a database for fun. Word about it apparently got out and other department managers came by to see it saying “I’ve heard you did something cool.” In less than two years I was given the opportunity to move into supervisory and leadership roles twice. I wasn’t the only one. Other great performers were also given their due. And every step of the way our sacrifices and good work weren’t just appreciated but often we were given kudos publicly so others could see what the team could do and their morale increased as well. I’d never been in a place like this. It’s not perfect but a good manager goes a long way. Someone who is there to teach you, assist you, and defend you rather than steal your ideas and throw you under a fleet of buses.
So back to “the best revenge is living well.” I’ve heard that phrase my entire life but always misunderstood it. To me it meant that you can get revenge on those who have wronged you by living well and doing so to show them how well you’ve done; to really rub it in that you’ve succeeded and you no longer need their approval or assistance. How wrong-headed that kind of thinking is…by being spiteful you are validating that they still have sway over you. The best revenge is living well because once you get to the “living well” part you no longer care about the wrongs done to you. They don’t have any meaning. I have no desire to go back to my old job and rub my success in their faces (clearly as I haven’t named anyone in this narrative) it’s enough just to be satisfied.
Recently another friend left and she confirmed that all the anger and sadness she felt working there essentially evaporated upon leaving.
I’ve said it before but we all can find ourselves in poisonous and negative relationships. They might be coworkers, friends, or relationships but by getting out of them and finding your own way you can take your revenge better than any desk-flipping, profanity-laced tell-off might. Anger takes effort and energy. By moving on and living well you do them the worst damage: you forget about them. And with this post, and my realization of what “the best revenge is living well” I’m forgetting that place forever. It’s just a thing that happened now to get me here.
So here’s to living well in the new year!
Had to use this one! There’s a little of the Unforgiven in all of us…it’s just best not to unleash the Interrogator Chaplains every time.
Revenant Publications 