GenConagenda!

OMG! GenCon! A handful of days filled with hanging out, talking, drinking and gaming.

If you are looking to link up with me, send me a tweet, DM or look below for where to find me. I am running some games and on a panel (crazy!). 

You Too Can Cthulhu Black Letter: Lost Legends: Utopians

Thursday/Friday/Saturday, 1200 - 1600

You Too Can Cthulhu Classics: New Business in an Old Town

Friday, 0800 - 1200

Investigative Roleplaying MasterClass

Saturday, 1600 - 1700

You Too Can Cthulhu Black Letter

Sunday, 0900 - 1400

Any other time...Pelgrane Press booth, or the bar...or maybe squeezing in a Delta Green game!

Fear and Reality

I am afraid. 

Another police "incident" occurred today, after the one from yesterday, and after the now-countless others. 

I am afraid to step out of my door, to think that I may never see my family, to think of Zora growing up without a father, or to think of Jill living without a husband. 

I am afraid this epidemic of systemic violence and executions won't stop and will continue to go unpunished. That each death is "justified." 

I am afraid that in a couple of days people will forgot these two men were killed in cold blood by those sworn to protect them. 

I am afraid that the world, that we are not doing enough to try to change this. We accept it as a daily part of our lives and move on. We watch those who protest get dismissed as rioters and criminals when they are really people of color trying to promote civil rights. When the people who are standing up for our community are disregarded, how do we stand up and be heard?

I am afraid for my child growing up in this world.

A Mission In Action

My mission (and I chose to accept it) is to bring more diversity into gaming. That has been my goal in establishing Darker Hue Studios and I have been flying the ship while building it because it is a lofty task with no real benchmarkers about how to do it. I just know that it needs to be done and has been needed for a long time. By actively working toward this goal, I've had the opportunity to meet other people who are also dedicated to the cause. It's awesome to find a community where I thought I was the unicorn.

Last weekend, I had a chance to talk to Katrina Stovold about why I am doing this. She asked some great questions and I got to talk about some of my experiences. Then she asked about my mission statement; I've written what I want to do, but not how I plan to do it. She's right.

Honestly, I want to do it in any way possible. Going everywhere to run games, writing games, publishing games, working at Con . . . ruling the world with an iron fist. 

But I realize I need to focus. My plan is to create as much diverse, quality material as I can freelancing for other companies. And I want to create a more inclusive world by giving away stuff on the website and Darker Hue original published stuff.

I've written A LOT this year, mostly for other publishers. But now, it is time to do something on my own. I am working with Nino Malong (our talented Chief Artist Officer) to launch a project up on Kickstarter or GoFundMe in the fall. I can't say what it is right now, just that I am WOKE! FOCUSED! And ready.

Civil War, as Compared to Other Marvel Movies

It was tough to find time to go see it, but dodging spoilers was proving to be an Olympic sport. So, I finally saw Captain America: Civil War. Did I like it? Yeah. I am still processing the movie but my brain has reordered my Top 5 Marvel Superhero Movies and I had to share. 

1)      Captain America: Winter Soldier – This remains the best Marvel movie to date for me. It has tension, stakes that matter, shows who Cap is, and introduces Falcon.  It is superheroes done right! 

2)      Captain America: First Avenger – Yeah, I have a thing for historical movies and Peggy Carter. 

3)      The Avengers: Marvel did something no one else thought was possible: they brought a team of superheroes to the big screen and made it work. It is not a perfect movie but the fanboy in my soul is still giggling and Bruce Banner’s "I am always angry" plays through my brain.

4)      Captain America: Civil War: This is a really good movie, introduces Black Panther (future blog post), Spiderman (another blog post) and stays true to the character of Cap. Cap is not a tool of the government but someone that fights for the ideal of what America should be--the same reason I joined the army.

5)      Ironman: It started the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe and was Robert Downey Jr.’s first outing as Tony Stark. For me, it is tied for #5 with Ironman 3 – Yeah, I hear your groans, but other than my issue with how the Mandarin was handled, it was the perfect Ironman-not-really-being-Ironman in a buddy-cop movie).

Honorable Mention:  Agent Carter. I know it is a TV show but it was the best Marvel network show, and the fact ABC canceled it really has me missing it. Maybe it is time for a re-watch of the two seasons and do a little fan fiction writing, or maybe I'll run a game in tribute to a great show. 

In a couple of weeks and after one more viewing of Cap III, I will have a spoiler review, but until then (and after) GO SEE IT!

The Rebel Angel | My Tribute to Prince

by Nino Malong, DHS Chief Artist Officer

I received word last Thursday that Prince had died. I refused to believe it. To say that this affects me immensely is an understatement. In my grief I wanted to find a way to honor the man that had the most profound influence in my journey as an artist. If it were not for him, I don't know if I would have been the artist that I am now. He taught me to be fearless in my art and to hold myself and my art to a high standard. Once a piece is done, I move on to the next one. It is bittersweet but I hear the next one calling. 

So it went with the piece I called, "Habibi, the Rebel Angel." That was the name of his iconic guitar. I thought if I could capture the spirit of Prince and Habibi together, what would that look like to me? Beautiful with a hint of rebellion and recklessness. 

Prince and Habibi

It's one of those pieces where it was a joy to work on, but I had to stop at times because the pain of loss was too much. A good friend of mine (and a hell of a songwriter), Jason Michael Greene, said to just let it go and see what happens. I started and only stopped when the painting itself said it was time. So I gave it to the world. Saying goodbye in the best way I can. Thank you Prince. I'll stop now and let the art speak for itself.

I think he would've agreed.

Nino has submitted this work for inclusion in Heavy Metal Magazine. VOTE FOR NINO.