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.

It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

It has been a busy start to the year. New job, buying a house, crashing on a couple of writing projects (waiting on feedback from a first round draft) and juggling a billion little things. It fully occurred to me last week what moving means. Not just saying goodbye to my favorite bar, Jack Rose, or my favorite movie theater, the Uptown where I took my wife on one of our first dates and where her grandmother went when she lived in DC in 1940s. No, it means one hard truth:

I am losing my gaming group!!! 

The group of gamers that I have scoured the internet for, went to gaming shops to find, recruited from friends who did not even know their friend was a gamer (I can sense them, akin to Highlander), and rattled the very gates of Heaven and Hell to find. After finding them came the mutual vetting: they, debating if they dug my style of GMing and my sense of humor; me, deciding if they meshed with everything one else, were dependable and welcoming to people from all walks of life. Plus... they must be open to a little booze while gaming (not necessary to partake), and my kid has to give them the stamp of approval. It was basically three full time jobs but worth all of the effort. 

The group started almost four years ago. I won't lie, it was not perfect; we had people come that did not pass the vetting, or had to drop out because real life  happened. The group even had one player move to another state for a year and then rejoin, after moving back. That should speak volumes in itself.  What epic campaign brought these gamers together?

The collector's edition of The Mask of Nyarlathotep!!!  The group started large for a Cthulhu game with five characters:

Theron Wyrd: Worldly scholar and antiquarian of long forgotten lore. (Plus writer of this little gem.)
Minnie Abbott: Artist and modern woman, whose parents disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Freddie Hawthorn: Stunt coordinator and daredevil who saw things in darkest Africa no man should. 
Jackson Perry: Con artist and criminal, seeking vengeance for a wrong done to him. 
Ronald McReady: Professor and veteran, suffering from his time in the trenches. 

Around London, the group had pick up a number of other players but three became steadfast companions.

Philomena Watz:  Nightclub singer and entertainer turned adventuress.

Harvey Lewis: Scared WWI vet turned construction worker, supervising renovations of NYC sewers. 

Theophilus 'Theo' Chandler: Everyman turned boxer, race car driver and mechanic.

The scenario was a house of fun as they struggled against Nyarlathotep's machinations, with many a new PC generated,  only to fall to his wicked schemes. They came to realize that their actions in Hong Kong (six months ago in real world time) likely doomed them to fail. Instead of a room full of angry gamers, things were said like, "DUDE!!! That was incredible, all of this time you let us follow our own lead, no matter how wrong and IT WAS TOTALLY LOVECRAFTIAN." One of the best feelings you can get from a game that ran almost 3 years. 

I ran other games: Trail of Cthulhu, Delta Green,  Pathfinder, Wild Talents and more with the group or with a mix of them and others. But I will always remember the Mask Campaign and how FANTASTIC they were: how they loved the hand made matchbox (which a certain player still has) and the mini-tomes that were baked in the oven to give them that aged feel. And when I knew I had them? The mood was tense, something scary was happening, and one of them would try to crack a joke. And it didn't work. The scary moment was too real. Those are the moments when we all became the story.

Agent Carter: Carter and Wilkes

Agent Peggy Carter, I kinda love you. Don't tell my wife, but I do.

Not just the character, but the actress who plays Agent Carter, Hayley Atwell, and how outspoken she is and how open she is to the fans. I know that she recently left the internet and it is a darker place for it; we can only hope she returns. 

The first season of Agent Carter was very good; it was kinda everything that I had hoped Agents of Shield would have been when I tried to watch it. It was funny, action-y and blended spy/superhero tropes in the perfect way. But watching first season, it really struck me how the only black guy, Spider Raymond, was a gangster club owner. It did not stop me from watching, as Peggy's character has so much depth that it speaks to any gender or race. The story is in the struggle against near impossible odds that forces her to be at least twice as good, and still get no credit other than in backrooms when no one else is around. 

I was psyched to hear that the show got a second season and even more surprised to see the diversity on the show level up, and not in an after school special way. The new character was brilliant, mysterious, charming and brave.

From here on, SPOILERS. A week late, but still, spoilers...

The tone of the show is lighter, more steeped in supers and seems to have a focus on shining a light on other people struggling to be accepted for who they are. 

I love Jason Wilkes. He's an incredible addition to the show, and his chemistry with Peggy was HOT! It felt like Marvel reached into my brain and pulled out the character I have been writing about: war vet, smart, charismatic, brave and trying to change the world one solution at time. When it becomes a choice of doing the right thing that would destroy the stability he has built for himself, he still does it without question. Better to do the right thing, than to live a lie. 

It was great to watch the show lightly address the hardships Wilkes endures on a daily basis through dialogue. When Peggy and Wilkes are on the run, after battling off some hired killers. they worked as a near-perfect team: Wilkes' time in the Navy gives him solid fighting skills to go along with his smarts and Peggy is just all around awesome. They escape,  only to encounter a problem they can't beat: a white story owner refused to really help them because Wilkes is black. Peggy wants to punch the guy, and Wilkes sorrowfully explains, "Are you going to punch out all of Los Angeles?" That line is easy to miss but perfectly explains the world around them. 

Then the show did what I expected them to do. Wilkes was too cool, the chemistry to great, and Peggy Carter must remain a tragic heroine. The scenes make the viewer presume Wilkes is killed with Zero Matter, and it shakes Peggy to the core. My assumption is that Wilkes is not dead but will be permanently phased or slightly out of sync with Peggy's reality. That means they can't really be together even if he comes back. I know, I know . . . tragic heroes are stronger, but come on . . . Steve, Peggy's roommate and now Wilkes . . . 

But only time will tell and my excitement is mounting for the next pair of episodes. 

My dream would be a Carter and Wilkes show in the vain of Hart to Hart,  tackling spy and superhero threats, while Hydra worms its way into SHIELD with Jarvis and Ana as the support staff. Maybe I will write that up and pitch it to Marvel. Surely they wouldn't turn me down.

Forecasting the Force

I should be writing right now. Okay, I am currently writing, or else you (my three followers) would not be reading this. I should be writing Cthulhu Confidential (Gumshoe 121), as the news recently dropped I am going to be in the core book with ROBIN LAWS and RUTH TILLMAN!!!  The excitement has not worn off yet or the crushing weight that I should be WRITING! There is not enough time in a day but instead...my brain keeps replaying parts of The Force Awakens. 

I really really liked the movie, liked the homage that it was to the original trilogy and happy about some actually diversity in the movie. I have even had a few talks with some other fans about it. Surprising? No, but I have noticed that it is harder to have these conversations having only seen the movie once. 

SPOILERS from here on! Turn back or be forever spoiled!

So, my issue with the movie is that it feels like Finn fails his way through the movie. Every task he undertakes usually ends with him failing or being knocked out. Just look at how he drinks from the water trough like an animal, is captured by the tentacle monster, and gets beaten by the forcepike wielding storm-trooper. Kylo beats him (yes he did get to nick the dark force user, but...) and it looks like he's getting friends-zoned by Rey at the end of the movie. I would have like to have seen him succeed at something. All of that said, he was the force (see what I did there) that moved the plot along and was the heart of the movie which is excellent given his stormtrooper "conditioning." 

Rey is not a Mary Sue. She is a chosen one; each chosen one is gifted beyond the pale and most come to terms with that responsibility. That is kinda the whole thing. Just look at little Anakin destroying a starship by sheer "luck," being an incredible pod-racer, building CP3O and . . .  You get the general gist. 

My predictions: 

Here are my thoughts about what Disney will do for Episode 8, based on nothing other than speculation and having only viewed the movie once:

1) Rey will be Luke's daughter. There's also still the possibility that she will be the daughter of Leia and Han, which would follow the Expanded Universe story arc of their twins. Jace who falls to the darkside and Jania who has to kill her brother.

2) Finn and Rey will only be friends. *sad trombone*

3) Kylo will get his cyber enhancements and die in Episode 8. 

4) The story will focus on a more personal battle, and not on the First Order and the Resistance which have suffered massive losses. My reasoning is that Snoke and Kylo are focused more on Luke. If they kill him, they will win. Basically.

5) Finn is not a force user. 

6) Luke dies. 

My wishes:

1) Rey is actually Nomi Sunrider or a descendant of hers. 

2) Rey falls to the darkside after Kylo kills Luke and she kills him. During her battle with Kylo in Episode 7, I could have sworn she has flashes of anger and rage. We all know that anger leads to the darkside!

3) Finn is force sensitive and introduces some of the other amazing force traditions.  My personal favorite is Warden of the Sky.

4) Episode 9 will be Finn pulling Rey back from the darkside, so that she can deal with Snoke in the later half of the movie.

5) Rey and Finn pull off a happy version of Han and Leia. 

Just a few bullet points, as it churns away in my brain. OK. Back to my other writing. 

Gaming While Black: Convention Planning

The 2016 con season is upon us and I plan to go to at least one new con this year. While this means writing at least two brand new scenarios that will be run multiple times at each con, it also means dealing with The Concern. The Concern is not about running a game (I issued a challenge; none of my players have accepted the it.), writing the scenarios, or figuring out the travel. The Concern is for my safety.  I weigh various factors in my mind before every con that I am going to attend. 

"What concern?" is likely the first thought most readers may have, but being a black man in America can be dangerous and has, in many instances, turned deadly. The color of my skin is not a boon in a society that continually devalues black lives and considers blacks to be inherently criminal. All of this prejudice and bias escalates to situations where white supremacists think they are protecting "their country,"  corrupt law enforcement plants drugs or covers up shootings of black people, and a "good" citizen calls into a hotline about that "thug" person walking down the street (who just happens to be African American). Don't even get me started on the ramifications of racist politicians feeding into that hate. 

A couple of years ago, I was going out for drinks with a friend; it had been ages since we hung out. I rushed from work to the bar, a swanky new place in Northwest DC, and didn't realize my phone was nearly out of juice.  The initial plan for my buddy and me was to catch up for an hour or two, but for people that know me well, once I get talking and telling stories . . . 4-ish hours later, I walked home and opened the door to find my (then pregnant) wife visibly upset and giving me a huge panicked hug (and a little side eye) when I stepped inside. She had been crying and told me that after she did not hear from me, she was afraid I had been killed. (She was absolutely right to be concerned; punctuality might as well be my middle name because I am always early.)  Her first reaction said everything to me, and it reflects my own fears and concerns about walking down the streets of America on any given night. (And henceforth, my phone shall always be juiced.) 

So, going to a con means going through my mental Rolodex of preparation for the con. Where is it located? Are friends going to meet me? Have there been any racially motivated attacks recently? Will I need to rent a car? Or get a taxi? If I have to get a taxi, is it some place like an airport where they will stop? If not, I need to rent a car. Does the area have any recent unjust stopping of motorists or recorded increased stopping of African Americans? These are the kind of questions I weigh in my mind and decide if it is worth the risk; in the past, the answer has been yes. But that is just a glimpse of the careful consideration that black gamers go through before going to a con. 

Some people ask me why I talk about this, telling them about my experience. It's simple: I don't have the privilege to not think about it, and if talking about it makes others aware of it and maybe changes their understanding, then maybe they'll try to change the world with me.  It's important that we are honest about our experience. We cannot stand by and watch the world whitewash history, teaching our children lies that slavery, KKK and Jim Crow did not / do not exist. Changing the story, distorting the reality of the African American experience, will only delay (and possibly destroy) a healthy future for our collective society. By telling my story, I hope one day I can reduce The Concern and help a PoC go to a convention with no worry other than, "I hope my dice don't fail me!"