Hello, Readers! Clevenger here.

So…. we’re digging into what drove us to fantasy?! Yeah, this should be interesting. Not interesting as in unique or revolutionary, but interesting as in… I’ve never really thought about the why. So, let’s travel down this road of self-reflection together. I’m sure I’m about to learn as much as you are.

I think it all revolves around swords and monsters.

As a kid, I was VERY into Superheroes. Loved all comics, cartoons, and the four-color heroes of old. I still am a fan of them today. But as I grew up, I started to shift. My tastes went to the more monsterous, and more darkly fascinating.

If I had to peg a “moment” where this began, it was my elementary school art class. In fourth grade, they gave us one of our major 9-week projects. The first “long-term” art project, where we would work on it for 10-15 minutes a day once or twice a week, trying to incorporate art techniques we had learned. They tasked us to create a piece set in a “historical” subject. All around me, kids were drawing or sculpting historical figures (presidents, revolutionary figures, etc.). There were even a few recreations of “the Signing of the Declaration of Independence” and “Crossing the Delaware” all to varying degrees of ability.

In my youth, I was a reasonably talented artist. So I wanted to “create my own vision.” I did some quick research in the library, planned out a perspective, and started to draw. I drew two Roman gladiators, dressed in armor, swords and shields fighting it out. I researched the shapes of the swords, the types of shields they should use, the helmets, and grieves. I counted columns in the Colosseum. I looked into different types of fights. I got deep into it.

The final result was a detailed mess of these two powerful figures up front, but in the background all sorts of brutality and carnage. Lions eating people, framed by warrior impaled on pikes, backdropped by chariots crashed into each other… the longer I had to work, the more gruesome it became. (And yes… there was apparently a MAJOR parent/teacher conference discussion about this artwork and my mental health).

But looking into the weapons of history, I became fascinated by them. Why would someone choose one weapon over another? What types of combat styles would be associated with a rapier versus a Katana versus a claymore? How did they develop and evolve culture around them? While everyone around me was looking at guns (and a few lasers), I was locked in on swords. (And clubs, and pole-arms, and axes, and…)

Somewhere in middle school, my fascination with Horror bled into my new love for historical weaponry. Monsters were cool. Realizing that monsters were based in the mythology of these cultures that I had been studying was even cooler. And around 7th grade, someone introduced me to Dungeons and Dragons. You could create characters, arm them with any weapon you wanted, and then go fight a mythic monster. Well, folks. That’s how I began to love fantasy.

Games like Hero Quest, Dungeons and Dragons, and Kings Quest gave me a taste of what could be done by picking up random elements of history, culture, myth, and more to tell unique stories. Unfortunately, I didn’t get my hand on a true “fantasy” book until Freshman year. “Spellfire” was the first fantasy novel (I did read “Eye of the Dragon” by Stephen King, but I don’t really count that as true fantasy. I’ll delve into that in a future post) that I ever read. Suddenly, magic was now entering the equation. This is where I got “hooked.”

College introduced me to philosophy and religion. I dove deeper into fantasy gaming, and I just never stopped to ask why this realm seemed to provide me with infinitely deep rabbit holes to explore. But I think Graham covered that in his post. It’s taking an idea that is in our real world and tweaking it or enhancing it to show a perspective that isn’t seen in real life.

While I still enjoy Horror, Superheroes, an occasional sci-fi (I’m one of the random fantasy guys that only has a passing interest in science fiction), Thrillers, and Mystery, none of these genres offer the freedom that fantasy does. I can see a new superpower displayed, you can show me the coolest new laser cannon, you can even take kids to the “Upside Down,” and it’s all awesome. But at the end of the day, give me a sword and a chimera and watch me smile.

Be Kind

-Clevenger