Ostensible Cat

A nongaming post, but one very much related to my creative inspiration for gaming and art. It might not be readily apparent but I like Mike Mignola’s work. A LOT. And then even more on top of that. The man is one of my all time favorites in the comics world. But Mike’s work can be something of an acquired taste for some people. I like comics. I like comics a lot. I like comics about as much as I like Mignola’s work…Now any way. When I was younger, I used to collect Alpha Flight. Mike did some covers (issues 33 and 34). For whatever reason, they just didn’t sit right with me back then (although looking at the covers now, I wonder what the hell was wrong with me. Especially Wolverine fighting the samurai). I was more of a John Byrne guy back then (which is funny since Mignola and Byrne collaborated on the first Hellboy story, which I’ll get to in a bit). At any rate, I’ve collected comics off and on my whole life. Actually at some points it seems to become a crazy addictio

I suspect that most role players and especially DM’s have a touch of world builder in them. Some are able to just wing it, while there are others that are completely obsessive and must account for every map, tectonic movement, weather pattern, solar cycles, cultural patterns, etc… Me, I’m rather bipolar about my world building. Sometimes I’ll just say screw it and delve in and make stuff up on the fly. Other times, I need to work out the various exchange mediums, the color of the atmosphere (and the reasons why it is that color), the magnetic fields and the effect on weather patterns, right on down to the last finicky detail. One thing that no matter which pole I happen to be at that remains consistent is language. You see, language is defined by culture and a reflection of culture. It binds cultures together and separates them from every other culture. You can trace the evolution of culture through language. It is pretty fascinating stuff. And the cool thing about it from a