Lost and Found

Lost Carcosa is now available at the LotFP EU shop!

My involvement with Geoffrey McKinney's Carcosa goes back to almost the beginning. About a year after the release of the original Supplement V: Carcosa Geoffrey expanded one of the hexes on the campaign map in an article for issue #4 of Fight On! and I contributed some pictures; I'm not certain but this may have been my first published role-playing game work.

Later Geoffrey self-published that same content, this time in colour, as a zine. In 2011 Lamentations of the Flame Princess released an expanded version of Carcosa in a handsome hardback edition and almost all of my pictures were dropped in favour of new pieces by Rich Longmore. A fair trade, I think.

(Although I like my Bone Sorcerer more. Sorry Rich!)

I say "almost all" because I do have one very small piece in the published book. It's only about 5mm square and even I had trouble finding it yesterday, but it was apparently enough for James at LotFP to send me a contributor copy of the book. I've always been touched by that generosity and am always keen to tell people about it, because it's a side of James that I think gets overshadowed by his general infamy.

(I'm not sure James himself would approve, as much of that infamy is self-generated, quite deliberately!)

Earlier this year James got in touch to tell me that a new, even more expanded version of Carcosa was in the works, adding all the supplements and extras to the LotFP hardback. This time my pictures from 2009 (!) would be included and I also found a piece intended for the Fight On! article that was not completed at the time. Don't ask me why, it was 16 years ago!

Yesterday I received my contributor copy of the new book, and it's even more handsome than the 2011 printing. There are three variant covers, of which my favourite is probably the Yellow Lotus, and you can also -- if you are rich -- buy all three in a sexy -- and very heavy -- slipcase.

Which is what the contributors received.

See what I mean about generous?

Anyway, Lost Carcosa is out now, and it's quite swish. You can read Grognardia reviews of the original Carcosa here if you're interested in what it's all about.

When Banner Met Spidey

Spoilers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day -- it's very good, I've seen it twice this week! -- follow.

In the film, a significant moment hinges on Hulk recognising Peter Parker, and I've been trying to work out how that could be, barring any off-screen "I read about you in the Avengers files" business:

• In Infinity War, Banner meets Spider-Man before the latter goes into spaaaaaaaaace.
• In Endgame, Professor Hulk and Spidey are both on the battlefield. During the fight, Spidey unmasks and tells Captain Marvel his real name, and it's possible that PH witnesses that, but PH and Spidey do not interact directly on-screen. That said...
• In the same film, both Professor Hulk and Parker are at Tony Stark's funeral. Again, we don't see them interact, but it would be very strange if they didn't; if any "Hi, I'm Peter" hadn't happened yet, it must have happened here. BUT...
• In No Way Home, Spidey and Doctor Strange make everyone forget about Peter Parker. Not that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, mind you, but that Peter Parker even exists.
• In Brand New Day, Peter meets Banner. It's clear that Banner has no idea who Peter is, and Peter gives his name as "Ned Leeds".
• Later on, Spidey fights the Hulk. People are calling this "Savage Hulk" and it seems to be a new incarnation; Spidey doesn't recognise him, suggesting it's not the Hulk from Assemble and Age of Ultron. THAT SAID...
• This incarnation is the one to whom Spidey says "It's me, Peter" and reacts, apparently with recognition.

So what's happening here? Banner hasn't met Peter, and Professor Hulk probably has but doesn't seem to remember, but Savage Hulk does remember him?

There's a lovely moment in 2020's comic Immortal Hulk: Great Power in which something similar happens:

Although it's not stated on-screen -- which is a shame but I can see why, for reasons of drama and pacing, it wouldn't work in the film -- I imagine something similar to this happened. Doctor Strange's spell in NWH just didn't work on this version of the Hulk for whatever reason. Perhaps he's immune to memory wipes, like the comics version seems to be, or perhaps he was buried so deep in Banner that the spell couldn't reach him, or maybe when [REDACTED] "breaks his brain" the memory is restored.

I don't think Marvel has given an official answer, but that one's good enough for me. Probably.

I'm No Dyson

Here's a map I drew, because I sometimes draw maps.

#KelvinDrawsThings

Rejected in Reverse

Reverse Medusa. A rejected image from an upcoming project. #KelvinDrawsThings

Imaginary Horse

In 2015 Warhammer: Age of Sigmar was created. This had made some people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

Well, not "widely" as it's turned out to be a bit of a success for Games Workshop, more so than Warhammer Fantasy Battle was before it was scrapped, and is now on its fourth edition. I've still never played it, mind.

One thing that hasn't survived the years is the meta rules, suggesting that they weren't quite as popular as the rest of the game. Stuff like:

• And He Did Say ‘War’, and the World Did Tremble...: If Settra the Imperishable uses this ability, you must hold out your hand and utter ‘War’ in a supremely commanding tone. If you do, then until your next hero phase you can add 1 to all hit rolls for Death units in your army that are within 18" of Settra in the combat phase. If a Deathrattle unit is affected by this ability, you can also add 1 to their wound rolls in the combat phase. However, if Settra is your general, you must not kneel for any reason during the battle. If you do, even once, you immediately lose the battle. Settra does not kneel!
• The Grail Vow: You can re-roll all failed hit rolls for this unit if, before rolling the dice, you hold aloft a grail or goblet and shout ‘For the Lady’ in a heroic voice.
• Honour of the Clan: It is a Thane’s duty to uphold the honour of his clan, and his fighting prowess is as deadly as his beard is magnificent. You can re-roll any failed hit rolls when attacking with a Thane so long as you have a bigger and more impressive beard than your opponent.
• Liquid Fortification: You can add 1 to the Bravery of Josef Bugman and any Dispossessed unit from your army within 4" of him whilst you are holding a drink.
• The Mad Count: Marius Leitdorf is an exceptional swordsman, even if he is totally insane. If, during your hero phase, you pretend to ride an imaginary horse, you can re-roll failed hit rolls for the Averland Runefang until your next hero phase. If you actually talk to your imaginary horse you can re-roll failed wound rolls as well.
• Old Grumblers: In your hero phase, you can complain about something in a suitably Dwarfish manner. For example, the hardships you endured when you were younger, how the youth of today don’t respect their elders, how expensive beer is etc. If you do, this unit of Longbeards will join in and you can pick one of the grumblings listed below. The effects last until your next hero phase.
• WAAAGH! DRUMMER Models in this unit may be Waaagh! Drummers. You can add 2 to the charge rolls of a unit that includes any Waaagh! Drummers, but only if you bellow ‘Waaagh!’ when rolling the dice.

The one about the imaginary horse is maaaaaayyyybe insensitive to those with mental health problems, but otherwise I don't see the problem. I've always liked these rules, because they are fun, and games are supposed to be fun. Aren't they?

Walkin' Here!

Kev Walker, 1991:

Kev Walker, 1997:

Kev Walker, 2000:

Kev Walker, 2001:

(This is the sequel to the 1997 series above.)

Kev Walker. 2023:

So many styles, all good.

You Listen to Me More, You Live Longer!

This is your semi-regular reminder that Temple of Doom is the best one.

#TempleOfDoomIsTheBestOne

Hungry Ghost

Hungry ghost. I've just read Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker. It's quite good!
#KelvinDrawsThings

Blanchitsu! (bless you)

John Blanche died.

I first encountered him in Steve Jackson's Sorcery! books.

Now that's a wizard!

His art had the rubbery weirdness of someone like Erol Otus, but went beyond with a sort of feverish decadence, and a (un)healthy gob of punk. You could feel Blanche's work crawl and writhe, and probably spit, too.

Much will be written in the next few days about Blanche and his art by better writers than I, so here's a personal story instead.

I fell into the Games Workshop Hobby™ hard when I was about nine or ten, but lacking access to more than HeroQuest and White Dwarf, my engagement consisted mostly of drawing a lot of orcs and orks. For some mad reason, when I was eleven I decided to send some of those pictures in to White Dwarf. I have no idea what I was expecting. Such hubris!

They were not good pictures -- I was eleven! -- but a few days later I got a postcard with this painting on it:

And on the back, a message from John Blanche. Not much, just a few words of vague encouragement. Did he mean it? Who knows? But it meant a lot to me then -- and still does -- that he took the time to do that for an eleven year old fan.

Thanks John.

Where Did All the Blue Sky Go?

Mercy Point, a 1998 TV series about a 23rd century space hospital:

Mercy Heights, a 1997 story in 2000AD about a 23rd century space hospital:

Hm.