Lovely People by Minna Sunberg

Art by Minna Sunberg

I first came across the short graphic novel about a bunch of bunnies living in a world with social credit system a month or so ago. It was Brian Niemeier who brought "Lovely People" by Finnish author Minna Sunberg to my attention.

As Niemeier put it:

"The artist behind Lovely People, Minna Sundberg, is an unapologetic Christian, which probably won't win her much acclaim in her home country of Finland.

What's most striking about this delightfully dystopian comic is the fluffy bunnies. Its next most impressive aspect is how the creator nailed the cloying, effeminate nature of Death Cult coercion.

The Cult won't be satisfied with you mouthing the right platitudes, signaling the right virtues, and conspicuously consuming the right product. Just as Christian missionaries genuinely hope their new flocks will enter into personal relationships with Jesus Christ, the Death Cult's anti-evangelists want you to really love Big Brother."

I'm glad I took the time, and read it, because I can't recommend it enough. I love the art, the story, and the message of hope. Sunberg managed to weave the central message of Christianity into a story about dissidents in a world of social credit system.

Art by Minna Sunberg

It makes me want to get Lovely People on Arktoons, so more people would be exposed to it. Until then, Lovely People remains free to read on the internet in its entirety. 

Enjoy.

Meme of the day

 

Paladin II/12: My Heroforge rules

Since I decided to try and create 12 distinct paladin characters using Heroforge in order to honour the 12 Peers of Charlemagne, I came up with a set of rules.

The purpose of these rules is to create models that are varied and different enough from the stock armour sets available, while also making things a little more interesting for myself.

The rules are:

1. Paladin must have a cross
2. Paladin must have a book
3. Paladin must have a sword, spear, mace or any other knightly weapon
4. No more than two items of the same armour set can be used on the same paladin
5. No armour piece can be used twice or more across all 12 paladins
6. Weapons and shields can be duplicated across the 12 characters
7. Weapons and shields used should strive toward realism
8. The models should be human in look and size

Above is the image of the 2nd Paladin. You can find the 1st Paladin here.

Historically the symbols of knighthood were sword and spurs. While there is plenty of swords, we're rather limited in Heroforge with the amount of spurs available. There is only a pair attatched to the cowboy shoes. So with some ingenuity that would give us only one kinght with spurs.

Instead I chose to work with what is available. That means books. In modern fantasy setting it has become somewhat of a trope to equip a paladin with a codex at his belt. This might symbolise the book of laws, a Bible or a prayer book. It reinforces that paladin is not just an elite warrior of God, but also a missionary.

I chose cross in order to connect the three main elements of what for me a paladin represents. Ora et labora. The weapon paladin wields represents the work he does in the name of God. The book he holds represents his devotion to prayer, and the cross represents that without God, there is no meaning to either his prayer or to his work.

Deus lo vult!