You can always find that some of comics best characters were created by or empowered by magic:  Shazam, Zatanna, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange just to name a few. As a fantasy writer, these magical characters have inspired me in many ways. Many of them have their origins in  the Arthurian legends, which is where I based the Forever Avalon series.

My favorite has to be Etrigan the Demon. First off, he was created by the legendary Jack Kirby. That is enough of a pedigree for me, but his origin is way cooler. Merlin bound the demon Etrigan to Jason Blood, a knight of King Arthur’s court. He’s immortal and works in Gotham City from time-to-time. Cool pedigree, wicked origins from the Arthurian legend and he speaks in rhyme. I mean, you can’t call yourself a comic book geek if you can’t recite the spell to release the demon.

“Gone, gone, the form of man; arise the demon Etrigan!” 

Recently, the magical side of DC has come out through its TV franchises. Matt Ryan as John Constantine was the best casting decision ever made. He is all that is John Constantine, that Keanu Reeves wasn’t, and a bag of chips. He’s had a guest shot on Arrow and took the lead in the Justice League Dark animated movie. I can’t wait to see more of him, especially if Guillermo del Toro still moves ahead with a live action Justice League Dark movie.

Marvel’s also had its fair share of bringing magical heroes up with a touch of Arthurian legend. If you want to read a great Avengers series, The Morgan Conquest is a classic. Morgan (not Morganna) le Fay casts a spell that changes the entire planet into her own magical realm with the Avengers subjected as her own imperial guard. Even their names are more medieval (Captain America is now Yeoman America, She Hulk is the Jade Giantess, you get the idea).

They also have a cavalcade of superheroes tied to the magic of Avalon, Merlin, and more. Dane Whitman, The Black Knight, wields the Ebony Blade (forged in Camelot from a meteorite by Merlin). Captain Britain’s powers come from Merlyn (spelled different but supposedly the same man) as a protector of the multi-verse in the Captain Britain Corps. Union Jack was empowered by the Spirit of Pendragon, a magical energy in the form of Sir Lancelot, to defend the British Isles. You can’t shake a stick in the UK in the Marvel Universe without hitting a magic-related superhero or villain for that matter.

Though magic is the tie that binds all these great characters together, is the artists and writers that made them so memorable. Some of their origins are now part of history, of legend, and that makes them immortal. Like Avalon, they will live on FOREVER.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.

I can’t begin to understand actors, actresses and other “entertainers” getting political. I understand that a lot of them don’t like the President or his policies, but using their  position as a platform is often suspect. They’re using social media, television and other forms of digital media to promote their discourse. The problem is that they’re alienating the part of the country that disagrees with them. The people they’re calling “deplorables” are the same people who help them earn a living by buying tickets to a movie or downloading their music. It doesn’t make sense for them to “bite the hand that feeds them” as it were.

Hollywood and political diatribe have been walking side-by-side since even before the movies learned to talk. Charlie Chaplain was famous for poking fun at the government from both his silent movies (kicking an immigration official in “The Immigrant”) and especially when he did his first “talkie” (watch his speech from “The Great Dictator” and you’ll know why). Everyone knows about Jane Fonda and her visit to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and how Vietnam Vets still hold it against her today.

So what’s different about today? I think that you can easily point to social media. With so many platforms to make a statement, artists use it to fuel the fire, and sometimes, it gets way too hot. Don’t get me wrong, this is America and everyone has the right to their own opinion. Freedom of Speech is an essential part of what makes America great, something that many other countries don’t have.

There are some artists that chose to make a statement and some who don’t. Take the Broadway musical “Hamilton” as an example. When Vice President Mike Pence decided to take his family to see the show, the cast decided to take the time to make a political statement against him and President Trump. Some people applauded their bold statement while others returned their tickets and vowed never to see the show. Did it affect their ticket sales? No, not really.

Then there’s the Dixie Chicks … remember them? They spoke out against President Bush and the Iraq War while performing overseas. Their records were burned, crushed and discarded. Some radio stations refused to play their music. While most music and media applauded their bravery for speaking out, the fans did not. They are no longer together and rarely perform, except when they want to make a stand for something else.

So there are many pros and cons for artists to get political. As a writer, I try to stay in the world of fantasy and avoid politics. The most political thing I did was in The Dark Tides where I named Chief B’Rak of Togo, a colony of former African slaves, after President Barrack Obama. I was going to name the Goblin King after him, but my wife thought that “crossed the line” and I agreed, so I changed it.

The one thing I do agree with is a statement made by actor Mark Wahlberg. In an interview, he said “A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn’t,” when speaking about politics. “They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills. A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”

You can see who follows this philosophy by looking at who is out there speaking up and who is not. There are many who realize that people want actors and musicians to entertain them, not preach to them. Look at how successful politically charged movies have been over the past few years. I remember when anti-Iraq war movies came out, one after the other, at the end of the Bush Administration. They had A-List actors in them (Tom Cruise, Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in “Lambs for Lions” comes to mind) but they barely made a dent at the box office.

There is a time and a place for political commentary. Movies and TV shows like “Lone Survivor” and “24” address these charged political issues like terrorism, immigration and religious tolerance without taking sides or making a speech. They use it to entertain and let the audience make their own determination. That’s the fine line that other artists need to understand before they decide to go the way of the Dixie Chicks.

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Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.