In an age where the world seems to be spiraling into self-absorbed madness, a shift in perspective has occurred. I was hand fed Disney growing up, as I’m sure so many children were, but the world was changing.

Alongside Disney was an era of television re-runs. Sit-coms and com-dramas that began to offer a different perspective to a growing generation of kids who had parents that let them watch this content, not truly understanding that their children weren’t ever going to digest it in the same way they were. This new television era, wasn’t ‘new’ to children being born into it. This era was now their norm.

The anti-hero was on the rise. The war had made it as entertainment (pick a conflict). Real situations were being presented, and ‘real’ characters were emerging from those realities to earn the adoration, affection, and respect of the audience, as writers moved to analyse and reveal what living in those times could do to a person.

Add to that the fact that most every household held the “news” as mandatory viewing every evening and how terrifying that shit was. Truly nightmare inspiring for a generation of kids that were taught television was make-believe; but the news was real… the gateway into darkness was born. Grim was now normal. The news has always been three seashells short of terrorism. Your daily fix of murder, death, kill. Dark had made it past the doorstep and into our livingrooms.

My first introduction to the anti-hero was a book called The Cats of Seroster by Robert Westall. I read it at a young age and it changed me forever. In this book was a revelation that struck a chord with me; It sucks having that much responsibility. Just because you have been called to do something, doesn’t mean you have to accept it. But, what happens when you can’t reject it?

I made a far greater connection with that character than I ever had. The hero was flawed. Well… I was too. The hero was stuck doing things he wasn’t enjoying. Well… I was too. The added bonus of cats that helped work him towards his goal was also amazing to me, as my best friend at that time was my cat. Instant reverence.

From that novel I discovered I really loved this view on life. I wanted heroes I identified with. I knew I could never be a Disney Hero; I was made to believe I wasn’t special enough. But in these books, I was being shown that I could be both flawed, and a hero. That, no matter my imperfections, I was still capable of doing great things and making an immense difference.

The price of those choices was something I understood as well. Life had already taught me that if you stand up, people will knock you down. I was learning that those you viewed as your heroes in real life might not be worthy of such accolades, and that at most crossroads there are no ‘good choices’ just ‘better choices’.

So where does the violence come into things, you might be wondering. Well, we’ve all been kicked at some point. Our species has never been innocent and the human race has risen above their animal state to become monsters. We are so incredibly capable of such immense acts of cruelty and destruction; this hasn’t gotten better over time.

The violence is both a declaration and an outlet. It exposes the truth behind such behaviour. People get hurt. Some get over it, some embrace it, while others are never the same. No matter the outcome, these things don’t fix themselves quickly. Some of these scars are carried for life. Grimdark acknowledges this, exposes it, and explores it.

That is life.

Mental illness isn’t an 'illness'. Perpetual happiness is not normal. Most of the people in charge of things, are sociopaths. Economies force people to do desperate things. The law loves being in charge so badly some believe they are above the laws they uphold. People act out in violent ways when they believe they are entitled to, or the situation justifies it.

That is society.

We must believe that heroes can still be born from such darkness. That no matter where the world is going, there will always be people who are willing to do whatever is required to see things set as straight as their definition of the term makes it. Those who want to do better, when right isn’t an option. Fantasy that walks parallel to reality.

That is Grimdark.

Welcome to my world.