"Vegetarian Post-Fantasy" is a strange phrase I came up with one day to describe Downalla's genre. I can’t remember now where I first heard the term “post-fantasy”, but to me it sparked a lot of ideas, and took on a new set of meanings. In this essay, I’d like to explore some of the conventions and ideas behind this genre.
First of all, what does “vegetarian” mean? Well, apart from being one myself, I intend for the word to have a specific meaning in the context of Downalla. I’m certainly not attempting to be political or convert people through my use of this word, but rather, I mean it in a broader, tongue-in-cheek context. By “vegetarian” I mean a respect for life that extends beyond humans to the natural world more broadly; hence it refers to my animal-inspired species. I also intend for this word to come with all its connotations – vegetarianism often gets called “woke” or “weak”, and that’s exactly what I’m going for. This isn’t meant to be “epic” or “high” fantasy, but rather something a bit more diverse, earthy and colourful.
Post-fantasy is a similarly woolly, vibes-based term. I wanted the “post-” part to recall how the word is used in music. “Post-punk”, for example, was an outgrowth of punk rock, but is considerably different in style. Yet it’s not quite “outside”, nor fully after, punk. Post-fantasy to me is something similar. Fantasy, especially the “high” kind, seems like a formulaic collection of tropes to me, largely laid down by Tolkien and his followers. That’s not to say I don’t like that stuff- I sure do – but these works have narrowed people’s perception of fantasy from a practice or tradition to a genre. Fantasy is not solely defined by medieval stories with elves, orcs and dragons. It’s anything in which we use our imaginations to explore alternative realities. So, much like post-punk, my post-fantasy is rooted in the 20th Century fantasy genre, but draws on broader influences. For me, the folklore of my youth is as much a part of “fantasy” as modern novels which appear under that label.
“Post-“ also means a temporal move forward in typical fantasy timelines. Downalla is a roughly “early modern” planet in our terms. It is scientifically and politically a bit further along than ancient or medieval stories. I grew up with Warhammer Fantasy and Brian McClellan novels, so I suppose it's inevitable I ended up writing in this general time frame. Yet I don’t aim for Downalla to match exactly any real-world historical context. As this is a separate planet, it should develop according to its own pace.
Another question is: why vegetarian post-fantasy? Why make up all this seafóid without the hope of ever profiting from it? Well, the short answer is that at the start, it was romantic hardship. Most men I know take up sport or music after a breakup; failing that, they go a bit mad. In my case, I was already heavily invested in long-distance running, a member of a reggae band, and mental. So those options were closed off to me, unfortunately. It was clear my efforts would be better spent on going back to my creative roots. So I started painting and publishing my stuff.
There is of course a much longer explanation as to why I want to do this. Not only is the creative process fulfilling, it's a wonderful companion in times of loneliness. Wherever I go, I can take my imaginary worlds with me. I'm often angry, however, at how grey and pessimistic the real world is these days, so producing zines is a useful part of my broader efforts to engage with the world. I didn't intend at first for my projects to get political, but you can't be creative without being honest. There was no way that anything I made wasn't going to be pro-diversity, so I might as well engage with my politics more broadly in what I produce.
I must give a disclaimer here, though: Downalla isn't intended as a utopia or allegory. Aside from a few instances, my political ideals don't find explicit expression in my imaginary places. You'll have to seek out the points at which I am making direct statements of my ideas. Instead, Downalla is primarily a useful place to discuss and play with ideas.