Keep the faith, if you can
© Michael Martinez
After long delays I finally received my copies of Toy Vault's Lord of the Nazgul action figures this month. I've been looking forward to this series of action figures (there are three in the set) because even though I've been writing essays for Toy Vault's Middle-earth Toys Web site since late 1998 the Lord of the Nazgul set marks the first time that my work has actually appeared on the packaging, and I get credit, too. Thank you, Toy Vault.
Don't worry, folks, I'm not getting commissions on any sales they make (I wish I were, but...). I mention the Lord of the Nazgul action figures because they represent a facet of Tolkien merchandising which involved input from many fans on the Internet. Toy Vault has occasionally made available for comment some of its production drawings before the final design decisions were made. That is, they went out and invited fans to comment on the artists' conceptions. That's a bold move, and as all bold moves go sometimes Toy Vault found itself embroiled in controversy, such as whether Tolkien's Elves should have pointed ears.
Toy Vault is not the first company to invite input from "serious Tolkien fans". Although Iron Crown Enterprises' Middle-earth Role-Playing Game (no longer in production) was roundly criticized by many Tolkien purists for the apparent liberties which had been taken with his world, ICE really did make an effort to recruit writers who were knowledgeable about Tolkien's world. The later modules were written by people who could argue Tolkien minutiae from the first rising of the Sun to the days of the Last Battle. They may not have seen everything the way you or I might see them, but then, how much of Tolkien's world is depicted identically by all of us?
Sierra Online's former development team included some fairly knowledgeable writers and dedicated Tolkien fans among the programmers. We can only hope the next team to work on an Internet game based in Middle-earth is at least as knowledgeable. I have to admit to snooping around their Web sites last year in the hopes of adding another Tolkien contract feather to my cap (and maybe if things had gone differently, that might have happened -- who is to say it wouldn't have?). But the important aspect to the former development team's work was that they, like Toy Vault, actively invited fannish commentary and input through The Vault's Middle-earth Message Boards. It was an exciting time, to be able to watch developers and writers interact with fans and see how the debates unfolded.
The copyright of the article Keep the faith, if you can in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Keep the faith, if you can in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
