#thehobbit — Public Fediverse posts

#Elrond #TheHobbit #Hobbit #3000YearsAgo

#Elrond #TheHobbit #Hobbit #3000YearsAgo

The Hobbit “Story Decks”: the next chapter.

Been spending a week bit of time on Hobbits today, jamming the Welcome Deck mode in Arena and questioning why they couldn’t port the physical versions card for card? The Black deck was 22 swamps. In a 40 card deck. That’s wild. Also super frustrating is the fact that they don’t bother to publish the lists for the store Brawl decks in the weekly updates any more. Which means screenshoting the deck page in the client, running it through an image-to-text tool, then a whole lot of cleaning up and double checking. I’ve done two, and I’ll do the other two tomorrow I think. Commander fans: worth checking out those decks (once I’ve got everything up on the wiki, obviously) for inspiration. Honestly, I have no idea why they didn’t actually release any this time – but I think I complained about that already in a previous post.

That works well enough as a segue, so let’s crack on.

So in the previous post I shared a Thorin’s company themed Dwarf list. But it was clear that you could probably build one around the Iron Hills dwarves too. So I have. That’s what’s happening in this post!

Dwarrow Detachment

1 An Unexpected Party
1 Bifur, Melodic Rider
1 Bofur, Reliable Guardian
1 Bombur, Gentle Dreamer
2 Celebrate the Mountain-king
1 Dáin Ironfoot
1 Dáin’s Company
1 Dori, Bearer of Friends
1 Dwarven Mattock
2 Dwarven Mauler
3 Dwarven Provisioner
4 Dwarven Shortsword
1 Fíli the Pathfinder
1 Glóin the Mighty
2 Improvised Club
4 Iron Hills
2 Iron Hills Blacksmith
3 Iron Hills Stalwart
10 Mountain
1 Ori, Keeper of Songs
10 Plains
1 The Lonely Mountain
1 Thorin, Mountain-king
2 Thorin’s Last Stand
3 Vow to Erebor

Can also be seen on Moxfield.

It’s worth stating, for posterity, that I’m going for a Starter deck vibe with my lists. Preconesque, even, to the surprise of very few. So this could be better, more consistent, all that stuff. If anyone was inspired to build anything that I post but wanted a higher power level then absolutely go for it: add more copies of the good cards that you’ve enjoyed casting and generally just mess around and make it yours. That was the whole point of theme/intro decks back in the day anyway!

The Hobbit being a small set really shows, again, I think. I didn’t originally want to reuse a lot of the Legends from the first deck. But clearly I have done so. There just weren’t enough options otherwise, not if I wanted to avoid just jamming full playsets of things in.

I actually am not sure what else to say about this. Maybe I should have smashed on with writing this the day that I actually brewed up the decks when my mind was still fresh and so I could communicate my thought processes. There were actually quite a few two drops to consider, is one thing I considered. But otherwise this should be a fairly straightfoward RW deck. Play dudes, equip dudes with equipment, attack. Repeat.

Dwarrow Delegation v2.0

1 Balin, Loremaster
1 Bifur, Melodic Rider
1 Bilbo, Unexpected Adventurer
1 Bofur, Reliable Guardian
1 Bombur, Gentle Dreamer
2 Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern
1 Dori, Bearer of Friends
1 Dwalin, Weaponmaster
2 Dwarven Mattock
1 Fíli the Pathfinder
1 Gandalf, Spark Starter
1 Giant’s Boulder
1 Glóin the Mighty
4 Hobbit Hole
1 Kíli the Resourceful
10 Mountain
1 Nori, Teller of Tales
1 Óin the Brave
1 Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver
1 Ori, Keeper of Songs
3 Pinecone Strike
10 Plains
1 Sting, Bilbo’s Sword
2 Stone by Sunlight
1 Thorin Oakenshield
1 Thrór’s Map
3 Troop of Ponies
3 Vow to Erebor
2 Well-Worn Spatula

And this is the RW version of the previous Dwarf build. Moxfield link here. This is probably significantly better than the WUR original I’d say. And it also indicates to me that I probably should just merge the Iron Hills and Company builds together and that combination will mostly likely be a significant improvement again. Something I’ll have a think about.

The Greenwood

2 Attercop
1 Beorn, Reluctant Host
2 Beorn’s Hospitality
1 Boughside Wanderers
1 Down in the Valley
1 Elven Passage
1 Elvish Archdruid
3 Elvish Mystic
2 Elvish Visionary
24 Forest
1 Gigantic Big Bear
2 Guardian of the Halls
1 Mirkwood Elk
3 Mirkwood Nurturer
2 Mirkwood Pathmaker
1 Old Fat Spider
1 Part in Friendship
3 Quarrel
1 Thranduil, Sindarin Liege
1 Through the Forest Gate
1 Troop of Ponies
1 Wayfarer’s Bauble
3 Wood Elves
1 Woodland Weavemaster

I was hesitant to just brew up decks which were simply the two-coloured paint-by-numbers draft archetypes baked into the set. But I saw that maybe a monogreen deck could work. This was before the Welcome Deck Duel mode came to Arena, and I now realise that what I’ve put together could just be seen as an upgraded version of that one. But hey: lots of forests and elves… surely nobody in the last 30 years of the game’s existence has thought about making a deck like that, hey?

Again: small set. The Elf-matters stuff came later, it wasn’t the original plan. My original thought was just to go full in on the land-search type ramp in order to make the Mirkwood Pathfinders huge. Through the Forest Gate being the thing which sold that idea to me. But there’s now a bit of landfall stuff, some fatties at the top of the curve, as well as a touch of that Elf Typal as mentioned. I’m actually fairly happy with it, and it’s got a fairly decent flavour of when the company were hanging around between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood to it. At one point I also had a couple of Warg-ish type cards in the deck too, but I decided to cut those for story reasons.

And so. Three lists to consider, hopefully that makes up for me not really being able to elaborate as much about how I went about designing these as I think I managed in the first post. But certainly I welcome feed back and thoughts. I’m still not quite ready to commit to physically assembling these, or in fact to adding more decks to this series. I’m curious about the Battle of Five Armies co-op box set apparently coming next year and I’m prepared to wait until we know more about what those decks look like before I go ahead and add customs to my collection. Of course, things change, and I’m actually wondering about the possibility of “De-Commanderising” some of the Arena Brawl decks. In fact, there’s a very good chance that’ll be the next post: I’m feeling a bit of inspiration in that direction.

Cheers,

Beats.

PS: watch this. Good stuff.

The Hobbit “Story Decks”: the next chapter.

Been spending a week bit of time on Hobbits today, jamming the Welcome Deck mode in Arena and questioning why they couldn’t port the physical versions card for card? The Black deck was 22 swamps. In a 40 card deck. That’s wild. Also super frustrating is the fact that they don’t bother to publish the lists for the store Brawl decks in the weekly updates any more. Which means screenshoting the deck page in the client, running it through an image-to-text tool, then a whole lot of cleaning up and double checking. I’ve done two, and I’ll do the other two tomorrow I think. Commander fans: worth checking out those decks (once I’ve got everything up on the wiki, obviously) for inspiration. Honestly, I have no idea why they didn’t actually release any this time – but I think I complained about that already in a previous post.

That works well enough as a segue, so let’s crack on.

So in the previous post I shared a Thorin’s company themed Dwarf list. But it was clear that you could probably build one around the Iron Hills dwarves too. So I have. That’s what’s happening in this post!

Dwarrow Detachment

1 An Unexpected Party
1 Bifur, Melodic Rider
1 Bofur, Reliable Guardian
1 Bombur, Gentle Dreamer
2 Celebrate the Mountain-king
1 Dáin Ironfoot
1 Dáin’s Company
1 Dori, Bearer of Friends
1 Dwarven Mattock
2 Dwarven Mauler
3 Dwarven Provisioner
4 Dwarven Shortsword
1 Fíli the Pathfinder
1 Glóin the Mighty
2 Improvised Club
4 Iron Hills
2 Iron Hills Blacksmith
3 Iron Hills Stalwart
10 Mountain
1 Ori, Keeper of Songs
10 Plains
1 The Lonely Mountain
1 Thorin, Mountain-king
2 Thorin’s Last Stand
3 Vow to Erebor

Can also be seen on Moxfield.

It’s worth stating, for posterity, that I’m going for a Starter deck vibe with my lists. Preconesque, even, to the surprise of very few. So this could be better, more consistent, all that stuff. If anyone was inspired to build anything that I post but wanted a higher power level then absolutely go for it: add more copies of the good cards that you’ve enjoyed casting and generally just mess around and make it yours. That was the whole point of theme/intro decks back in the day anyway!

The Hobbit being a small set really shows, again, I think. I didn’t originally want to reuse a lot of the Legends from the first deck. But clearly I have done so. There just weren’t enough options otherwise, not if I wanted to avoid just jamming full playsets of things in.

I actually am not sure what else to say about this. Maybe I should have smashed on with writing this the day that I actually brewed up the decks when my mind was still fresh and so I could communicate my thought processes. There were actually quite a few two drops to consider, is one thing I considered. But otherwise this should be a fairly straightfoward RW deck. Play dudes, equip dudes with equipment, attack. Repeat.

Dwarrow Delegation v2.0

1 Balin, Loremaster
1 Bifur, Melodic Rider
1 Bilbo, Unexpected Adventurer
1 Bofur, Reliable Guardian
1 Bombur, Gentle Dreamer
2 Burn, Burn, Tree and Fern
1 Dori, Bearer of Friends
1 Dwalin, Weaponmaster
2 Dwarven Mattock
1 Fíli the Pathfinder
1 Gandalf, Spark Starter
1 Giant’s Boulder
1 Glóin the Mighty
4 Hobbit Hole
1 Kíli the Resourceful
10 Mountain
1 Nori, Teller of Tales
1 Óin the Brave
1 Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver
1 Ori, Keeper of Songs
3 Pinecone Strike
10 Plains
1 Sting, Bilbo’s Sword
2 Stone by Sunlight
1 Thorin Oakenshield
1 Thrór’s Map
3 Troop of Ponies
3 Vow to Erebor
2 Well-Worn Spatula

And this is the RW version of the previous Dwarf build. Moxfield link here. This is probably significantly better than the WUR original I’d say. And it also indicates to me that I probably should just merge the Iron Hills and Company builds together and that combination will mostly likely be a significant improvement again. Something I’ll have a think about.

The Greenwood

2 Attercop
1 Beorn, Reluctant Host
2 Beorn’s Hospitality
1 Boughside Wanderers
1 Down in the Valley
1 Elven Passage
1 Elvish Archdruid
3 Elvish Mystic
2 Elvish Visionary
24 Forest
1 Gigantic Big Bear
2 Guardian of the Halls
1 Mirkwood Elk
3 Mirkwood Nurturer
2 Mirkwood Pathmaker
1 Old Fat Spider
1 Part in Friendship
3 Quarrel
1 Thranduil, Sindarin Liege
1 Through the Forest Gate
1 Troop of Ponies
1 Wayfarer’s Bauble
3 Wood Elves
1 Woodland Weavemaster

I was hesitant to just brew up decks which were simply the two-coloured paint-by-numbers draft archetypes baked into the set. But I saw that maybe a monogreen deck could work. This was before the Welcome Deck Duel mode came to Arena, and I now realise that what I’ve put together could just be seen as an upgraded version of that one. But hey: lots of forests and elves… surely nobody in the last 30 years of the game’s existence has thought about making a deck like that, hey?

Again: small set. The Elf-matters stuff came later, it wasn’t the original plan. My original thought was just to go full in on the land-search type ramp in order to make the Mirkwood Pathfinders huge. Through the Forest Gate being the thing which sold that idea to me. But there’s now a bit of landfall stuff, some fatties at the top of the curve, as well as a touch of that Elf Typal as mentioned. I’m actually fairly happy with it, and it’s got a fairly decent flavour of when the company were hanging around between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood to it. At one point I also had a couple of Warg-ish type cards in the deck too, but I decided to cut those for story reasons.

And so. Three lists to consider, hopefully that makes up for me not really being able to elaborate as much about how I went about designing these as I think I managed in the first post. But certainly I welcome feed back and thoughts. I’m still not quite ready to commit to physically assembling these, or in fact to adding more decks to this series. I’m curious about the Battle of Five Armies co-op box set apparently coming next year and I’m prepared to wait until we know more about what those decks look like before I go ahead and add customs to my collection. Of course, things change, and I’m actually wondering about the possibility of “De-Commanderising” some of the Arena Brawl decks. In fact, there’s a very good chance that’ll be the next post: I’m feeling a bit of inspiration in that direction.

Cheers,

Beats.

PS: watch this. Good stuff.

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComics #Books #Fantasy #TheHobbit 10 Fantasy Books That I Knew Would Be Masterpieces From the First 10 Pages http://dlvr.it/TTyVrd

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComics #Books #Fantasy #TheHobbit 10 Fantasy Books That I Knew Would Be Masterpieces From the First 10 Pages http://dlvr.it/TTyVrd

Finished #TheHobbit.
Read and read again.

#ReadingTo #Vorlesen

He was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be 'queer' - except by his nephews and nieces on the Took side,...

Ja, er wurde von allen Hobbits seiner Nachbarschaft für verschroben gehalten - ausgenommen von seinen Neffen und Nichten von der Tukseite.(t. Walter Scherf)

Gu dearbh bhathar ga mheas le hobatan uile na coimhearsnachd mar "neonach" - ach leis na h-oghaichean air an taobh Thùg,...(t. Moray Watson)

The Last Goodbye - Billy Boyd (Official Music Video) | The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ir8rVl2Z4

#TheLastGoodbye #BillyBoyd #TheHobbit #TheBattleOfTheFiveArmies #Music #LOTR

The Last Goodbye - Billy Boyd (Official Music Video) | The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ir8rVl2Z4

#TheLastGoodbye #BillyBoyd #TheHobbit #TheBattleOfTheFiveArmies #Music #LOTR

The Hobbit - Misty Mountain //Johan Karlström & The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (LIVE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubHSQ-wu7hw

#TheHobbit #MistyMountain #Music #LOTR

The Hobbit - Misty Mountain //Johan Karlström & The Danish National Symphony Orchestra (LIVE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubHSQ-wu7hw

#TheHobbit #MistyMountain #Music #LOTR

Portrait of one of the actors from Theatre on the Blue's #Fringe production of The Hobbit
https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/55453379254/in/photostream/lightbox/

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #photography #photographie #portrait #actor #actrice #BlackAndWhitePhotography #theatre #Fringe #EdinburghFringe #TheHobbit

Portrait of one of the actors from Theatre on the Blue's #Fringe production of The Hobbit
https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/55453379254/in/photostream/lightbox/

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #photography #photographie #portrait #actor #actrice #BlackAndWhitePhotography #theatre #Fringe #EdinburghFringe #TheHobbit

Actors from Theatre on the Blue's delightful production of The Hobbit, at the #Fringe today https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/55452235257/in/photostream/lightbox/

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #photography #photographie #EdinburghFringe #Tolkien #TheatreOfTheBlue #Fantasy #TheHobbit #BlackAndWhitePhotography

Actors from Theatre on the Blue's delightful production of The Hobbit, at the #Fringe today https://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo_gazette/55452235257/in/photostream/lightbox/

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #photography #photographie #EdinburghFringe #Tolkien #TheatreOfTheBlue #Fantasy #TheHobbit #BlackAndWhitePhotography

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComics #Books #Fantasy #TheHobbit 10 Fantasy Book Masterpieces That Are Perfectly Written http://dlvr.it/TTtdMq

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComics #Books #Fantasy #TheHobbit 10 Fantasy Book Masterpieces That Are Perfectly Written http://dlvr.it/TTtdMq

Sauron may have been after The One Ring, but gamers can never stop with just One Dice... #dice #qWorkshop #theHobbit #theLordOfTheRings
https://www.tabletopsentinel.com/news/fantasy/journey-to-middle-earth-with-q-workshops-lord-of-the-rings-and-the-hobbit-dice?utm_source=mastodon

Sauron may have been after The One Ring, but gamers can never stop with just One Dice... #dice #qWorkshop #theHobbit #theLordOfTheRings
https://www.tabletopsentinel.com/news/fantasy/journey-to-middle-earth-with-q-workshops-lord-of-the-rings-and-the-hobbit-dice?utm_source=mastodon

Oh wait, *here* is my true spirit animal.

#mtg #hobbit #thehobbit

Oh wait, *here* is my true spirit animal.

#mtg #hobbit #thehobbit

The new MTG Hobbit set has some great card names. 😂

Which one are you?

#mtg #hobbit #thehobbit

The new MTG Hobbit set has some great card names. 😂

Which one are you?

#mtg #hobbit #thehobbit

Q: When Does A Tolkien Question Stop Being About Tolkien?

ANSWER: Through the years I receive occasional thoughtful opinions or responses to recent posts on this blog, where long-time readers feel I may have strayed beyond their expectations or – in some cases – comfort zones. Those two areas are not the same (in my eyes). There may be other, unseen boundaries I occasionally cross. Years ago, […]

Q: When Does A Tolkien Question Stop Being About Tolkien?

ANSWER: Through the years I receive occasional thoughtful opinions or responses to recent posts on this blog, where long-time readers feel I may have strayed beyond their expectations or – in some cases – comfort zones. Those two areas are not the same (in my eyes). There may be other, unseen boundaries I occasionally cross. Years ago, […]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022-): Season 3 – Official Trailer

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Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022-): Season 3 – Official Trailer

Subscribe to keep reading

Become a paid subscriber to get access to the rest of this post and other exclusive content.

Magic: The Gathering Reveals New ‘The Hobbit’ Card Featuring Iconic J.R.R. Tolkien Character (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #MagicTheGathering #TheHobbit #WizardsoftheCoast

https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/magic-the-gathering-hobbit-spoiler-card-gloin-1236822100/

Magic: The Gathering Reveals New ‘The Hobbit’ Card Featuring Iconic J.R.R. Tolkien Character (EXCLUSIVE)
#Variety #News #MagicTheGathering #TheHobbit #WizardsoftheCoast

https://variety.com/2026/gaming/news/magic-the-gathering-hobbit-spoiler-card-gloin-1236822100/

The road goes ever, ever on, and leads to #MTG's next set, The Hobbit. Get your tickets for our prerelease events, available on our website now. Don't get left behind! #magicthegathering #thehobbit #lordoftherings

I couldn’t decide on which book to start tonight, so I started The Hobbit again.

#thehobbit #thelordoftherings

I couldn’t decide on which book to start tonight, so I started The Hobbit again.

#thehobbit #thelordoftherings

Welcome to My Tolkien Life

There is always another road to follow in Middle-earth.

My Tolkien Life is an ongoing comic series about fans of Middle-earth, imagined in a light-hearted way.

I may begin with a seemingly simple question about The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, only to find that it leads into The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s letters, one of his essays, or several volumes of The History of Middle-earth. That experience – asking one question and discovering a dozen more – is at the heart of My Tolkien Life, my new website launched on July 15, 2026.

I created My Tolkien Life as part of the Xenite.Org network to bring together several things I enjoy: exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings, discussing difficult questions, creating original comics and illustrations, and sharing the lighter side of Tolkien fandom.

Many people first encounter Middle-earth through the stories. After they finish reading, they often begin asking deeper questions. Where did the Orcs come from? What happened to the Entwives? How did Tolkien’s ideas change over time? Which familiar details come from his books, and which were introduced by movies, television programs, games, or fan traditions?

I want My Tolkien Life to encourage that curiosity while keeping the experience welcoming, entertaining, and grounded in Tolkien’s own words whenever possible.

Returning to Tolkien’s Writings

There is no shortage of online discussion about Tolkien, especially when a new movie, television series, or video game appears. Although adaptations may sometimes enter the conversation, my main interest lies in what Tolkien himself wrote.

That includes his published stories, letters, essays, linguistic material, and the writings edited and released after his death. Together, they provide an enormous landscape to explore.

Some articles on My Tolkien Life examine the history of Middle-earth or the peoples who inhabited it. Others look at Tolkien’s evolving ideas, unresolved questions, and popular assumptions that may not be supported by the texts.

Tolkien did not always leave behind one simple, permanent answer. He repeatedly reconsidered characters, events, languages, and even the basic nature of his fictional world. Sometimes the surviving evidence points toward a clear conclusion. In other cases, several interpretations remain possible.

I believe that learning about Tolkien’s legendarium should be enjoyable. Some questions have definite answers. Others remain open because Tolkien continued revising his ideas throughout his life. Exploring both kinds of questions is part of the fun.

My goal is not to overwhelm readers with citations or require them to own every volume of The History of Middle-earth. I want to present the evidence in an approachable way, identify useful sources, and distinguish Tolkien’s writings from ideas introduced or popularized by later adaptations.

Meet the Comic Characters

Scholarly questions do not always have to be treated solemnly. Sometimes an original fantasy comic—and perhaps a cheerful baby dragon—can make the discussion more enjoyable.

The comics on My Tolkien Life feature a recurring cast that includes Lily, Kael, Elara, Mira, Agnarr, Tom, Barath, Darvolo, and Smokey, a baby golden dragon who is usually more adorable than alarming.

These characters approach Tolkien’s world much as real fans do. They ask questions, propose theories, disagree with one another, make jokes, and occasionally wander into imaginative adventures of their own. Their conversations allow me to introduce complicated subjects through humor, friendly debates, and visual storytelling.

The comics are not intended only for newcomers. Longtime readers should also recognize the experience of gathering with friends to debate an obscure point of Middle-earth history—although most Tolkien discussion groups probably do not include an actual dragon.

A Site for Every Kind of Tolkien Reader

I created My Tolkien Life for people who have studied Tolkien for decades, readers who have just completed their first journey through The Lord of the Rings, and everyone in between.

You do not need to memorize the genealogy of the House of Finwë before visiting. You do not need to speak Quenya, recognize every name in The Silmarillion, or own twelve editions of The Hobbit. Curiosity is enough.

I have published Tolkien essays and research online through Xenite.Org for more than two decades, including my work on the Tolkien and Middle-earth Blog. My Tolkien Life continues that exploration while giving me more room to combine research and commentary with original comics, illustrations, and humor.

I hope the site becomes a welcoming corner of Tolkien fandom where readers can ask questions, investigate the sources, laugh with a growing cast of fantasy characters, and enjoy the journey.

Middle-earth is far too large to explore in a single lifetime – but that has never stopped me from trying.

Welcome to My Tolkien Life

There is always another road to follow in Middle-earth.

My Tolkien Life is an ongoing comic series about fans of Middle-earth, imagined in a light-hearted way.

I may begin with a seemingly simple question about The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, only to find that it leads into The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s letters, one of his essays, or several volumes of The History of Middle-earth. That experience – asking one question and discovering a dozen more – is at the heart of My Tolkien Life, my new website launched on July 15, 2026.

I created My Tolkien Life as part of the Xenite.Org network to bring together several things I enjoy: exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings, discussing difficult questions, creating original comics and illustrations, and sharing the lighter side of Tolkien fandom.

Many people first encounter Middle-earth through the stories. After they finish reading, they often begin asking deeper questions. Where did the Orcs come from? What happened to the Entwives? How did Tolkien’s ideas change over time? Which familiar details come from his books, and which were introduced by movies, television programs, games, or fan traditions?

I want My Tolkien Life to encourage that curiosity while keeping the experience welcoming, entertaining, and grounded in Tolkien’s own words whenever possible.

Returning to Tolkien’s Writings

There is no shortage of online discussion about Tolkien, especially when a new movie, television series, or video game appears. Although adaptations may sometimes enter the conversation, my main interest lies in what Tolkien himself wrote.

That includes his published stories, letters, essays, linguistic material, and the writings edited and released after his death. Together, they provide an enormous landscape to explore.

Some articles on My Tolkien Life examine the history of Middle-earth or the peoples who inhabited it. Others look at Tolkien’s evolving ideas, unresolved questions, and popular assumptions that may not be supported by the texts.

Tolkien did not always leave behind one simple, permanent answer. He repeatedly reconsidered characters, events, languages, and even the basic nature of his fictional world. Sometimes the surviving evidence points toward a clear conclusion. In other cases, several interpretations remain possible.

I believe that learning about Tolkien’s legendarium should be enjoyable. Some questions have definite answers. Others remain open because Tolkien continued revising his ideas throughout his life. Exploring both kinds of questions is part of the fun.

My goal is not to overwhelm readers with citations or require them to own every volume of The History of Middle-earth. I want to present the evidence in an approachable way, identify useful sources, and distinguish Tolkien’s writings from ideas introduced or popularized by later adaptations.

Meet the Comic Characters

Scholarly questions do not always have to be treated solemnly. Sometimes an original fantasy comic—and perhaps a cheerful baby dragon—can make the discussion more enjoyable.

The comics on My Tolkien Life feature a recurring cast that includes Lily, Kael, Elara, Mira, Agnarr, Tom, Barath, Darvolo, and Smokey, a baby golden dragon who is usually more adorable than alarming.

These characters approach Tolkien’s world much as real fans do. They ask questions, propose theories, disagree with one another, make jokes, and occasionally wander into imaginative adventures of their own. Their conversations allow me to introduce complicated subjects through humor, friendly debates, and visual storytelling.

The comics are not intended only for newcomers. Longtime readers should also recognize the experience of gathering with friends to debate an obscure point of Middle-earth history—although most Tolkien discussion groups probably do not include an actual dragon.

A Site for Every Kind of Tolkien Reader

I created My Tolkien Life for people who have studied Tolkien for decades, readers who have just completed their first journey through The Lord of the Rings, and everyone in between.

You do not need to memorize the genealogy of the House of Finwë before visiting. You do not need to speak Quenya, recognize every name in The Silmarillion, or own twelve editions of The Hobbit. Curiosity is enough.

I have published Tolkien essays and research online through Xenite.Org for more than two decades, including my work on the Tolkien and Middle-earth Blog. My Tolkien Life continues that exploration while giving me more room to combine research and commentary with original comics, illustrations, and humor.

I hope the site becomes a welcoming corner of Tolkien fandom where readers can ask questions, investigate the sources, laugh with a growing cast of fantasy characters, and enjoy the journey.

Middle-earth is far too large to explore in a single lifetime – but that has never stopped me from trying.

1977’s Animated ‘The Hobbit’ Proves the Right Hero’s Journey Can Be Taken Again and Again
#IndieWire #BestOf #Features #AnimatedFilms #Film #IndieWireAfterDark #MidnightMovies #RankinandBass #TheHobbit

https://www.indiewire.com/features/best-of/the-hobbit-animated-1977-rankin-and-bass-cult-fil-1235206129/

1977’s Animated ‘The Hobbit’ Proves the Right Hero’s Journey Can Be Taken Again and Again
#IndieWire #BestOf #Features #AnimatedFilms #Film #IndieWireAfterDark #MidnightMovies #RankinandBass #TheHobbit

https://www.indiewire.com/features/best-of/the-hobbit-animated-1977-rankin-and-bass-cult-fil-1235206129/

1977’s Animated ‘The Hobbit’ Proves the Right Hero’s Journey Can Be Taken Again and Again

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.indiewire.com/features/best-of/the-hobbit-animated-1977-rankin-and-bass-cult-fil-1235206129/

The Hairy Tarantula store is hosting #magicthegathering The Hobbit prereleases August 7th to 10th at:

-Friday 2:30pm and 7pm
-Saturday 12pm and 4:30pm
-Sunday 12pm
-Monday 5:30pm

See more details and purchase your tickets ahead of time at: https://hairyt.com/pages/events

#lordoftherings #thehobbit

I had a whim today to watch #TheHobbit but had forgotten about the 15 minutes of spoiler filled exposition to remind the audience this is part 4 of LOTR. I shut it off and went looking for my book.

I had a whim today to watch #TheHobbit but had forgotten about the 15 minutes of spoiler filled exposition to remind the audience this is part 4 of LOTR. I shut it off and went looking for my book.

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComics #Books #TheHobbit #Family 11 Best Children's Books Masterpieces of All Time, Ranked http://dlvr.it/TTRwcJ

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComics #Books #TheHobbit #Family 11 Best Children's Books Masterpieces of All Time, Ranked http://dlvr.it/TTRwcJ

Movie TV Tech Geeks #BooksandComicsNews #TheHobbit #JRRTolkien J.R.R. Tolkien’s Rare ‘Hobbit’ Book Officially Sells for $50,000 http://dlvr.it/TTLQ4p

Movie TV Tech Geeks #Movie #Books #TheHobbit #Fantasy 10 Fantasy Books That Are Perfectly Written http://dlvr.it/TTBXxz

My Baby Wrote Me Moon Letters

#SecretMessageASongOrPoem #HashtagGames #TheHobbit

"Stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks," read Elrond, "and the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the key-hole."

#tolkien #thehobbit