Source Material

There are more movies and books about Angels and heaven than you can shake a stick at and it has almost become a cliché trope in recent years to have the angels become the bad guys. Even if not, they still at least are cynical and callous creatures with little regard for human life (nothing against The Devices). That being said, here are some of the more apropos sources we’ve found that wield the motif suitable for creating the Angels to be found in this book.

Books
D. H. Lawrence and Italy: Our humble narrator explores Italy with so many of his senses that it is almost Synesthesia. Every person he meets and the dialogue between them is rife with poetic explorations of the senses. Imagine an Angel in their body for the first time and their experience in creation…

The Remy Chandler Novels: by Thomas E. Sniegoski. The adventures of Remy Chandler, Seraphim, Detective, and Dog lover, Sniegoskis interpretations of Angels are powerful, inventive, and most of all humanistic. All offer a good perspective, with Dancing on the Head of a Pin in particular.

The Stupidest Angel and Lamb: Christopher Moore’s whole library of satire and wit, and pretty much every book he has written steered the way that Angels are presented in this work. The Angel Raziel may not be the brightest peanut in the turd, but his heart is in the right place. Plus he’s good with the weather. A must read on their own just for funsies, but mandatory for anybody playing Angel. I really can’t say enough about these. (Lamb still makes me cry.)

A Dictionary of Angels- Including the Fallen Angels:  You ever wonder who the Angel of stupidity is? What about the Angels of salt (more than you’d guess). What about the Head-Chef in Hell (Nisroch incidentally). Gustav Davidson provides a well-written and comprehensive guide into the World’s Religions view on Angels. Not just the three tribes of the Book either. There is a bounty of interpretations ready for perusal.

Angels-a History: David Albert Jones takes the high road and explores why we see angels the way we do today, without any new age-y claptrap or intellectual snobbery. Precise, eye-opening, but worth much more than these, honest, he does a great job of inviting us to actually think about Angels in a multitude of paradigms.

Comics
The Sandman: Neil Gaiman’s sweeping and epic series released by Vertigo opens up a whole new vista of reality. Angels, Demons, old Gods, Faeries, and the Endless all inhabit a reality that is all too foreign to comprehend, yet all too human to easily dismiss.

The Spectre: This DC hero has been going at it strong since the Golden Age. Manifested as a dark and foreboding angel of vengeance, he represents the darker refrains that Elohim can bring. Also if you have the opportunity, the Spectre holds a special place in DC’s masterpiece Kingdom Come.

Warlock and the Infinity Watch: Marvel isn’t without its charms when it comes to Celestial Fanfare. Cosmic, Grandiose, and most of all ''BIG. ''This series has the living embodiments of Death, Infinity, Eternity, Oblivion, and other cosmic principals interacting with each other in an almost mortal manner.

Ghost Rider: Yes I’m serious. The Spirit of Vengeance is a mover and shaker with more Heavenly ties than you may realize. Gruff Angels, renegade demons, and even possessed truckers rear their ugly heads in this long-standing series. Check out a few before you dismiss it. Not the movie though… never the movie.

Rogan Gosh: This hard to find comic written by Peter Milligan and illustrated by Brendan McCarthy is a masterpiece of cosmic uncertainty. Beautifully messy and as obtuse as anything, it shows the multiple depths of the human Spirit. Though it deals with Hindu deities, the themes of mortal identity are at the forefront. I think... It is pretty obtuse, but it’s beautifully obtuse.

Halo and Sprocket: Kerry Callen offers the trials and tribulations of an Angel, a single girl, and a robot all sharing an apartment. That is all I need to say. These three characters say more about the human spectrum than any and all of the above put together.

The Star-Spangled Adventures of Captain Free-bird, and Captain Free-bird: An America Prayer: I cannot stress how much I love these books. Created by the Fillbach Bros (The coolest couple of Americans you could ever hope to talk to) In the first offering, the story centers around a man in search of Liberty and all the metaphysical cosmic hijinks that might entail. The second story shows how far a man will go to keep his promise. I can’t recommend these enough. The Art, the Stories, the Characters… Ol’ Cap might not be an Angel, but he should be. Another set of books that still make me cry

Other Gaming Books
The Book of Exalted Deeds: You know the company, it rhymes with drunkards and flagons. This book explores more detail all the heavens, all the paradises, and all the Angels, Archons, and Rheks (?) than you can shake a +5 holy avenger sword at. The flavor itself is worth more than the price of admission.

In Nomine: by Steve Jackson Games is probably the closest to the core musical concepts of Elohim that you can get. (I also have to say that I swear I had no idea of that while designing this.)  Beautiful templates for a plethora of Angels, the Game is dark, witty, and more than a little fierce in its candor. (I like it.) Those with a more grave approach to the great war should take note.

Engel: Sword and Sorcery under the Aegis of White Wolf put out another book dealing with the Heavenly Host by the name of Engel. Brimming with gravitas and massive in scope.

Movies
It’s a Wonderful Life: Yes, we are all aware that you probably watch this 1946 Jimmy Stewart classic at least 5 times every Christmas. But have you ever truly watched it? An Angel on his first big mission on earth bout to gain his wings: this is a great starting point for an Angel attempting his first mission in order to gain his first rank.

Wings of Desire: Wim Wenders’ 1987 portrait of an angel smitten with a mortal is probably the finest piece of cinema you can find on the subject of the Heavenly Host, or just plain cinema altogether. Its remake, City of Angels (starring the always animated Nicholas Cage), is also worth a gander. Watchers take note. (But remember the commandments)

Gabriel; Shane Abbess’ 2007 vision of what the Archangels will do to save humanity. The first 5 or ten minutes alone are worth it to see what an Angel goes through when building a human body. This beautiful piece of film was way overlooked, and that is a shame. Starring the late great Andy Whitfield (of Spartacus fame), this movie is mandatory to those players who wish to see how much humanity is loved by the Archangel Princes.

The Prophecy: Speaking of Gabriel…come on, you already knew it was here, didn’t you? Two Words: Christopher Walken.

The Adjustment Bureau: George Nolfi’s 2011 portrait of a very bureaucratic Heaven, with some amazing uses of the Lore of Portals. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt shine in this, and ineffability remains a constant pursuit by those in the dapper hats.

Bill and Ted: Either in their Excellent Adventure or their Bogus Journey, these two skivers are perfect illustrations of ineffability; Rufus as well is a most non-non-non heinous, dignified and poised Sphere.

80’s Schlock: “The Preacher’s Wife” (with Denzel), “Almost an Angel” (with Crocodile Dundee, I mean Paul Hogan),” the Heavenly Kid”, “Date with an Angel”, it seems like movies exploring the afterlife, the Almighty, and the Angels themselves in the 80’s is near endless. While some are good, the majority represent the cheesiness prolific in all that the Reagan Years had to offer. Caveat Emptor

TV
Touched by an Angel: From 1994 until 2003 Grandmothers the worldwide were glued to the happenings of Monica, Tess, and Andrew. Good stuff, if not a little Hallmarky.

Highway to Heaven: From 1984 to 1989, the Same Grandmothers were watching Michael Landon do the same as the above. If there was too much Estrogen in the former, then this might be a little bit more to your liking.

Steven Universe: Nowhere is there a more artistic, stirring, or feelsy portrayal of a Nephilim and his three keepers than this animated series. Sure they are crystal guardians and not angels. So? It’s actually not that far off from what an Angel is. In addition, the tears flow the minute we start to learn about Rose Quartz. If curious as to what missions look like, and how they manifest, then look no further. Also, Garnet is the bomb-diggity, and I don’t care who knows it. This by far is the best source material I have yet to find

Music
More than anything else, music remains the pivotal fulcrum upon which the Elohim balance. The above films and books may give visual clues and wondrous ideas, but music is the defining factor on what an Angel is. When looking for compositions to inspire, direct, or even birth your paradigms of the Heavenly Hosts, variation is key. While it would be all too easy to fall into the trappings of classical renderings such as Bach’s Magnificat in D major, Schubert’s Ave Maria, or even Liszt’s Paganini Etude S.161 No.3 La Campenella, you can just as easily build a Device with Skinny Puppy, a Reaper with Johnny Cash, or a Herald with Mos Def. Again, variation is key, the most important aspect is that the song speaks to you, and the Elohim you plan to create.

The following Albums and Artists were used by the Authors when constructing this work, in no certain order…

Afrika Bambaata -  Shango Funk Theology, the Light

Axiom Funk - Funkronomicon

Outkast - Aquemini

Rancid – Rancid, Out Come the Wolves, Let the Dominos Fall

Japandroids - No Singles

Danzig - Lucifuge (yes Danzig)

Bad Religion – Suffer (yes, and Bad Religion)

The Highwaymen - The Road Goes on Forever

Tiger Army - Tiger Army, and The Power of Moonlight

Misfits - Famous Monsters (Graves era)

Misfits - Earth A.D. (Danzig era)

Counting Crows - Recovering the Satellites

St. Pepsi - (whatever the YouTube plays)

Parliament/Funkadelic/P-funk - All Albums

Bootsy Collins - All Albums

Buckethead - All Albums

Sun Ra - All Albums

John Coltrane - All Albums

Japandroids - All Albums

Modest Mouse - All Albums

Talking Heads - All Albums

Johnny Cash - All Albums

Stooges- All Albums