Long ago, during a dark age known as “The ‘80s,” a group of scribes gathered in the unholy halls of Nottingham, England. They put dark ink to holy parchment to create the hallowed words from Warhammer 40k: “In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war.” These words bore a power so great that an entire subgenre of Fiction was born, known as Grimdark.

         Before I go on my rant, you must understand the origin of Grimdark Fiction. The subgenre crawled out from the same crack in the earth as most of ‘80s Dark Fantasy, which means that almost, if not every, Grimdark story is based on the founding principles of strife, turmoil, and despair. Grimdark separates itself by taking these principles and putting them on roids.

         Grimdark is a fragile ecosystem; the slightest upset in your story could shift it from Grimdark back to Dark Fantasy. Thankfully, the roots are simple. For a story to be Grimdark, it cannot have a hero. A hero is righteous! They are brave and do their deeds not because they’re called to, but by their own morals and values! That cannot exist in Grimdark.

         A Grimdark protagonist is morally gray and usually shaped that way by the state of the world around them. The majority of Grimdark protagonists are terrible people in a terrible world who do terrible things to reach their goal. So, what are some Grimdark stories?

         Well, Warhammer 40k is the most prominent example, but it’s so complex that it’d dominate the entire paper if I explained it. So, we’ll use the most widespread example today: A Song of Ice and Fire and its film adaptation, House of the Dragon.

         The show follows the Targaryen family, who, by modern view, exceptionally terrible people. One protagonist I’ll use is Daemon, because Daemon is not the worst character in the series, but he is also no Saint. For example, he’s accidentally killed multiple children, yet many viewers still support him.

         Daemon serves his queen loyally, but his legacy is covered in innocent blood the cost to complete his goal. He checks all the boxes for a Grimdark Hero. Now, you're familiar with the genre; we must speak of the slop.

         To clarify, I am not talking about AI slop, but manmade slop. Series that follow a generic copy-and-paste formula generate hype but do absolutely nothing revolutionary. And because Dark Fantasy and Grimdark are growing bigger by the day, we’re entering an epidemic of slop.

         We’re in an era where we’re chasing the ‘80s. We see it in television, fashion, and Instagram. By association, Dark Fantasy and Grimdark have exploded in popularity. For example, media like Berserk and Dark Souls have gone from being cult fandoms to having merchandise at every Hot Topic. Grimdark is no exception; just head to YouTube, look up Fear and Hunger or Malazan and see how many video essays appear.

         With popularity comes the slop. Hundreds of boring stories about a terrible person in a terrible world who does terrible things to reach their goal. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that's my bare-bones definition of Grimdark from before. Now I’ve blipped and blapped about what great Grimdark is, and now I’m saying it’s terrible. Because it is, and that’s why most Grimdark stories are exceptionally funny.

         You cannot read depressing, grizzly stories constantly and have a good time. There needs to be honey with the medicine. Most Grimdark stories use humor or just let themselves embrace the stupidity that makes them so beloved. Now, we’re gonna poke the bear and talk about Warhammer.

         Warhammer 40k is the LeBron James of Grimdark. Every trope in the subgenre is personified in a Slaanesh worshipper or a Space Marine in some obscure book series in the franchise. Warhammer is the undisputed king of balancing comedy with badassery, Grimdark’s bread and butter, and it’s surprisingly easy.

         For example, let's look at the chainsword. The chainsword is the signature weapon of the Space Marines in Warhammer. It is a holy weapon of carnage, and its maintenance is carried out by serfs trained to maintain the holy instrument since birth. Each tooth of the blade is sharpened until its edge ends on a single atom.

         Isn’t that cool? Now read it again. That is so incomprehensibly stupid. There is no reason for this other than that it’s cool and kind of funny. This is the life-force of Grimdark.

         Grimdark’s humor is needed, and that’s why we have so much slop. People reject the idea that dark and gritty stories can’t have humor, when that’s what makes them fun!

         No other world needs a sword that’s a chainsaw with teeth sharpened to the atom. Except a world like Warhammer 40k, where swarms of xenomorphic planets come from the far reaches of the galaxy to feast upon entire planets. Besides, who better to wield this comically badass chainsaw and kill the ravenous beast than a morally gray character chasing his goal?