Homage: 2004
Homage: 2004
For subscribers, here's your exclusive early look at the cartoon homage from Episode 34.
My conversation with Peter Adkison was fun (as most of my time spent with him has been over the years), but it was made even MORE fun by the fact that I was sketching out the beginnings of a cartoon homage to Wayne Reynolds’s cover painting for the 2004 D&D Basic Game boxed set.
Like many gamers, I first encountered Wayne’s work in the 3rd Edition core books. Unfortunately, the editorial gods were not on Wayne’s side, as his name inadvertently got left off the credits for the first printing of the Player’s Handbook (and, I think for several other early 3E books). I remember talking with Art Director Dawn Murin about it at the time because I couldn’t figure out who had done a particular piece of art. She was understandably and appropriately embarrassed by the gaffe, and told me that she had talked to Wayne and apologized … and offered him more work to make up for it. (I’m sure she was ALREADY planning to give him more work … so I think she meant EXTRA pieces.) My recollection is that Wayne’s name actually got omitted from the next couple of books, too … and Dawn joked that he was very understanding, probably because he was getting as much work as he could handle in repayment. That’s what my MEMORY tells me … but I can find no real PROOF that I’m remembering correctly.
Anyway, Wayne went on to be one of the main cover artists for 4th Edition, and then Pathfinder … and I’m sure that the only thing stopping him from having made an even bigger impact across the gaming world is the cursed 24-hour limit to each day.
I love the fact that the creature on this introductory boxed set is a black dragon rather than a red one. Red dragons are certainly the most iconic version of the monster, but one thing that’s always been a part of D&D has been the many different types/colors of dragons, each with its own personality, ecology, and most of all an individual LOOK. Wayne really captures the black dragon in a powerful and iconic way, and makes this one (presumably still a pretty young wyrmling) seem like the kind of challenge new players would WANT their characters to encounter.
As a subscriber to this newsletter, you’re seeing this art before it is released for general consumption. You also have the option to buy an art print of this or any of the cartoon homages (and if you’re a paid subscriber, you get a discount on those purchases).
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