Homage: Dragon Magazine 86
Exclusively for subscribers—the latest completed cartoon homage
In the time before the Internet and digital downloads and PDF publishing, when you couldn’t get TTRPG news, supplemental material, and opinion pieces on demand, the monthly issue of Dragon Magazine was a lifeline to the community of gamers. It went through many different phases over its thirty-eight years and 423 issues—sometimes seeming almost to be a general purpose gaming magazine, but more often as the official house organ for the publishers of D&D. But even for many people whose groups focused on other games, Dragon was still pretty much a “must read.” But as much as you can say about the content of the magazine, the covers may have had an even larger impact, not just on gaming but on popular culture in general.
In the first decade of its existence, in many parts of the country (and the world) D&D game products were often difficult to find. There were no “game stores” as we know them, and don’t forget that the “Satanic panic” was a very real phenomenon that made stores in many areas hesitant to carry rule books, boxed sets, and adventure modules. But although the magazine was sold through those venues, it also was distributed through newsstand sales … and the title “Dragon” didn’t trip the cultural alarm bells that the mainline D&D logo did. Also, newsstands—which were already the source of magazines like Playboy, Penthouse, and other adult-themed titles—were not likely to be put off by a periodical dedicated to fantasy games.
Because of this, the covers of Dragon Magazine (and eventually its companion Dungeon Adventures Magazine) was able to be seen by people who might never have been exposed to D&D proper. And the covers, painted by the era’s masters of fantasy and sci-fi art, drew people into their pages, and through them the hobby. And for many people—including many who went on to work in the burgeoning TTRPG industry—those cover images remain among the most memorable parts of their early days in the hobby.
When former Wizards of the Coast community manager Bart Carroll was a guest on the show (Episode 66) he talked about how the cover of Dragon #86 introduced him to D&D.
That cover, by Canadian artist Denis Beauvais, featured a unique confluence of nerd culture—chess, fantasy literature, and even (obliquely) sci-fi fandom. (The concept of “3D chess,” played on multi-level series of boards was introduced to popular culture in episodes of the original Star Trek series, and the image of creatures doing actual battle on a game board was brought to live in the original Star Wars movie.) The combination may seem tried and true (even twee) now, but at the time it was at least a little revolutionary.
Beauvais painted three other chess-themed covers for Dragon— “Checkmate” for Dragon #82, “Check” for Dragon #89, and “The Draw” for Dragon #118—along with many more (my personal favorite being “The Bridge of Sorrows” from issue #92). But there’s a good argument for this one (“Stalemate”) being the most influential.
I had a GREAT time creating my cartoon homage to this classic piece of gaming art. Maybe over time I’ll take a turn at the rest of Beauvais’s chess covers, too.
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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