Dragon Magazine #92 has one of those covers I just can’t get enough of. In fact, artist Den Beauvais can’t get enough either as he’s asked me on a couple occasions if he can paint a similar cover for Gygax Magazine. Now as much as I’d like that, I just got Den to paint the cover for Issue #4, so he might have to wait to few issues before I can have him back again!
Anyway, Den’s work on this piece is superb, from the crumbling bridge and wizard [Tolkien], to the half-naked damsel getting wyvern snatched [Frazetta], to the centaur knight… wait, I just say centaur knight?
Damn right I did! You need him on that bridge, you want him on that bridge, and unless you’d pick up a longsword and stand that bridge, then he’d prefer you just said thank you and went home!
This centaur is certainly one of my all-time favorite D&D inspired characters, and the fact that his armor has a saddle, and in that saddle we can assume the damsel once sat is just too good to be true. I mean, I WANT TO BE THAT CENTAUR! That, for all you scoring at home, is the power of great art [yes, Jim Pinto I called it art!]
With Kim Mohan at the helm and Roger Raupp as AD [which at this time was referred to as ‘graphics & design’] there is little doubt why it is such a good cover. Why is that, you might ask? Well, because simply put, these two men allowed artists to create, and that is the true key to finding any truly inspired and emotion eliciting piece.
Nonetheless, I’ll step down off my soapbox and look beyond the cover to what lies inside. This issue features a great ecology [the Ettin by Ed Greenwood], lots of pages dedicated to Clerics and faith, a very nice collection of gods in the Suel pantheon by Len Lakofka [which has some sublime Jeff Butler art! I mean really, why the hell did Butler do such kick ass gods for Dragon Magazine and yet his TSR pit work seems so forgettable?]
In all, this issue holds up well, and if running priests is your bag, then you should take a look at this baby because they have great things to say on the subject. Timeless, really, no matter what edition you play.
Art, as well, stands up, and I’m more than happy to give it high marks, and please, if you are able, HELP SUPPORT AOTG THROUGH OUR ONGOING THE FOLIO KICKSTARTER TO THE RIGHT!
Artistic Rating: 4 [out of 5]
