My favorite deity in Dungeons & Dragons, Cthulhu, is found in the first edition Deities & Demigods. I received as a hand me down gift - along with the PHB, DMG, & MM - from my Uncle David when he got out of the hobby. I fondly recall flipping through the pages of D&DG and stopping to read further information every time something caught my eye. The entire Cthulhu Mythos was definitely eye-catching! Many of the names were nearly incomprehensible for an 8 year old child to pronounce and the illustrations were very appropriate for the listings. Even though the products of today may look more polished or professional, nothing can beat the old dusty tome feeling of cracking open a first edition AD&D hardback.
I think Charlie, that the reason these book stand the test of time and why people like them is their simplicity of presentation. One of the most superior aspects of the old gaming products over today's is that the artistic styles of each artist were entirely different--whereas today there appears to be some sort of expected "industry standard" (a term and sentiment I quite dislike), which eliminates the artistic individuality of each piece that we recall fondly even years later. Who can recall pics in modern tomes, or the name of the persons who draw them? But Otus, Darlene, Sutherland, Dee, Willingham, Roslof, Wells...we remember these. -Reifyn
ReplyDeleteI think you're absolutely right! I can name one or two from today that put out work I enjoy BUT the vast majority of modern artists are held to that "industry standard" you mention that just seems to kill any sort of distinctiveness in their style. Those artists you list at the end of your reply is a group that I fear will not be watched again in the RPG business.
DeleteSome people still watch them though--sometimes they even watch us! Look to your right and see the face of Mr. Jeff Dee in your G+ followers. Of course both he and Erol Otus still do gaming work, and occasionally Darlene too. Bill Willingham is of course one of the most successful people in mainstream comics today; the others, sadly, are no longer with us. But I don't think they'll be forgotten...as long as people like us are around. -R
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