OUT ON A LIMB

‘Useless’

Dear Editor:
I think DRAGON is an excellent magazine,
and normally I would be willing to praise it,
but issue #49 was more or less useless. “Best
Wishes” was helpful, and I enjoyed the TOP
SECRET and Alchemist material, but that’s
all. I was very disappointed to find a story on
an artist in the center instead of the usual
module or game.

Ty Treadwell
Marietta, Ga.
(Dragon #52)
[edit]

‘Overboard’
-
Dear Editor:
I was extremely disappointed with issue #49
of DRAGON. What happened to all the great
gaming suggestions, variants, and aids that
we have come to expect from DRAGON? I
don’t claim to have such creativity, and I have
come to rely on your magazine for new ideas
and information to spur my Imagination and
enhance my campaign. I think you went overboard
on the convention scene. Your small,
one- or two-page schedules had long been
suitable for informing gamers of upcoming
events. I’d hate to see DRAGON turn into a
convention schedule.

As a role-playing aid, the magazine ranked
low. I believe that people want informative
articles about gaming, not portraits of artists.
My apologies to Tim Hildebrandt. I am very
pleased with his work, but knowing his life
story enlightened me in no way. Another
symbol of deterioration was the fact that Sage
Advice was missing altogether. I hope that
this issue is not an example of how DRAGON
will be in the future.

But if it’s any consolation, that was only one
bad magazine out of 49.

Don Corman
Chelmsford, Mass.
(Dragon #52)
 

We don’t enjoy getting letters from readers
who are critical of a certain issue’s content,
but we accept negative criticism as inevitable
— especially when we try to break new ground
with a feature such as the Hildebrandt
interview.

As fantasy becomes more and more popular,
the people who create works of fantasy
(literature and art) become personalities.
They get attention from the general public,
instead of just from a small core of fantasy
enthusiasts. It may indeed be stretching the
point to call an interview with an artist a “roleplaying
aid,” but even if such an article doesn’t
quite fit into the definition of what DRAGON
is about, we think it still has an application
and can serve as an inspiration to fantasy
gamers and budding artists who want an inside
look into how a creative genius does his
creating.

If you didn’t like the interview in #49, you’re
not gonna be too crazy about what you find
inside this magazine, either. But — just like we
reasoned when we published the Hildebrandt
interview — we think the majority of our readers
will enjoy the words and pictures of Boris
Vallejo for the insight they provide in to one of
the people who has helped broaden the appeal
of fantasy.

No matter how anyone else may feel about
the Boris feature, we’re pretty sure that the
writer of this next letter will appreciate it:

(Dragon #52)
 
 

‘Great!’
 

Dear editor:
The Tim Hildebrandt interview in DRAGON
#49 was great! Would it be possible to have
interviews with other artists such as Boris Vallejo
or Frank Frazetta?
 

Christopher Diedoardo
New York, N.Y.
(Dragon #52)
 

It sure would be possible, Chris. You really
know how to make an editor happy...

— KM
(Dragon #52)
 

‘Compelled’

Dear Dragon:
This is the first time I’ve ever written a letter
to any magazine anywhere. But at last I have
been compelled, and it took a great deal of
anger and frustration to do so. I am not griping
about the content of your magazine. I always
enjoy receiving the next DRAGON in my
mailbox, and if there happen to be one or two
articles for which I see no purpose or I deem
silly, I keep my mouth shut, knowing that the
article does not appear that way to everyone.

What I am upset about is two letters in #52.
They complain about the stupidity of an article
on Tim Hildebrandt’s life and art. Personally,
I enjoyed that article. I am the only person
I know of who subscribes to DRAGON,
and no one had ever before asked to borrow
my magazines. .However, when I told them
about the Hildebrandt article it became quite
popular all of a sudden. I relished the Boris
article as well. I wish people would accept the
fact that what they enjoy in an article and what
they think is useful will not always be printed,
and shouldn’t be.
 

David Lewis
Springfield, Va.
(Dragon #54)