You can tell my copy of The Art of Dragon Magazine (1988) has been well loved. This thing got toted around in my bag on countless journeys, even before I had a firm understanding of what Dungeons & Dragons really was. It includes all the cover art from the magazine’s first ten years, as well as a nice selection of interior illustrations and even a cut out and fold up model castle.

Since I own most of the TSR Dragon Magazines, I skipped the cover art today in favor of reproducing some interiors. It is easy to forget how much good D&D art came to your mailbox once a month, once upon a time, I think. I have no particular love of football, but man, I love Paul Sonju’s Monsters of the Midway. That Erol Otus drow is maybe the best drow ever, too. Dragon also gave folks a chance to do stuff outside their normal styles, like Elmore’s cartoony dwarf. And DCS’ illustration of the intesection between the real world and the fantastic is embedded in my brain as iconic.