Issue #162 is still one of my favorite issues of Dragon - a fact which, I have no doubt, is inspired largely by nostalgia. Put those two little factoids together and I decided it was time to write a review. While doing so a fact which had been tickling my subconscious for well over a year now suddenly sprang into my conscious mind: Dragon was good again.
When I finally sat down to read them, therefore, I was able to devour a total of six issues over the course of a couple of days.
Because I was involved in a lot of other commitments, a stack of recent Dragons stacked up – from #257 to #262. Recently, however, a couple of things cropped up:ġ. There was a significantly long period of time in which the only reason I wasn’t cancelling my subscription to Dragon was, first, because I had always had a subscription to Dragon second, Yamara was still worth reading and, third, I was too lazy to send in the cancellation card. But I came in at such a time that I could appreciate what I had missed through discussions with others (plus I’ve read quite a bit of that older material in various forms over the years). The classic comic strips were all gone, the big names had picked up their bags and moved on, and things were beginning to slip. I entered the hobby in 1989, right along with the second edition of AD&D, and Dragon (while still a great magazine) was on a declining slope. I, on the other hand, pretty much missed all that. It was a time when, thanks to the Forum and the letters column you felt like part of a community. It was a time when Dragonmirth was funny, and classic strips like SnarfQuest, Phil and Dixie, and (of course) Wormy were all in the midst of their runs. It was a time when you felt like the articles you were reading were actually contributing significantly to your roleplaying experience (instead of just being a list of new treasures and magical spells). Those who have been into RPGs for a long time now can look back and remember a time when Dragon Magazine was not only king of the hill, but rightfully deserved to be. If you’ve never read it at all, come on in and join the party. Tagline: If you haven’t read Dragon Magazine in years you should definitely think about picking up a copy.