Dragon / Dungeon / SR questions

Posts: 40 · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 11:13 pm

Hello all,

I have some nagging questions re TSR periodicals and would appreciate any help...

Do we know how many of the Strategic Review publications were printed? There was a discussion of The Dragon print runs a while back - I wonder if there's any data for SRs.

Which of the later issues of Dragon/Dungeon are most desireable? For instance, I understand the Maure Castle Dungeons 112 and 124 are sought after - any others qualify as collectible or otherwise just extra-interesting?

And finally, why are the back covers of early Dragon magazines printed upside-down?

Thanks everyone,
David

Posts: 212 · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 1:45 am

Quote:

Do we know how many of the Strategic Review publications were printed?

Not exactly. The early SRs only had very small printruns, maybe 500 or less for the early ones. I think we printed about 2000 of the last one. These numbers are "best guesses"; the only authoritative way to determine that would be to find the old print orders; Gary and I once sat down and tried to remember, well after the fact, and couldn't.

Quote:

And finally, why are the back covers of early Dragon magazines printed upside-down?

The only thing upside down was the return address logo. We did that for a reason. In the early issues, we did not have a protective mailing cover, but just stuck the labels on the magazines in the space provided. I flipped the return, and applied the labels accordingly, so that the mailman would grasp the spine when reading the addressee name and address. This made the covers much less likely to bet creased and torn.

Posts: 207 · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:39 am

Kaskoid wrote:

The only thing upside down was the return address logo. We did that for a reason. In the early issues, we did not have a protective mailing cover, but just stuck the labels on the magazines in the space provided. I flipped the return, and applied the labels accordingly, so that the mailman would grasp the spine when reading the addressee name and address. This made the covers much less likely to bet creased and torn.

Martian Metals often had their ads printed upside down on the back cover.

Posts: 212 · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:00 am

otherworld wrote:

Martian Metals often had their ads printed upside down on the back cover.

Ooops, I just looked at the first several issues. Actually, they asked that they be printed like that; it was an eye-catcher and everyone bitd was looking for an edge.

Posts: 595 · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 3:56 pm

As a special Christmas gift, I went ahead and published the new "Print Run Estimates" page from the upcoming site update. It has a nice block of info on Dragon magazine print runs, among others:

http://www.acaeum.com/library/printrun.html

Foul

P.S. I promise, the site update will be coming soon.

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 6:48 pm

Kaskoid wrote:

Ooops, I just looked at the first several issues. Actually, they asked that they be printed like that; it was an eye-catcher and everyone bitd was looking for an edge.

"The Goshtok Distims the Doshes"

Posts: 40 · Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2008 11:38 pm

Is that avatar the incomparable Robert E Howard? Pardon me if I'm the only one who didn't recognize him straight away Embarassed

Much obliged for the info Mr. Kask, and thanks for the print run summary, Foul!

Cheers,
David

Posts: 2083 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 12:42 am

FoulFoot wrote:

As a special Christmas gift, I went ahead and published the new "Print Run Estimates" page from the upcoming site update. It has a nice block of info on Dragon magazine print runs, among others:

http://www.acaeum.com/library/printrun.html

Foul

P.S. I promise, the site update will be coming soon.

Cool Beans Very Happy

Posts: 1238 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 1:12 am

davidc wrote:

Is that avatar the incomparable Robert E Howard?

I think this has been discussed before - seemingly it is (though I always think of Marks's Avatar as being Al Capone Shocked

)

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:08 am

gyg wrote:

I think this has been discussed before - seemingly it is (though I always think of Marks's Avatar as being Al Capone Shocked

)

I think it's Howard trying to look like Al Capone. Seriously.

The picture is so unlike the man's biography that I wonder at the circumstances. Howard would have been a great gamer. He was always playing various characters.

Posts: 4451 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 10:11 am

FormCritic wrote:

I think it's Howard trying to look like Al Capone. Seriously.

The picture is so unlike the man's biography that I wonder at the circumstances. Howard would have been a great gamer. He was always playing various characters.

I'm going entirely by memory here, IIRC Howard made this photo as kind of a joke, and was definitely "gangstering" it up while hamming for the camera. So yeh Mark was right he was basically "playing" a part for the camera....he would have been much more comfortable, and more likely to be seen, in plain out ordinary clothing.

I always think it would be hilarious to find Howard's reaction to the fact "Hey, they made a movie about your love story with Novalyne Price.....and it was better than the movies based on your fiction". I actually think it would have pissed him off, being the person he was. He definitely wouldn't have thought any part of his private life should be grist for a movie or book. And he would have wondered with all the marvels of today's filmmaking how come they hadn't made a decent flick based on Solomon Kane or Kull (as pedestrian as the Conan movies are, he probably would have loved them).

Now, his buddy Lovecraft's reactions to any of the films based on HIS works would have probably been unprintable.... Very Happy

Mike B.

Posts: 3999 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:03 pm

Badmike wrote:

Now, his buddy Lovecraft's reactions to any of the films based on HIS works would have probably been unprintable.... Very Happy

Mike B.

Lovecraft would first have swooned...then raged about Jews in the film industry...then he would have written 500,000 words on the topic in 257 letters to friends (or...it occurs to me, 3971 posts on the Acaeum).

Posts: 1104 · Posted: Wed Jul 30, 2008 2:16 pm

FormCritic wrote:

(or...it occurs to me, 3971 posts on the Acaeum).

The SO has once commented that it's a good thing Lovecraft was born too early to have access to the Internet. He'd never have written anything, instead spending all his time posting his outrage to various forums. Laughing