I guess that kind of depends which issue you are referring to.  Issue #1 shows the publisher/editor-in-chief to be Matt Finch and thus Mythmere Games.  I expect #2 was also published initially by Mythmere Games since I purchased mine originally from Lulu.

Issues 3 & 4 show the editor to be Matt Finch as well.  However, the publisher is listed as Black Blade.

I believe Brave Halfling only had rights to publish the White Box version of Swords & Wizardry and adventures pertaining to White Box but I'm not 100% for sure.

Where did you read that Frog God was going to be doing anything with Knockspell?  I know they are going to be handling the Swords & Wizardry Core Rulebook and adventures in the future but that is all I recall seeing about it.

Issues 1 and 2 of KNOCKSPELL do not attribute the magazine to any publisher.  There is no mention of Mythmere Games.

So, does Black Blade only publish KNOCKSPELL after 1 and 2?  Or, did Black Blade publish a limited run of all four extant issues?  Or, possibly, are all four issues actually published by Lulu and ordered through Black Blade?

An announcement that Frog God will be publishing Swords and Wizardry, and another that Black Blade will not...implies a new publisher for KNOCKSPELL as well...unless KNOCKSPELL is published some other way.

FormCritic wrote:Issues 1 and 2 of KNOCKSPELL do not attribute the magazine to any publisher.  There is no mention of Mythmere Games.

It plainly states in Knockspell #1 on page 4 that Matt Finch is the publisher.  Matt Finch is Mythmere Games.  If you just have to be absolutely, perfectly 100% sure, why dont you just email Matt and ask him?  Mythmere Games has a forum as well.

As for issue #2, it was originally only available from Lulu (from what I can tell) and was later on picked up to be published through Black Blade.  There is no publisher listed in the credits or on the spine of my copy.  Did anyone buy a copy of issue #2 that had the publisher listed on the spine or elsewhere?

faro wrote:The Bane - That sentence about Black Blade publishing Knockspell is not correct any more. That part of the plan was changed at the last minute, after Bill had actually posted the press release.
August 24, 2010 7:19 PM

Gotta love it when blogs report one thing and press updates report something else.     So Frog God will handle Knockspell from now on as well.

So....what the heck is Black Blade doing now?

Kingofpain89 wrote:So....what the heck is Black Blade doing now?

Not S&W any longer, I imagine

We do have a few announcements looming in the not-too-distant future, so keep your eyes and ears peeled!

FormCritic wrote:Yes, quite a bit, thank you.

Great.

FormCritic wrote:So, the two publications I have in hand originated on Lulu. Don't know if that is good or bad.

Sorry, let me further your possible confusion too:  Black Blade also reprinted KS 1 and 2 using our higher-quality printer, so not all copies are necessarily from Lulu.

FormCritic wrote:And there lies the crux of my original question:
How do you tell the difference between Lulu copies and Black Blade copies?

I'll ask Jon:  I don't have my Lulu copies at hand (they're packed away).

Yes, as far as I know, the files used to print the lulu editions and the reprinted editions were the same. The only way to distinguish them would be some physical characteristic.

What Allan says up above is correct. 1 and 2 were originally printed at lulu, and a second run was done through a real printer. Issues 3 and 4 were only done at a real printer, never at lulu.

Frog God Games is now taking over the same sort of work that BBP did with the S&W products, and we anticipate an issue #5. At that point, we might fold the magazine since it fills very much the same niche as Fight On!. I don't think that will happen, but it's being discussed.

If FGG continues to offer Knockspell, it means that there will be (probably and eventually) a third run of the back issues that's done on yet a third printer. I do not plan to make any changes to those back issues unless BBP asks to have their logo, etc. removed. The internal files will remain the same. I'm not trying to update the magazines retroactively, just to keep the material in print.

To the extent it's a collecting issue for some people, I would not bank on the possibility that the magazine will be shut down after issue #5. Since any remaining stock of the magazine will ship to FGG from BBP once operations shift over, you'd want to check with FGG to make sure you're getting the correct print run (BBP vs FGG).

That's all I know right at the moment about issue #5. I can't remember if the issues I have on my shelf came from lulu or BBP, so I don't think I'll be much help in terms of comparing the two to see if there's a physical printing difference between them. I imagine there is, somewhere, but I wouldn't really have the experience to spot it anyway.

Hope that helps.
Matt

Yes, you can see some more discussion about KS#5 over on the S&W boards @ http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/forum/ ... m.php?f=12