I've been looking for Dragon Magazine issue 140 for a while now. It features one of the few Larry Elmore illustrations that I consider to be Dungeons and Dragons art. In this case, a female cleric healing a stricken warrior. It's an imperfect illustration, from an old-school perspective, since the depicted scene is almost entirely devoid of menace. The female cleric seems unconcerned by the proximity of the giant, and the giant's glance towards the cleric seems half-hearted.
You can't help but be impressed, though, with Elmore's skill and attention to detail. Consider the treatment given to helmets, weapons, chainmail and how the snow interfaces with the two human subjects.
I believe the backstory to the image involves an altercation between Stevie Nicks (the cleric) and Mic Fleetwood (the giant) where Elmore stepped in the middle and ended up the worse for it. Wikipedia corroborates this story.
ReplyDeleteI don't know. It looks like Elmore is doing just fine with Nick's ministrations!
ReplyDeleteThe situation is not that mysterious. The giant has just knocked the fighter for a double, and is taking a peek at how the outfielder is handling the situation before deciding whether to go for third base.
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ReplyDeleteThey do mail order, so call them up and let them know what you are missing. It is very likely they will have it.
True, there might not be an immediate threat there, but depicting the aftermath of a battle has pretty strong old school roots as well (you don't need to look any farther than the classic PHB cover).
ReplyDeleteAt least there's *something* happening in this painting. So many of Elmore's later Dragon covers are just women posing in front of incredibly well painted backgrounds. Beautful, but pretty boring.
Sentry Box had a load of Dragon Magazine. You might want to ask about the backstock...
ReplyDeleteMost of the ones they have are my duplicates...
ReplyDeleteBut I appreciate the heads-up and check with them this weekend.
Thanks!