I can do without the fiction (there are plenty of sources for that), but Dragonmirth was one of my favorites! If bringing it back were up for a vote, you'd get mine.
Contributor
|
So why don't you bring back short stories - they only have to be a page or two long, but they're so fun to read!
And Dragonmirth - yeah you have comics but not the simple one-block cartoons that I and anyone I've ever shown them to love so much!
So, that's my suggestion.
-Amy
Don't worry Amy, fiction hasn't gone anywhere. There have been rumors of its demise simply because it wasn't in issue #323 (or #324...). However, I just edited a piece of fiction for a future issue and a couple more are looming on the horizon. I whink we're aiming for 3-4 a year.
Dragonmirth...well...
Some of our favorite cartoonists (including the excellent Tony Moseley, Aaron Williams, and John Kovalic, who all already grace Dragon's pages) simply don't have the time to provide one-panel strips to us. So why not seek new blood? Well, we did. A few months ago we ran ads for Dragonmirth submissions because we wanted to see it come back.
We received about 6 submissions over the course of about 4 months.
So, for now, Dragonmirth remains dead. Who knows, though? Maybe in a few years we'll try another true resurrection on it...just as soon as we dig up another 25,000gp-worth of diamonds. ;)
I must admit, I'm not a big fan of fiction in the magazine. I just never seem to read them, so I guess I consider it to be wasted space. Certain authors or characters, of course, I will probably always at least skim the fiction. But unless there's a good reason for the story to be there or it fits the theme of the issue, it just doesn't appeal to me.
Don't get me wrong, I am an avid reader. (I even work in a bookstore!) But, I guess I'm just very picky about which authors I read and not many of the authors I've seen in the magazine over the years have interested me. (One notable recent exception being George R.R. Martin.)
Still, 3-4 short stories a year sounds like a happy medium. I realize that, while it's not to my taste, as the original poster of this thread shows, there is certainly an audience for it. If it helps bring in new players or even reinvigorates some of us old players, then that's all good.
A few months ago we ran ads for Dragonmirth submissions because we wanted to see it come back.
We received about 6 submissions over the course of about 4 months.
I'm going to be blunt here and suggest that the wording of your request was less-than-ideal. It essentially stated (and if this was not the intent, then it was a poorly-written blurb) that entries to Dragonmirth would not be paid for their successful submissions. In other words, that the "exposure" of being in Dragon Magazine was the primary compensation. As a freelance artist, I can tell you that doing work for the sake of exposure is generally considered a sucker's game. The exposure never really amounts to anything, and you're out a piece of work someone else might have paid you for. Further, the blurb suggested that you MIGHT get paid, IF you did regular pieces that were accepted over a period of time. That sounds even worse, because it implies that Dragon could potentially string a cartoonist along for months before paying him—or even stop running his work after getting 5 or 6 free comics out of him. The whole paragraph read like Dragon was trying to milk something for nothing out of its readers.
I would have strongly considered submitting Dragonmirth cartoons—a number of my regular readers actually begged me to—but the request sounded fishy. I have no doubt that this significantly depressed the number of submissions.
I'd beg as well, if I knew there was a beggar's line to get in.
I love your stuff, Mr. Giant. The comics and game design. I'd love to see you write some variant classes for Dragon, or even one your new classes or prestige classes I've already seen. (You know, to make them "official.")
You might not get a lot of exposure for a free cartoon in Dragon, and I'll be honest, I don't pay too much attention to any of the artists whose artwork appears in either Dragon or Dungeon... neither the interior artwork nor the cover. But I really appreciate all of the work that the artists put into their art, even for those of us that don't know the difference between... um, well, that one guy, and that other guy. Like I said... I don't know anyone's name.
I mean no disrepect to any of the artists... I love all the work I've seen. I remember a lot of the art and past covers of magazines that I've thought were terrific, but I can't ever name an artist from the magazines unless someone was just talking about it. But we are talking about it.
Chalk me up in the "Would love to see GiantITP in Dragon" line, unless of course that means that OotS can't get updated as often as a result. (I don't think I've ever laughed out loud at "stab" used as a sound effect before yesterday.)
I'm torn with fiction appearing in Dragon. I'd read it, but then, I'm pretty massively in the minority -- it's almost always "What we want less of" in the polls I've seen. And now that Paizo has other magazines dedicated to fiction, I wouldn't be surprised, or even really bummed, if Dragon restricted its fiction to special occasions, like a big-name gaming writer doing a short story in conjunction with a big release of a new product or something.
That said, I'd still read the fiction whenever it came out, so it's not like I'm against it. :)
I'd recommend treating it the same way Reader's Digest does. I think they pay a whopping $50 for a joke that gts printed, and maybe $75 for a cartoon. Not a fortune, but an incentive for those of us who can draw a single panel cartoon, on a single attempt.
Pay your regular cartoonists a more impressive amount. But Dragonmirth need not be that much at all. Just enough to whet our appetites.
"We received about 6 submissions over the course of about 4 months."
Yet TSR managed to keep it a monthy feature for years. How do think they did that? I'm genuinely curious.
On another note, Dork Tower, Nodwick and such are REALLY tired lately (they've just plain run out of good joke fodder, IHMO). I'd prefer to see the current serial comics given a rest for a while (or permanently) and some new ones added. Just make sure they're good and not Downer-quality...
Of course, I'd like to see something more serious like Twilight Empire or Libram X again. That's my dream.
I have to say that I am suprised that so many people dislike the fiction. I picked up my first issue of dragon a few months ago and loved the fiction piece that was included. I can't recall the title but it was about a winged elf who went to the city and got tricked into helping some criminals. I never really thought about reading D&D fiction until then, and now I am picking up some Salvatores Drizzt series, realizing that I have a lot of history to catch up on! I found the fiction one of the best parts of the magazine. It helps me visualize game mechanics better. When characters do things I'm like ok, he just made a successful bluff check. Ooops looks like that guy failed his grapple! lol buts thats just me...
I have to say that I am suprised that so many people dislike the fiction.
It isn't that I dislike it. But at subscription prices, I want a bit more D&D-material for my money. I can get short fiction from any of a gazillion sources.
Only a gazillion, Keeper95? You must not be looking hard enough.
Seriously, I only enjoy the fantasy fiction, but otherwise agree with Keeper95. Though, I would enjoy reading more of the adventures of Fool Wolf. I'd also like to more from a nonhuman point-of-view.
I hated that multi-part crusades-based stuff. I felt cheated out good material, just for real-world based crap. I tire quickly of the humano-centric attitudes.
I'd like to see Dragonmirth again too.
I also miss the little mailbox dragon that used to be at the beginning of the letters.
|
Whoo! First post of mine on these boards. Better make it count.
I don't care for the fiction AT ALL. I love to read, and I do. I have actually read LOTs of the fiction you have included over the years. The quality has varied tremendously. There really were some GREAT stories in the early issues. I don't want to dig it up now, but the "wizard" family that created the "Arabian Nights" stories by trying to steal the magic lamp was great. But as a regular reader and subscriber I'd rather have NO fiction than fiction of poor to middling quality.
If fiction IS to be included, give me some crunch. I want a new feat, or a new spell or SOMETHING. If 50% like the fiction, and 50% don't, throw the people who don't like it or want it a bone. If I can get SOME use out of it in my game it might be worth it. If it is just included for my enjoyment (and I failed to enjoy it) it is a total waste.
Dragon has recently taken to providing "crunch" from other sources. I don't think it would be hard to provide from fiction. And I don't really want it every issue. I mean, I don't want it ANY issue, but if it is to be included it should be rare. It should also stand alone. A serial might work from week to week, but a monthly serial is STRETCHING. So, please no more of those.
As long as I'm stating preferences, I don't want UNDER COMMAND in Dragon. To quote from issue 326, page 23 "RPGA UPDATE": "Not a secondary thing to the great D&D roleplaying game but a growing and thriving game all on it's own."
Dragon should support the Role-playing game of Dungeon's and Dragons. Miniatures is not the same game. It is wasted space that brings somewhere between nothing and virtually nothing to my game each month. Scratch that - it has never brought anything. I hoped it had, but it never inspired a single idea that I could take to my game. And so many articles have.
That rant probably doesn't belong here, so I might have to repeat it somewhere else.
I'd also like to see DragonMirth, I've enjoyed them over time. I'm guessing that fewer than 50% of your subscribers have issues going back from before, let's say, issue 286. You might consider running some "Classic Dragonmirth" while trying to revive the comic. And as GiantInThePlayground said, you really need to be clear about what you're offering for the work. (By the way, I love your "This Old Rule: Diplomacy").
Well, since this is approach epic length, I will end it here.