Thursday, January 21, 2021

Flying Purple People Eaters

A couple of years ago I bemoaned the surprising lack of color illustrations of beholders from the AD&D period. After scouring my collection I found some support for a purple paint scheme.

Recently James Maliszewski called attention to a 1981 Dungeons and Dragons cartoon advertisiment illustrated by the great Bill Willingham, one of my favorite TSR artists from this period. And wouldn’t you know, we have yet another data point from this era supporting purple-hued beholders.

The old D&D comic ads are remembered fondly by many fans like myself. I am blown away that Jeff Dee and Willingham had pitched an official D&D comic to Gary Gygax himself, only to get shot down by “the Dragon magazine person, who just hated comics and everything about them and who said he looked into it and it’s not viable.” (Given the timing, this was probably Tim Kask or Jake Jaquet.)

In any case, given that Willingham would go on to originate some outstanding comics, such as Elementals and Fables, this seems like a colossal lost opportunity—and sadly, one of many from TSR in those years.

I will close with one of my favorite Willingham pieces, from the Monsters and Treasures Assortment (1980). Here’s a treasure worth risking your character’s life for:

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