Category: Daily Blog

Dragons of Middle-Agedom: Dragonlance turns 40!

This year is notable for many anniversaries, including Dungeons & Dragons turning 50, The Terminator turning 40, and The Crow 30. However, another significant milestone for me is the 40th anniversary of TSR Inc. introducing Dragonlance with the publication of its first product: Dragons of Despair, by Tracy Hickman. Additionally, Dragon magazine published the first Dragonlance fiction, “Test of the Twins” by Hickman & Weis. Both works would become major hits for the company, attracting fans worldwide.

My journey with Dragonlance didn’t begin until seven years later, in 1991, when I fully delved into D&D. The default setting for my friend Todd’s D&D games was Dragonlance, as he was a big fan of the novels at the time.

My first character was a 4th level Red Robed Minotaur Mage, who had just passed his Test of High Sorcery and had joined a wild bunch of adventurers seeking to explore Dargaard Keep. Until writing this, I only remembered it as the home of Lord Soth and that my Minotaur character jumped off a bridge due to the actions of an annoying character played by another friend.

My exposure to Dragonlance was limited until a few years later when I picked up Autumn Twilight while living in Texas. As an avid book reader, devouring everything from Faerûn novels to Elric of Melniboné, Dragons of Autumn Twilight captivated me. I spent a whole month reading nothing but Dragonlance, immediately buying the next book in the series as soon as I finished one.

This continued until late 1996 when I read Dragons of Summer Flame and picked up the Dragonlance SAGA rules. *This memory may be somewhat fuzzy due to the passage of time.

I was devastated by the changes to the setting and the rules, which left a bitter taste that lingered until Weis Productions released the War of the Lance 3.5 book. Suddenly, I was an enthusiastic Dragonlance fan again, actively participating in Dragonlance forums, devouring the latest lore books, and reading the newest Weis & Hickman novels until the license was lost in 2008. When Wizards of the Coast pulled the license, my passion was reduced to a mere ember of its former flame.

My interest in Dragonlance has remained subdued. Only recently did I attempt to reengage with the setting through the latest Dragonlance novel, but too much time has passed. I’m older now, and time is in shorter supply. Nonetheless, it brings me joy to know that, after 40 years, new generations are still discovering Dragonlance for the first time.

The Death of Superman!

Wow, damn, has it really been 30 years since the Death of Superman happened? Sheesh! I was living in Hugo at the time. California was over a year away. When I think about the event, I recall how big the waves it was making. There were news broadcasts, talk shows, hell, I even think it was on David Letterman. I was 15, and that year I spent a lot of time with my friends, one of whom, Todd, may he RIP, has passed, reading comics, watching X-Men and Batman, and playing TSR’s Marvel RPG. It was a great time to be a comic fan and a teenager. It was the 90s! The internet was in its infancy, I think. The WWW may have happened in the same year. As I said, things are fuzzy. But here we are, 30 years down the road. Heroes die all the time these days and come back as often! But the death of Supes? That was and always will be iconic! When I saw that a hardcover edition was being released for the anniversary, I had to have it!

The image is of the cover of the Death of Superman special edition. On the cover is Superman's death flag made from his torn cape.
Hardcover of The Death of Superman

Family Ties, Growing Pains, Different Strokes

I was a late bloomer when it came to reading. All I know is that I couldn’t read one winter, and then BAM! It clicked, and I was off! Soon my favorite time of the school year would be the Scholastic Fair. From the smelly stickers to the excellent pencil grips to the mysterious books, it was a reader’s smorgasbord!

Sometime between 86-88, I picked up the Growing Pains book. I don’t recall much other than I owned it. I did watch a lot of television back then. I was a big fan of TV shows such as Family Ties, Silverspoon, and even Different Strokes. But I guess I was a BIG FAN of Growing Pains. Anyway. in a fit of nostalgia, I went onto eBay and ordered replacements. My inner 9-year-old is pleased.

pic of growing pains and family ties books
Scored from eBay!

“To me, my X-Men.”

1988 is when my love of comics ignited into a conflagration that would burn brightly for seven years before dying down and being replaced by other joys.

The series to spark my love of comics was the X-Men beginning with the Fall of the Mutants event. To me, this era would become the last arc of Chris Claremont, who, in 1988, had been at the helm of the X-Men line for 13 years. An unheard amount of time to helm a comic book series. Then or now.

Whenever I think or talk about comics, this is where my mind goes to. This era has everything from tragic stories to gorgeous art to the introduction of villains such as Apocalypse, Hodge, or the Mutant Menace storyline. But beloved of all was the Uncanny X-Men roster: Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Colossus, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot, and Psylocke. To me, they were and always be, My X-Men.

Front and back cover of the Fall of the Mutants comics
Front and Back Cover of the Fall of the Mutants omnibus

Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn about your little dog.

Yesterday was a weird weather day. Nation Weather Service confirmed we had a tornado here in Spokane. Yes, you read that correctly. I thought it might have been a downburst or what others call a microburst, but no. It was a god’s honest truth we’re not in Kansas tornado.

The destruction seems to have impacted only a small area of the city. Still pretty damn wild!

Image of wind damage

When it Rains, it Pours

Fridays are bad news days, right? Yesterday was a bad day all around, from rain to work drama to costly mistakes. Somehow after a sequence of unlikely events, I ran over a pickle jar that sliced the tire to the rim. A $400 error is what it will cost to get a matching replacement. On the upside, I had a spare but had to purchase a super-duty jack. I see it as a much-needed investment.

candy apple car jack
Image of said jack