Dragon 305 back cover ad-worse then the F-word?

[robaustin]

Anyone taken a look at the ad on the back of Dragon 305 for Confrontation?

Isn't the woman a bit, uh, graphic?

Her nipples are showing and dare I say her crotch is also a bit revealing (think camel).

I'm no prude, but is that really necessary in an ad? Or does it just go with Dragon's more mature theming of late?

--*Rob

 

[gfunk]

I'm no prude, but is that really necessary in an ad? Or does it just go with Dragon's more mature theming of late?

Either that or the vast majority of their reading audience are heterosexual white males age 15-35.

 

[thundershot]

Holy crap, I didn't notice that before. Of course, they weren't exactly going for sex-appeal, seeing how she's not in the least bit attractive... Not very tasteful, but hardly offensive.


Chris

 

[Ulrick]

Hey didn't notice that either.

Maybe, just maybe, if the way things are going, Dragon will someday feature a page 3 girl.

 

[Dr Midnight]

I noticed the "camel".

I don't think this is too bad... I mean, I read comics, and there was a while in the 90's where the suggestion of a chill in the air was felt on any panel there was a female character. It's still around, but not nearly as bad as it was during the Ron Lim/ Jim Lee craptacular years.

She's wearing body armor? Bullets may not pierce it, but look what CAN! She's elderly? Well well, check out Aunt May!

Is the camel really much worse than the chainmail bikini girls of old?

 

[Johnny Wilson]

Note to all conspiracy buffs:

1) Paizo does not do the creative on the ads.

2) I personally blew it when I did the review of the dummy book because I didn't look closely enough at the ad to notice the provocative stuff (she's a demon with wings...okay?). I know that's hard to believe, but I didn't notice the anatomical "excitement" until one of my editors held up a printed copy of the back cover and asked me if I realized what we had done. You can disagree with a lot of the stuff I've done and you can point the finger at me directly on this one, BUT the truth is that this one was carelessness, not a plan to create additional shock value.

3) We did not edit George RR Martin's vocabulary because:
a) we figured that those who would be interested in the
novella would already know what to expect;
b) we didn't want to be accused of bawdlerizing a novella
that would appear in its original form when the novel is
published; and
c) we don't hire our favorite authors to put restrictions on
them.
You should not expect to see either the S-bomb or the
F-bomb in traditional Dragon articles. Believe it or not, we
have turned down more than one story by significant
authors because the material was more sexual in nature
and didn't fit the game world. It would be hard to argue
that Martin's fiction doesn't tie in well with the game world.

4) I'm hoping for some "normal" issues without any salacious
material for the conspiratorial grist mill.

Johnny L. Wilson
Publisher, Dragon magazine

 

[Kershek]

I wanted to say that I'm very impressed with Johnny's up-front response to put the issue straight. It's very helpful to hear from the horse's mouth what actually happened and it's well appreciated.

 

[robaustin]

Oh I didn't think they did it totally on purpose. I was quite surprised they would have accepted an ad with those details in it - especially since it was a back cover ad. Imagine a parent standing in a Barnes and Noble - 13 year old boy asks to get DRagon - mom looks at back ad and sees that...it's a bit uncomfortable, no?

Like I said - I'm no prude, I didn't find it offensive, was just surprised. In fact, our gaming group was sitting around the gaming table Saturday when someone else noticed it and pointed it out to all of us.

Thanks for the honesty Johnny....

--*Rob

 

[hellbender]

When considering advertisements such as those from Rackham (Confrontation), also consider the source. In most European countries, art such as that is not considered suggestive, as there isn't as much repression as here in the States. People in other countries don't get all worked up over foul language or minor nudity. It is funny, for example, to hear people in Spain have an exchange of words that, depending where you are located in the States, would either cause a fight or a lawsuit.

h.

 

[Horacio]

[BIt is funny, for example, to hear people in Spain have an exchange of words that, depending where you are located in the States, would either cause a fight or a lawsuit.

h. [/B]

I'm Spanish and I must say he is 100% right...