D&D (2024) Here's The New 2024 Player's Handbook Wizard Art

 

[Parmandur]

Robert Jordan

For the Wheel of Time, in particular, the archetypal magic-user looks pretty much exactly like the OP image: a middle-aged woman with some features thst look younger than expected and others that look older (like the hair color).

 

[ezo]

Maybe since about 2000, but hardly "50 years". Ask most people on the street "describe a wizard": and you'll likely get one of three answers (at least for many here in the U.S., other counties would have other answers related to their own popular lore/mytholody):

Pre-2000: Merlin, Gandoph, etc.
2000-2010: the JKR fans add to that: young kids, teenagers, adults, eldery (Dumbledore looks like that for a reason, it resonates with what most people think of as a powerful wizard IMO.) However, the others still get some props thanks to LotR and its world-wide success as well.
2011-2020: Dr. Strange jumps in thanks to Marvel's success, with Wanda as well of course. I couldn't tell you who might be tops to the other, if either.
2021+: I guess something new? Maybe something from the D&D movie or Critical Role stuff resonate to add more to the list??? Since I haven't seen the movie and don't care for CR at all, I couldn't tell you.

Anyway, for most of the stuff you talk about, many people have never heard of them. RPG fans, gamers, etc. sure, but even then that's hardly guaranteed. I mean, speaking for myself, I haven't even heard of over half of the names you mention:

Goodreads’ fantasy list is topped by Patrick Rothfuss, J.K. Rowling, Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin, Scott Lynch, Neil Gaiman, Susanna Clarke, Christopher Paolini, Joe Abercrombie, Cassandra Clare, Brent Weeks, Kristin Cashore, Rick Riordan, Eoin Colfer, Peter V. Brett, Jonathan Stroud, Jacqueline Carey, Wein Morganstern, Naomi Novak, Robin Hobb, Terry Pratchett, Robert Jordan, and Stephen King.

The bolded ones are the only ones I know who they are. The rest are completely unknown to me. If someone tells me what they've done, maybe I'll have heard of it, maybe not...

I realize to people here I am not the norm, and I understand that. But in general I would hardly say

Which is to say that both the 2014 wizard and this one are fairly typical, this one a bit more so, ...

This image isn't fairly typical of a wizard quite yet IME, or in most people IMO who aren't RPG fans, gamers, etc. Sure, it is going in that direction, but the "bearded old-man wizard" would still be "a bit more so" to the general public I think.

But, hey, disagree if you want, just my opinion.

 

[Cadence]

Maybe since about 2000, but hardly "50 years". Ask most people on the street "describe a wizard": and you'll likely get one of three answers (at least for many here in the U.S., other counties would have other answers related to their own popular lore/mytholody):

Pre-2000: Merlin, Gandoph, etc.
2000-2010: the JKR fans add to that: young kids, teenagers, adults, eldery (Dumbledore looks like that for a reason, it resonates with what most people think of as a powerful wizard IMO.) However, the others still get some props thanks to LotR and its world-wide success as well.
2011-2020: Dr. Strange jumps in thanks to Marvel's success, with Wanda as well of course. I couldn't tell you who might be tops to the other, if either.
2021+: I guess something new? Maybe something from the D&D movie or Critical Role stuff resonate to add more to the list??? Since I haven't seen the movie and don't care for CR at all, I couldn't tell you.

Anyway, for most of the stuff you talk about, many people have never heard of them. RPG fans, gamers, etc. sure, but even then that's hardly guaranteed. I mean, speaking for myself, I haven't even heard of over half of the names you mention:

The bolded ones are the only ones I know who they are. The rest are completely unknown to me. If someone tells me what they've done, maybe I'll have heard of it, maybe not...

I realize to people here I am not the norm, and I understand that. But in general I would hardly say

This image isn't fairly typical of a wizard quite yet IME, or in most people IMO who aren't RPG fans, gamers, etc. Sure, it is going in that direction, but the "bearded old-man wizard" would still be "a bit more so" to the general public I think.

But, hey, disagree if you want, just my opinion.

Earthsea (Le Guin) and Thomas Covenant (Donaldson) were kind of things for the older list - but sure, not LotR scale.

I'm not particularly well read in modern fantasy, but among the newer ones:

* Neil Gaiman has had a several things - including comics, novels, BBC adaptations, and a recent streaming series: Sandman, American Gods, Stardust, Neverwhere; 3 million followers on his active Twitter account.

* Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson is a big thing too - 180 million+ copies sold in the series and a Disney adaptation this year after some bad adaptations earlier.

A bunch of the others regularly show up as headliners in anthologies (and based on the notes about them there have series of their own).

To be fair, I'm not sure what the obvious Gaiman and Riordan Wizards are though.

 

[ezo]

Earthsea (Le Guin) and Thomas Covenant (Donaldson) were kind of things for the older list - but sure, not LotR scale.

I'm not particularly well read in modern fantasy and I recognize a bunch of the newer names. Neil Gaiman has had a several things - including some in the theaters and on streaming (Sandman, American Gods, Stardust, Neverwhere). Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and is, uhm, kind of a thing too (180 million + sold and a Disney adaptation this year after some bad adaptations earlier).

Which is fine, but although people might be familiar with "Percy Jackson", it doesn't mean they know who Rick Riordan is... or even what Percy Jackson is about. I saw the first movie a while back, don't really remember it being that successful at the time (I don't even remember what the film was about--very forgettable IME), and it seemed like it took a while before more came out, but I could be wrong--since I'm not a "fan", I wouldn't know.

But that's sort of my point, unless you are a fan (or have a friend who is, etc.), you won't probably know of such things. However, the more "popular" wizards from LotR, Harry Potter, and Marvel, yeah--better chance you know of them.

And a bunch of the others regularly show up as headliners in anthologies.

Do they? Where? I haven't seen them. I'm not saying you're wrong (seriously), just nothing I know of. And IMO, probably nothing many other common non-gamer/fans know of--or would recognize if they did.

To be fair, I'm not sure what the obvious Gaiman and Riordan Wizards are though.

Sort of makes my point. You know of things they've done, but aren't sure what they're Wizard are?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The bolded ones are the only ones I know who they are. The rest are completely unknown to me. If someone tells me what they've done, maybe I'll have heard of it, maybe not...

Those are definitely on you. Neil Gaiman in particular is huge. Like, one notch below Stephen King huge.

 

[ezo]

Those are definitely on you. Neil Gaiman in particular is huge. Like, one notch below Stephen King huge.

Then who is he? What has he done? I figure I can go into most stores, coffee shops, etc. and ask people and most people wouldn't know, either.

Those same people and places and I ask them about Merlin, Albus Dumbledore, or Gandolph.... well, good chance they know at least of one of them and that they are a "wizard".

 

[Scribe]

Then who is he? What has he done? I figure I can go into most stores, coffee shops, etc. and ask people and most people wouldn't know, either.

....

The Sandman (comic book) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

American Gods (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Neil Gaiman - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Sandman in particular (to me) is a big deal.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Then who is he? What has he done? I figure I can go into most stores, coffee shops, etc. and ask people and most people wouldn't know, either.

No, they really would. He was first a big deal because of the Sandman comics (and now the Sandman Netflix show, audiobooks, etc.), but now he's a huge novelist who wrote American Gods (which became a Starz series and comic books), Neverwhere, the Ocean at the End of the Lane, the Graveyard Book (which I think Disney is turning into a movie), Coraline (which has become a classic movie already), etc.

I don't know everyone on @Autumnal's list, but we are 30 years into Neil Gaiman being a major author with mainstream success.

 

[ezo]

....

The Sandman (comic book) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

American Gods (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Neil Gaiman - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Sandman in particular (to me) is a big deal.

Sandman I've heard of because of Big Bang Theory and some of their comic-book discussions IIRC. But that's it. Still, if you asked me about Sandman, I couldn't tell you anything else about it, that it has anything to do with wizards (?), or who created it.

 

[Azzy]

Objection your honour! I throw it out all the time because thats what it is and we need to keep some perspective on what we are wasting our time discussing.

I think this is true for fandom in general. But, yeah, some people elevate this silly elf game (which I love) to something it's not. It's just a game.