Top 10 Dragon & White Dwarf Covers of the 80s

[Voros]

A good selection of Dragon from Film Goblin blog.

And The Daily Dwarf offered his Top 10 from White Dwarf in response.

 

[Dumarest]

My favorite, going by memory only, would probably be

 

[Trippy]

I'm not sure if it's the best, but it's certainly the one that changed everything for Games Workshop:

 

[Voros]

My favorite, going by memory only, would probably be
View attachment 1310

This was the cover for Greyhawk Wars too!

 

[Dumarest]

This was the cover for Greyhawk Wars too!

How 'bout that...the cover for Justice Inc. was reused even more egregiously for another pulp game recently.

 

[Bunch]

How 'bout that...the cover for Justice Inc. was reused even more egregiously for another pulp game recently.

Which one?

 

[Dumarest]

Which one?

 

[Bunch]

View attachment 1318 View attachment 1319

Well shit. I own both and never realized they were copies.

 

[Baulderstone]

One of my best friends and I would trade screenshots while we were playing Skyrim. I did this with one of his screenshots as a surprise for him. I was in a hurry, so it's not a great job, and not my ideal version of the logo, but I still like it.

 

[Voros]

My favourite was also one of the binder dividers for the 2e Monstrous Compendium:

 

[S'mon]

They were pretty much all great, but this is is the most '80s Metal White Dwarf cover:

 

[Voros]

This one is just plain purty.

 

[Dumarest]

Not that it's a great cover, as it's a bit static, but it's pretty good for an October Halloween issue; mainly I remember it well because I still have it. It's tucked away with my FASA Star Trek materials because it has a really good, surprisingly long article on FASA Star Trek campaigns.

 

[Justin Alexander]

I'm partial to #162, but that might be because it was my first issue.

 

[Necrozius]

I can't help it: the covers that stay with me always were the ones with ladies.

Some memorable ones (not necessarily good, just stuck in my mind since adolescence):

EDIT: I can't change the image sizes for some reason.

 

[Dumarest]

I remember #108...I think it had armor class rules for partial armor. Am I right? I like that cover with the wary woman warrior on edge but oblivious to the threat lurking right in front of her.

 

[Dumarest]

This one stuck in my mind. Screams high fantasy.

 

[Dumarest]

This one has a certain mythic quality to it.

 

[Dumarest]

Conan vs. Grendel, what's not to like?

 

[Dumarest]

I like this a lot, first because I like silliness but also because it was rare to see a Dragon cover that embraced whimsy and didn't take itself too seriously.

Feels like Narnia meets Oz.

 

[Dumarest]

Double duty:

 

[Dumarest]

I've always liked this aftermath cover.

 

[Dumarest]

If you're gonna play D&D with the standard tropes and races, then these are dwarves done right.

 

[Dumarest]

I kinda like the quiescent quality of this one.

 

[Dumarest]

The only time Snarfquest made the cover?

 

[Voros]

I've always liked this aftermath cover.
View attachment 1336

Yeah I like that it telling a little story and the cleric is an 80s hippie.

 

[Dumarest]

I assume circulation was too high and they were trying to dissuade potential readers from buying their magazine...nothing else explains this cover.

 

[Voros]

It is so hideous I almost perversely like it.

 

[Dumarest]

Judge Dredd. Brian Bolland. 'Nuff said.

 

[Dumarest]

It is so hideous I almost perversely like it.

Me too. I'd almost buy it just because it's so grotesque and oddball.

Makes you wonder what got rejected.

 

[Dumarest]

Did Boot Hill ever make the cover of The Dragon? Or Star Frontiers? Top Secret?