Yamara™

In 1988, we decided we were going to get in Dragon Magazine.

Seriously, that was a decision on our part, sitting in our kitchen, arrogant little %#!&%$ that we were. Its ‘Dragonmirth’ section was for fan humor cartoons. They had run four-panel strips before, but usually it was single-panel gags.

Most of these gags… were not that rip-snorting funny. Set against What’s New and Wormy, many were (and note this is our younger, arrogant-little-%#!&% selves talking here) just plain awful. But we were certain we could bring the funny. Though we’re not sure “bring the funny” was a common phrase back then.

Anyway. Chris had drawn a one-panel with several gags back in 1984, and–

Okay. Puns. The damn thing has five puns.

And we hate puns, naturellment. Dragonmirth was already crammed with them, mostly screamingly bad ones. Was this really our big push for a star on Sheridan Springs Road?

Oh yes. Because that pun-despising attitude is dripping off that panel. The characters, still without fixed names, are plainly in the middle of some actual story, an adventure of theirs, and not just set pieces for a one shot gamer gag. The way each character wields their puns already tells you more about them.

So we sent it in with some suggestions for an ongoing strip. We did have to mention Talanalan over the phone to convince them that a four-panel could fit in Dragonmirth (and if you recognize that reference without Googling, you get a cookie!) But with the technicalities out of the way, so began an eight-year romp which we were delighted to share with the gaming world.

And we are now proud to present…

Yamara: The Hundred Classic Episodes.
Should be running Mondays & Thursdays, good Fortune, Walrus, and St. Nobian willing!

PS- Oh, and, um, Kim Mohan the editor and Roger Raupp, the art director of Dragon in 1988? Yeah, they actually had something to do with our getting in and all. Seriously now: Thanks, guys.