To me that looks kinda proto-dungeonpunk. And on the cover of a Monte Cook work, no less. While I am not ready to point a finger at Cook and shout "J'accuse!", I am intrigued by this find. Dark Space dates back to 1990 or so. These days I tend to think of the early nineties as the Time of the Vampire, but the World of Darkness was not the only thing going back then. Another big factor in the world of RPGs was the re-convergence of sci-fi and fantasy. In talking about things like Rifts, Shadowrun, and Dark Conspiracies. This grim-n-gritty science-fantasy trend is where dungeonpunk might have its beginnings. Think about it this way: Before D&D 3E where else could you get away with a leather jacket, a faux Maori tatto, and a sword?
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...I've expressed my thoughts with pen and ink.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to ponder is that the look that a lot of folks now call "dungeonpunk" was pretty common in the 1980s in U.K. fantasy art (not always _gaming_ fantasy art, since some publishers were marketing in the U.S.) and to an even greater extent in mags like Heavy Metal and the eurocomics that Heavy Metal was reflecting/showcasing.
ReplyDeleteThe divergence/convergence thing you mentioned was mostly an American thing, I think ... in Europe and the U.K. everything "fantasy" (more loosely defined, which was always part of the point) was in a continual process of becoming more grimy, leathery and trench-coatty throughout the decade, without wavering or distraction.
Of course, modern dungeonpunk depends more on the European stuff than on the U.K. stuff ... the British punky-fantasy (cover of the original WFRP, anyone?) was always leavened with dark humour, while [much of] the Heavy Metal stuff was flat-out joyless ... something that echoes too often in dungeonpunk, IMO.
Well, S. John, your statements only serve to remind us that the Brits are weird; they make pudding out of blood and I'm pretty sure Elton John is gay, so Bob's your uncle.
ReplyDeleteNever underestimate the influence of Photoshop filters on Dungeonpunk.
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing that cover in a Game Store when I was in too much of a hurry to seriously check it out, but thinking it was wicked cool. When I got back to the store (months later - I live a long way from such things) the book/box was gone, and the clerks couldn't tell what I was talking about from my vague description. From that day 'til now I never knew what I'd seen. I actually thought it had been something I'd dreamt of. So thanks!
I'd never heard the word 'dungeonpunk' before I saw Dr. Rotwang's pic, which was a perfect example of a picture being worth a thousand words. Personally I'm glad we got away from the Tolkien look and feel. It's been over done and, after all, who does Tolkien as well as Tolkien?
But there's been way too many modules detailing struggles against the gibbering horrors of the abyss (including every single damn one of the adventure paths in the Dungeon magazine). I hate gibbering horrors. What's wrong with Dragons, or Evil Cardinals? If I have to kill one more maggot-based villain. . .
An art student might say that dungeonpunk is a (not very subtle) ironic response to Tolkien-style fantasy. If so, maybe we just have to wait for the ironic response to the ironic response to catch on.