Jolly Blackburn
Encyclopedia
Jolly Randall Blackburn is best known as the creator of the comic strip
, Knights of the Dinner Table
.
and his company Alderac Entertainment Group
(named after his AD&D
campaign world) while still in the Army. He conceived of having a comic strip that became Knights of the Dinner Table
(KoDT) in 1990 as part of Shadis: "I had been a great fan of J.D. Webster's Finieous Fingers
from the early Dragon
Magazine, and I wanted something similar. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone willing to do a strip. Finally I sat down and drew out a very crude cartoon showing a gamemaster and a player sitting around a table arguing over a rules call." Blackburn based the KoDT characters on friends and fellow players, and B.A. Felton on himself.
Alderac published three issues of a KoDT comic book in 1994-1995, before Blackburn left the company: "I soon became aware that the demand for KoDT was much higher than I had ever realized. That got me thinking about doing it on a monthly schedule." While working at Shadis, Blackburn had made friends with employees of Kenzer & Company
. "We discovered that we had so much in common, I decided to come aboard and throw my intellectual properties in the kitty." The KoDT comic strip moved to Dragon in issue #226, becoming very popular. "Over the years I've often wondered just what it is that causes all the fuss... I'm the first to look at the typical strip and say, 'It's not all that!'"
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
.
Biography
Jolly Blackburn majored in anthropology, history, and classical cultures in college. Blackburn later joined the Army, and launched both the gaming magazine ShadisShadis
Shadis was an independent gaming magazine that published articles on role-playing games. Started by Jolly Blackburn, it began as an independent gaming fanzine in 1990, and was later transformed into a quality small-press magazine in 1993. Each issue contained a variety of articles covering many...
and his company Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
(named after his AD&D
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
campaign world) while still in the Army. He conceived of having a comic strip that became Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table
Knights of the Dinner Table is a comic book/strip created by Jolly R. Blackburn and published by Kenzer & Company. It primarily focuses on a group of role playing gamers and their actions at the gaming table, which often result in unfortunate, but humorous consequences in the game...
(KoDT) in 1990 as part of Shadis: "I had been a great fan of J.D. Webster's Finieous Fingers
Finieous Fingers
Finieous Fingers was among the earliest comics that appeared in Dragon magazine. Finieous Fingers, the title character and self proclaimed "World's Greatest Thief", was a good-natured thief who was pestered by halflings and evil magic-users...
from the early Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
Magazine, and I wanted something similar. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anyone willing to do a strip. Finally I sat down and drew out a very crude cartoon showing a gamemaster and a player sitting around a table arguing over a rules call." Blackburn based the KoDT characters on friends and fellow players, and B.A. Felton on himself.
Alderac published three issues of a KoDT comic book in 1994-1995, before Blackburn left the company: "I soon became aware that the demand for KoDT was much higher than I had ever realized. That got me thinking about doing it on a monthly schedule." While working at Shadis, Blackburn had made friends with employees of Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company
Kenzer & Company is a Waukegan based publisher of comic books, role-playing games, board games, card games, and miniature games....
. "We discovered that we had so much in common, I decided to come aboard and throw my intellectual properties in the kitty." The KoDT comic strip moved to Dragon in issue #226, becoming very popular. "Over the years I've often wondered just what it is that causes all the fuss... I'm the first to look at the typical strip and say, 'It's not all that!'"