What do you put in a magazine without advertisements? Fantasy adventure art, obviously.
It’s been two years since the release of Study Group Magazine #3, in all of its red-and-blue line, 3D glory (and easy-to-lose paper glasses). The long-awaited follow-up has a Dungeons & Dragons adventure theme and tons of stand-alone fantasy art by locals like Jennifer Parks and Study Group Co-Editor Zack Soto (The Secret Voice). Even more so than in past issues, SG #4’s main focus is on the critical analysis of comics as an art form. There’s a six-page article about D&D and world-building by Dylan Horrocks (Hicksville) that draws from the history of Ed Greenwood’s Forgotten Realms campaign and Horrocks’ personal dungeon master experiences.
James Romberger (7 Miles a Second) pens a thoroughly researched history of Hal Foster’s (Prince Valiant) influence on the legendary Jack Kirby. But the jewel of the issue is Milo George’s exhaustive, 16-page profile of Farel Dalrymple (The Wrenchies). Along with Soto, George’s also a co-editor of Study Group, and you see his name pop up several times in the nearly 100-page issue. The Dalrymple interview, which goes deep into the comics artist’s processes and motivations, could have been dull in less accomplished hands, but George’s edits shave it into an easy, snappy read.