Dragon Magazine

Dragon Magazine

TSR's first publication, and predecessor to Dragon Magazine. Published Spring 1975 to April 1976 (seven issues). Note that all seven issues were available after the initial mailing (as was Dragon) via the Dungeon Hobby Shop mail-order. Such issues can be distinguished by the lack of a mailing label on the rear cover, the lack of a mail fold horizontally across the middle of the issue, and a lack of staples / staple holes at the top and bottom. Copies that were actually mailed (i.e., part of the original mailing) should be worth substantially more than backordered issues.

Value (VF) listed below is for that issue in Very Fine (VF) condition. The value for conditions differing from that should be adjusted accordingly.

Issue	Month	VF	Details
1	Spring 75	$327	Strategic Review issue #1. Quarterly. Cover price $.50.
2	Summer 75	$468	Has a cartoon by Game Designer's Workshop CEO Loren K. Wiseman.
3	Autumn 75	$350	Binding is now stapled. Has a cartoon by Game Designer's Workshop CEO Loren K. Wiseman.
4	Winter 76	$350	Cover price now $.75. Tim Kask (1st Dragon Mag editor) joins. Traveller's Marc Miller has a cartoon inside.
5	Spring 76	$281	Newsletter goes bi-monthly, adopts graphic cover.
6	Feb 76	$281
7	Apr 76	$281	Last Strategic Review. Full-color cover. Price raised to $1.00.

Dragon Magazine

TSR's primary publication. First published June 1976, and continuing over thirty years through Sept 2007 (issue #359), when it was switched to an electronic-only format (PDF).

Issues #1 through #10 were mailed without a mailing wrap (referred to as a mailing cover), with the mailing label affixed to the rear cover of the magazine itself. Issues #1 through #10 that are found without the mailing label can be assumed to have been mailed via backorder from the Dungeon Hobby Shop; copies that were actually mailed (i.e., part of the original mailing) should be worth substantially more than backordered issues.

Dragon should not be confused with a sister publication, UK Dragon, which debuted in June 1988.

The circulation figures for Dragon can be found in our Print Run Estimates article.

Value (VF) listed below is for that issue in Very Fine (VF) condition. The value for conditions differing from that should be adjusted accordingly.

Issue	Month	VF	Details
1	Jun 76	$2518	The Dragon issue #1. Bi-monthly; price $1.50. Tim Kask editor. Fritz Leiber story.
2	Aug 76	$592	Gardner Fox story. Monkish combat. Alchemist class.
3	Oct 76	$667	"Finieous Fingers" comic strip first appears.
4	Dec 76	$485	Empire of the Petal Throne issue.
5	Mar 77	$307	Gardner Fox story. Witchcraft supplement.
6	Apr 77	$375	Metamorphosis Alpha expansion rules.
7	Jun 77	$175	First anniversary issue. Magazine now published 8 times/year. Origins of D&D article. Interior pages state Vol 1 #7.
8	Jul 77	$168	Outer Planes. Last confirmed issue with a mailing label.
9	Sep 77	$128	"Wormy" comic first appears.
10	Oct 77	$186	"Snit Smasher" game.
11	Dec 77	$123	"Snit's Revenge" game. Fritz Leiber story. 1st "Sorcerer's Scroll" column. 1st confirmed mailing cover (w/drawing of Dragon #1 cover).
12	Feb 78	$123	"Quag Keep" novel preview (first D&D-based novel?).
13	Apr 78	$123	Gardner Fox story. Magazine goes monthly.
14	May 78	$123
15	Jun 78	$123	Second anniversary issue. Backgammon game. L. Sprague deCamp story. "Wormy" insert.
16	Jul 78	$123	Second half of L. Sprague deCamp story. Ninja class.
17	Aug 78	$123	Will McLean, cartoonist for "Dragon Mirth", joins staff.
18	Sep 78	$123	Fritz Leiber short story.
19	Oct 78	$123
20	Nov 78	$123	Witchcraft and Demonology. Says Vol III #5 inside (which is incorrect). Rarer than other contemporary issues.
21	Dec 78	$111	Says Vol III #6 both inside and outside (which is incorrect... this is Vol III #7).
22	Feb 79	$111	One-month lapse since last issue. Little Wars / Dragon split issue. Assassin class.
23	Mar 79	$111	Gardner Fox story.
24	Apr 79	$111	Lost Civilizations, Chinese Dragons, Lycanthropy, Psionics.
25	May 79	$111	Gamma World issue. One variant cover has "The Dragon" printed in green ink (the same green seen in the goggles).
26	Jun 79	$111	Jake Jacquet joins staff as assistant editor.
27	Jul 79	$111	Third anniversary issue (Vol IV, #1), though it should have been last month. GenCon insert. 1st (and only) nudity in Dragon comics.
28	Aug 79	$111	"Awful Green Things From Outer Space" game.
29	Sep 79	$111	Kim Mohan joins staff. Rear cover is printed upside-down.
30	Oct 79	$89	Famous missing-D&D-player (James Egbert) news item. Ninja class variants.
31	Nov 79	$89	James Egbert found. Beginning of reader fiction. Year removed from the cover.
32	Dec 79	$89	"The Fell Pass" D&D module. Month removed from the cover.
33	Jan 80	$89	Then-unknown Ed Greenwood submits a letter-to-the-editor.
34	Feb 80	$89	AD&D Masters tournament module. 1st Ed Greenwood article? Divine Rights variants, cards.
35	Mar 80	$89	Jake Jacquet becomes new editor. Traveller section. Errata article for Monster Manual, PHB, and DMG.
36	Apr 80	$89	Gardner Fox story. April Fool's issue.
37	May 80	$89	Tim Kask leaves magazine. "Pit of the Oracle" module.
38	Jun 80	$89	"Ringside" game. Gardner Fox story.
39	Jul 80	$89	Name-change from "The Dragon" to "Dragon"; separation from TSR. Fourth anniversary issue (a month late). Anti-paladin NPC.
40	Aug 80	$66	First comprehensive article index. "Outside the Znutar" game.
41	Sep 80	$66	"Halls of Beoll-Dur" module.
42	Oct 80	$66	"Mansion of Mad Professor Ludlow" AD&D module.
43	Nov 80	$66	The Witch PC class, How to Evaluate Your DM.
44	Dec 80	$66	"Food Fight" game. Gardner Fox story. New NPC classes.
45	Jan 81	$66	"Dungeon Design Kit" insert. New NPC classes. Squad Leader scenario.
46	Feb 81	$66	AD&D Exam. "Temple of Poseidon" AD&D module.
47	Mar 81	$66	"Crimefighters" game and scenario. Squad Leader scenario. Other planes section.
48	Apr 81	$66	Underwater Adventuring section. Top Secret module.
49	May 81	$66	Gencon (and Gencon East) insert.
50	Jun 81	$89	Fifth anniversary issue. "Chapel of Silence" 1st place AD&D module from contest.
51	Jul 81	$53	"Emperor's Treasure" game.
52	Aug 81	$66	Boris Vallejo cover, his first (only?).
53	Sep 81	$53	Monks.
54	Oct 81	$53	"Cavern Quest" AD&D module.
55	Nov 81	$53	Gardner Fox story. "Creature of Rhyl" AD&D module.
56	Dec 81	$53	Top Secret module.
57	Jan 82	$53	"The Wandering Trees" AD&D module.
58	Feb 82	$53	"Spellminders" spell counters. Special Dwarves section.
59	Mar 82	$53	"Exonidas Spaceport" Traveller module.
60	Apr 82	$44	"Flight of the Boodles" game. Special Elves section.
61	May 82	$44	"Quest for the Midas Orb" AD&D module.
62	Jun 82	$66	Sixth anniversary issue. First Larry Elmore cover. Top Secret module.
63	Jul 82	$44	"Chagmat" AD&D module.
64	Aug 82	$44	Special Assassin section. "Planet Busters" game.
65	Sep 82	$44	"Monsters of the Midway" game. Celtic mythos.
66	Oct 82	$44	"Thieves' Cant" dictionary.
67	Nov 82	$44	Jake Jacquet, publisher, leaves. "Fedifensor" Astral Plane module, Astral Plane rules.
68	Dec 82	$44	Weather system insert.
69	Jan 83	$44	"Arrakhar's Wand" game.
70	Feb 83	$35	"Mechica" AD&D module (Aztec theme).
71	Mar 83	$35	Boot Hill module.
72	Apr 83	$35	"File 13" game. Cavalier subclass.
73	May 83	$35	Inner Plane cube insert. "Forest of Doom" AD&D module.
74	Jun 83	$44	Seventh anniversary issue. Special dragon & swords sections. "Combat Computer" insert.
75	Jul 83	$44	"SnarfQuest" comic first appears. "Nine Hells Part 1" article. "Can Seapoint Be Saved?" AD&D module.
76	Aug 83	$44	Article Index. "Nine Hells Part 2" article.
77	Sep 83	$35	"King of the Tabletop" game.
78	Oct 83	$35	Special Psionics section. "Citadel by the Sea" AD&D module. First Denis Beauvais cover.
79	Nov 83	$35	"Wacko World" game. Top Secret module.
80	Dec 83	$27	"Barnacus: City in Peril" AD&D module.
81	Jan 84	$27	Special poison section. "Ruins of Andril" AD&D high-level module.
82	Feb 84	$27	"Baton Races of Yaz" game.
83	Mar 84	$44	"Dancing Hut" high-level AD&D module. Denis Beauvais cover (first in chess-series).
84	Apr 84	$35	"Twofold Talisman" AD&D module. First appearance of ARES sci-fi section. Last "What's New?" comic.
85	May 84	$27	Part 2 of "Twofold Talisman" AD&D tournament module.
86	Jun 84	$44	Eighth anniversary issue. Second Denis Beauvais chess-series cover. "Great Stoney Castle" insert.
87	Jul 84	$27	Top Secret module.
88	Aug 84	$27	"Elefant Hunt" game.
89	Sep 84	$44	Special shield section. "Creature Catalog" article. Third Denis Beauvais chess-series cover.
90	Oct 84	$22	"Aesirhamar" AD&D module (Norse theme).
91	Nov 84	$22	"Nine Hells Revisited" article. Special "Treasure Trove" section. Traveller language skills.
92	Dec 84	$22	"Sword of Justice" D&D adventure. "Pages from the Mages III" article.
93	Jan 85	$22	"Gypsy Train" AD&D module. High-level Druids article.
94	Feb 85	$22	"Creature Catalog II" article. Official Changes for Rangers article. Incorrectly states it's Vol #9 issue #8 (should be Vol #9 issue #9).
95	Mar 85	$22	"Into the Forgotten Realms" AD&D tournament module.
96	Apr 85	$22	April Fool's issue.
97	May 85	$22	First cover by Robin Wood. "Pages from the Mages IV" article.
98	Jun 85	$22	Ninth anniversary issue. Special dragonlore section.
99	Jul 85	$22	"Treasure Trove II" article.
100	Aug 85	$44	Raised cover. "Saga of Old City" poster. Full-length AD&D module. "Pages from the Mages V".
101	Sep 85	$22	"Creature Catalog III" article. Kender race article.
102	Oct 85	$22	"Valley of the Earth Mother" AD&D module.
103	Nov 85	$22	Unearthed Arcana additions & corrections. First mention of AD&D Second Edition plans.
104	Dec 85	$22	"Sudden Dawn" Marvel Superheroes module. Special Thieves section.
105	Jan 86	$22	AD&D module.
106	Feb 86	$22	Price increase to $3.50 - remains until issue #201.
107	Mar 86	$27	DL11 Dragons of Glory scenario and advanced rules. Mariner NPC.
108	Apr 86	$27	Second Larry Elmore cover. Gamma World creatures.
109	May 86	$22	Customized character classes article.
110	Jun 86	$17	"House in the Frozen Lands" AD&D module. 10th anniversary issue.
111	Jul 86	$17	"Death of an Arch-Mage" AD&D module.
112	Aug 86	$22	"Ultimate" Article Index.
113	Sep 86	$22	Parallel-publication DUNGEON magazine begins. 3D dragon cardboard-cutout model. Adventuring in Hades.
114	Oct 86	$17	Return of the Witch class.
115	Nov 86	$17	All About Thieves, Weapons for Clerics, Denis Beauvais Cover.
116	Dec 86	$22	3-D sailing ship insert. First photo cover.
117	Jan 87	$17	Creative campaigns, AD&D trivia. Incorrectly marked as Jan 1986 throughout.
118	Feb 87	$17	Gladiator, archery and jousting articles, Denis Beauvais Cover.
119	Mar 87	$17	Six special articles on Druids.
120	Apr 87	$17	Players Handbook II.
121	May 87	$17	Oriental Adventures fold-up castle insert.
122	Jun 87	$17	Last Gary Gygax article. 11th anniversary issue.
123	Jul 87	$17	Wizardry College, Herald of Galactus game.
124	Aug 87	$17	Anauroch promotional map (Forgotten Realms).
125	Sep 87	$17	Chivalry, quasi-elementals.
126	Oct 87	$17	Undead, mutant monsters.
127	Nov 87	$17	Fiefdom.
128	Dec 87	$17	Vikings, Environs of Waterdeep.
129	Jan 88	$17
130	Feb 88	$17
131	Mar 88	$17	Underdark special.
132	Apr 88	$44	SnarfQuest cover by Larry Elmore. Last "Wormy" by Dave Trampier (who was never seen again...).
133	May 88	$17
134	Jun 88	$17
135	Jul 88	$17
136	Aug 88	$17
137	Sep 88	$17	Keith Parkinson cover.
138	Oct 88	$17
139	Nov 88	$17
140	Dec 88	$17
141	Jan 89	$17
142	Feb 89	$17	AD&D 2nd Edition Preview.
143	Mar 89	$17
144	Apr 89	$17
145	May 89	$27	Last "SnarfQuest" comic.
146	Jun 89	$17	Dragon section. Buck Rogers poster. 13th anniversary issue.
147	Jul 89	$17
148	Aug 89	$89	"Deck of Many Things" insert.
149	Sep 89	$17
150	Oct 89	$17
151	Nov 89	$17
152	Dec 89	$17	Underdark special. Poster.
153	Jan 90	$17
154	Feb 90	$17	DragonLance story. Steve Jackson poster.
155	Mar 90	$17	"Crypt of Istaris" AD&D module.
156	Apr 90	$17
157	May 90	$17
158	Jun 90	$17	14th anniversary issue. Dragon special.
159	Jul 90	$17	Spelljammer section. Poster. Last 1st Edition AD&D issue.
160	Aug 90	$33	Trading cards insert. First 2nd Edition AD&D issue.
161	Sep 90	$17
162	Oct 90	$17	Halloween special. Poster.
163	Nov 90	$17
164	Dec 90	$17
165	Jan 91	$17	Naval rules for BattleSystem.
166	Feb 91	$17
167	Mar 91	$17
168	Apr 91	$17
169	May 91	$17
170	Jun 91	$17	15th anniversary issue. "Dragon Kings" game.
171	Jul 91	$33	Trading cards insert. Poster.
172	Aug 91	$17	Underdark special.
173	Sep 91	$17	Dark Sun issue.
174	Oct 91	$17
175	Nov 91	$17
176	Dec 91	$17
177	Jan 92	$17
178	Feb 92	$17
179	Mar 92	$17
180	Apr 92	$33	Trading cards insert.
181	May 92	$17
182	Jun 92	$17	16th anniversary issue.
183	Jul 92	$17
184	Aug 92	$17
185	Sep 92	$17	Dark Sun monsters.
186	Oct 92	$17
187	Nov 92	$17
188	Dec 92	$26	Larry Elmore cover.
189	Jan 93	$17
190	Feb 93	$17
191	Mar 93	$17
192	Apr 93	$17
193	May 93	$17
194	Jun 93	$17	Rules for aerial dragonfighting. 17th anniversary issue.
195	Jul 93	$17
196	Aug 93	$17
197	Sep 93	$17
198	Oct 93	$17
199	Nov 93	$17
200	Dec 93	$33	Hologram cover. Spine-bound. Largest issue ever.
201	Jan 94	$17	Price increase to $3.95.
202	Feb 94	$17
203	Mar 94	$17
204	Apr 94	$17
205	May 94	$17
206	Jun 94	$17	18th anniversary issue.
207	Jul 94	$17
208	Aug 94	$17
209	Sep 94	$17
210	Oct 94	$17
211	Nov 94	$17
212	Dec 94	$17
213	Jan 95	$17
214	Feb 95	$17
215	Mar 95	$17
216	Apr 95	$17
217	May 95	$17
218	Jun 95	$17	19th anniversary issue.
219	Jul 95	$17
220	Aug 95	$17
221	Sep 95	$17
222	Oct 95	$17
223	Nov 95	$17
224	Dec 95	$17
225	Jan 96	$17
226	Feb 96	$17
227	Mar 96	$17
228	Apr 96	$17
229	May 96	$17
230	Jun 96	$17	20th anniversary issue.
236	Dec 96	$17	Last issue under TSR auspices; Wizards of the Coast takes over.
273	Jul 00	$17	Last 2nd Edition AD&D issue.
300	Oct 02	$22	Features an Acaeum ad! Halloween special; evil-related articles.
344	Jun 06	$17	30th anniversary issue.
359	Sep 07	$22	Last printed issue; switched to electronic-only publication (PDF).

B1		$52	Best of the Dragon vol 1. Cover price $3.00. No ISBN.
B1R		$47	Best of the Dragon vol 1, revised. Cover price $3.95. ISBN.
B2		$52	Best of the Dragon vol 2. Cover price $3.00. No ISBN.
B2R		$47	Best of the Dragon vol 2, revised. Cover price $3.95. ISBN.
B3		$43	Best of the Dragon vol 3.
B4		$43	Best of the Dragon vol 4.
B5		$43	Best of the Dragon vol 5.
SQ		$52	SnarfQuest comic compilation.
FF		$64	Finieous Fingers comic compilation.
DT		$43	DragonTales short-fiction compilation.
AD		$56	The Art of Dragon Magazine.

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Compilations & Specials

Best of Vol 1

Best of Vol 1 rev

Best of Vol 2

Best of Vol 2 rev

Best of Vol 3

Best of Vol 4

Best of Vol 5

SnarfQuest

Finieous Fingers

DragonTales

Art of Dragon Magazine

Thanks to:

Cory Cohen for scans of Dragon 103 & 105.
Jack Coleman for scans of Dragon 123, 125-128.
Bruce Felkins for scans of Dragon 161, 166, 167.
Matthew Foster for the scan of Dragon 141.
Sean Foster for the scans of Dragon 168-199, 201-219.
Jason Kolb for scans of Dragon 69, 71, 72, 74, 79-84, 88.
Michael Mifsud for the scan of Dragon 37.
Mike O'Connor for the scan of Best of the Dragon vol 1, revised.
Carl Saffer for scans of Dragon 101, 102, 104, 106-112, 114-120, and info for issues 115-120.
Bill Willet for scans of Best of the Dragon vol 4, and issues 70, 75, 76, 78, 85, 86, 87, 90, and 92.
Jason Williams for info on the Dragon 25 cover variant.