I hadn't planned to write this editorial for this issue. After all, we're giving this SHADIS away in job lots at GenCon, and I'd expected to spend my allotted page greeting the folks who hadn't seen us before, or for a while.

But curiously enough, the ones who have been reading us lately voted us the Origins Award for Best Professional Gaming Magazine of 1995. I now have an attractive black marbled plaque on my office wall commemorating the fact. Its only fault is that my name is the only one on the plaque.

Any professional product is a team effort. In this case, if we were to fit all the possible names on the award, the plaque would provide shelter for a family of four. Some of those names include:

Jolly Blackburn, who not only started up SHADIS by himself, but taught me the editorial ropes; and John Zinser and Dave Seay, who saw the potential of Jolly's tiny one-man fanzine and took it pro with him, and who have believed in it since. These three started it all, and the gaming community is richer for it.

Matt Staroscik and' Matt Wilson, who rethought the design of the magazine. Although those first proof pages were quite a shock when they came off our battered old laser printer, I now find SHADIS easier and more interesting to read. From the mail I get, it would appear I'm not alone. These guys make SHADIS a pleasure to look at.

John Wick and Rob Vaux, who epitomize the hiring policy at AEG: "Show up and work for little or no pay. Once you've made yourself indispensable at your job, congratulations: it's yours." John writes constantly; Rob in the few minutes he can escape from editing Without them, SHADIS wouldn't be nearly as good as it is.

Dave Williams, whose diploma inexplicably says "Card Game Design and Analysis." Were it not for Dave, SHADIS's card game coverage would have only been very good throughout the year. Instead, we had up to date coverage, with some lists and even a Magic The Gathering oardgame (Dave designed it) and a wall- to-wall CCG issue (Dave edited it) back to back. Even though these days Legend of the Five Rings occupies almost all of his time, Dave deserves a lot of credit for the success of the magazine.

Wayne Wallace and The Redoubtable Intern Jen both get a nod, even though they are no longer with us, because of their contributions during their respective tenures. Wayne is a sharpshooting copy editor, while Jeri hails from the artistic side of things. Both helped make the magazine better.

John Zinser, Sr. is still working in the office for no pay, even though he owns a chunk of the company. (He takes the hiring policy very seriously indeed, it appears.) His demesne is shipping, customer service, and making sure that everybody in the office is operating at 105% capacity.

Our contributors - columnists, writers, artists, and cartoonists - are, of course, the reason for our success. There are literally scores of names on this list, and you know what those names are. Without these folks, SHADIS is history. The best part about being editor is that you get to see all the neat stuff before everybody else - and then you get to print it up and say "Check this out!"

I'd also like to snag some space to thank the support net, without whom I'd have gone postal and slain dozens at the truck stop: Corin Andrade, Darren Holt, and Rich McHugh, gaming (almost) every Wednesday; Elisa Mason, via email; the folks (Hi Mom and Dad - it's a real job, honest!); and Walter Grube, who first introduced me to RPGs way back when, and to whom I owe not only my current career arc but also a year's worth of mail.

Finally, there are all the fans: everybody who voted, of course, but more importantly everybody who reads SHADIS. We're all grateful for the award, and that you considered us worthy of recognition; in return, we're going to do our best to blow you away this year. Here's our opening salvo: Issue #28. Enjoy!