Dave Seay and John Zinser

I once sat in church when I was younger. would like to say that I was listening but you know how that goes. I was probably scratching out a dungeon floor plan on a piece of graph paper. I happened to stop and for a brief moment to hear the words of the preacher go through my thick skull. He said, "I have had many teachers in my life, but I can count on one hand those that have made a difference." He then went on to say something that has always stuck with me, "What if they had not been there?" Where would I be today?"

Many of us have at one time or another meet someone or were influenced by, someone that fundamentally changed our life course, hopefully for the better. The gaming industry is full of such people for my partner John Zinser and 1. What if Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson said nah, no one would ever buy a game like that? What if Peter Adkinson and company hadn't risked their collective fortunes on a totally unheard of little card game? What if?

For John and I the question has always been this: "What if jolly Blackburn hadn't been there at the onset, making the best grass roots magazine in the gaming industry?" What if?

This is our 50th issue of SHADIS. John and I wanted to write this little piece to stop and say "thank you" to all of those people who helped us and helped to shape SHADIS.

First and foremost Jolly. Most people will never know how hard Jolly worked to see his small press magazine go professional. If you can imagine trying to lay out a 64 page magazine on a Mac Color Classic, only to grow to a 96 pager after that (on the same Mac), all the while being on time each month [cough], you begin to get the idea. jolly's stamp is still being felt in the magazine today and we're truly happy to see the success of his new publication - Knights of the Dinner Table.

We soon picked up groupies - ugh... valued employees. Dave Williams and D. J. Trindle were the first to spawn from the cradle of AEG and join SHADIS Magazine. Dave and D. J. are still with us today. The countless hours they've spent/lost have paid (and frequently unpaid) off to make SHADIS what it is and what made this 50th issue possible. Over the years we have grown to a staff of over 25 employees and all in one form or another eventually helped this magazine. We can't thank them enough, but we'll try.

the editors

Jolly who has been mentioned. D.J. Trindle, the man who always reminded us of how great gaming was and could be. Rob Vaux, the man who pulled SHADIS kicking and screaming into the 90's. And Jim Pinto. God only knows what Jim is going to do next but it will probably be celebrated with a new tattoo. All have been great and their presence continues to this day - if you look closely.

All in all a magazine is only possible with advertiser and distributor support. The list is much too long to be able to mention all the industry people who have contributed in both dollars and ideas. You are appreciated.

There are so many freelance writers, artists, and contributors throughout the years, that we couldn't possibly list them all here - you know who you are. If they didn't love what they were doing for SHADIS, then theirs and ours voices would never have been heard. Thank you all. Your contributions have been the backbone from the beginning.

There are a couple of people that must he mentioned. If you ever wonder how your magazine gets to you with such loving care, they are prepared by our adopted (and John's real) mom, Mrs. Z. Each month she personally mails out each issue and handles the customer service problems. She is truly great, and the cookies she brings are an excellent bonus to boot!

Most people don't know how desperately we needed money to get going in the early days. Every time (and in some cases desperate times) Mr. John Zinser Sr. -- the counterpart to the afore mentioned mom -- has come through for us. Without him several issues would have never seen print. He runs the warehouse and shipping and helps to kick us in the butt a bit when we need it. If you ever get a chance to meet these two let them know how much you enjoy the magazine. Without them it wouldn't be here.

more thanks

I believe it's mandatory that you thank your wife. John is always constantly surprised at how easy she makes the sacrifice of not seeing her husband for countless hours - I understand of course. She always gives her support even if she doesn't completely understand all of our crazy ideas. It's been a few long years I guess it's only appropriate that my fourth daughter will be born this month also. Thanks Kim.

I suddenly feel as if we would never have enough space to thank everyone. As we reflect on all of our friends in the industry and those of you who pick up the magazine each month we know that we could never list you alt. John and I just want you to know that we often wonder where we would be if you hadn't been there. We're glad we never will.

D. J. Trindle

how i broke into gaming

I was a rabid fan of the Kim Mohan-edited Dragon Magazines back in the 1980s. Eventually Kim moved on, and I quit reading; but in October 1993 I picked up SHADIS #10, and I felt something I hadn't felt since those old Dragons. I became a regular reader, and my roommate Dave got an internship with the magazine. One day he invited me along to SHADIS World HQ John & Jolly's apartment - and I grooved on the magazine's sexy new PowerBook and proofed his article.

The next afternoon, I got an unexpected phone call from jolly. "Deadline's pretty close and I can't get hold of my regular proofreader. Are you doing anything this afternoon?" Poof! I was SHADIS #15's "Lackey of the Month." A couple of weeks later, I called back. "When's the next issue? Can I proof it?"

By aggressively volunteering, I ended up on the payroll. Around the beginning of '94, I told Jolly that I just wasn't getting the same buzz from just reading the articles for each issue. Could I see... the slush pile? A foot-tall stack of submitted manuscripts - totally virgin material! Jolly didn't put up much of a fight - he could see the glint in my eye - and afterward I was an Editorial Assistant.

Some months later, we had moved into actual offices; I had become Assistant Editor and was doing layout and recommending some articles. By a stroke of luck, Rob Vaux came on as summer intern at almost exactly the time Jolly was going on a two-month break, leaving the editorial duties to the two of us. Rob had been an editor before, knew the risks, and was invaluable in keeping me - and the magazine - on an even keel. Eventually he became my Assistant Editor when I inherited the reins, setting a precedent for his and Jim's later elevations.

My SHADIS wasn't exactly like Jolly's, and both Rob and Jim have in turn put their own stamp on the magazine. Throughout, though, its core philosophy has remained constant: Give the reader the best magazine we can produce, every month. It's a huge task, but it's always worthwhile.

rob vaux

the secret of my success

I don't think anyone gets involved in the gaming industry on purpose - or at least, no one gets into the gaming industry with the intention of making a living at it. I first becarne involved in SHADIS because I quite simply had nowhere else to go. I was at school in Syracuse, sweating Out the first year of a graduate program and decided that the ivory tower was no place to remain trapped in for long. I had applied for several internships and been turned (town for all of them. The last one was I truly insidious kindness-killer, as the company's appointed intern wrangler told me to "get bent" through a thoughtful and sweetly-worded phone call.

With no prospects for the Summer and a gang of "Lifetime 7-11 Employee" nightmares playing kickball in my brain, I staggered over to my friend Greg's house to drown my sorrows in his wife's brownies. I lay on his couch in the fetal position, and quietly whimpering my woes to him. He looked thoughtful for a mornent, put on his best "buck up camper" face on, and held this tittle magazine Out for my red-rhumed eyes to see. "Why don't you go work for SHADIS?" he said. They'd love an intern, and they're gamers too, so they've gotta be cool."

In that moment my doom was sealed. "Okay," I replied.

Two years later, I looked back on my tenure at SHADIS and tried to figure out what happened. The hours were long, the pay stank, and my fellow employee consisted largely of caffeine-addicted gum nuts. But at the same time, it gave me a chance to do something I love, and to see how other gamers approached this funky little hobby of ours. From the pasty 13 year old with an article on orcs that he cooked into to legends who shaped the course of an entire industry, SHADIS gave me a window to see them all -- at their best, and at their worst. Somehow, a job I took as a last-chance joy-ride turned into something worthwhile, something I Wouldn't trade for anything. The gaming industry has a way of doing that to people, which I Suppose is part of its magic. I'll always be grateful to SHADIS for giving me a chance to share in it.

jim pinto

what it means to be single

It was August 30, 1997. I'm at the local Gateway game convention -- Saturday. I'm walking through the dealer's room, and I encounter the AEG booth. Dave Seay is sitting on his butt doing nothing (a sight I would never see again), John Zinser is yelling at someone (another anomaly), and Maureen Yates is talking and waving her arms in a warbling fashion. What was I getting into?

"So... you want to come work for SHADIS?" said a mean, surly John Zinser.

"Uh... sure," afraid of what would happen if I said no.

By the end of the month, I had quit my job as high-paying legal advisor to a fortune 500 company, and I was now working as assistant to some guy who had never met me before and was constantly referring to me others as "baggage" whatever that means?!?

Within four issues of SHADIS I was the Editor (cripes - I still can't believe I do this for a living), and often it is heard around the office, "man oh man, what did we do!" Now 50 makes my fifth issue of SHADIS and these last five have been a hundred times more educational than the first four - mostly because Rob kept locking me out of the office; what a kidder.

Now I work 27 hours a day on a job I am grossly under-qualified for, doing things on a computer I really don't understand, and answering questions from readers that I now are bold-fqced lies. In all this has been a great experience and I wouldn't trade it anything... even for ownership of the Denver Broncos.

I've worked 1800 odds jobs since I was 14, and I've only found about 2 or 3 things that I really loved doing. There is some really cool about finishing an issue and looking at it and the end of the month and seeing your name on it. I don't think that high will ever go away. In the mean time, I think I'll enjoy the being an amateur editor for a three times Origins winner.

Rob once said to me: "They are going to have to pry this job from my dead hand." Man, I hope it doesn't come to that...