Today we’re flipping through a wonderfully strange relic from 1991 - a special fantasy-themed issue of Starburst magazine packed with dragons, fantasy novels, obscure film features, early Peter Jackson weirdness, Highlander II, and even a fresh advertisement for a brand-new series called The Wheel of Time.
From Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman discussing Death Gate Cycle and Dark Sword . . . to fantasy reading lists spanning pre-Lord of the Rings classics and modern epics . . . this issue feels like a snapshot of fantasy fandom standing at the edge of a new era.
Come browse the pages with me . . .
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A Snapshot of Fantasy Fandom in 1991
In 1991, fantasy fandom still felt wonderfully fragmented - scattered across paperback shelves, VHS boxes, hobby shops, and magazines like Starburst, where films, books, artwork, and strange new worlds all collided together in the same pages.
This 1991 “Fantasy Issue” captures a fascinating crossroads moment - where Dragonlance, Wheel of Time, cult fantasy films, paperback epics, horror puppets, and classic sword & sorcery all comfortably existed side-by-side in the same magazine.
And honestly . . . flipping through it now feels a little like wandering through the aisles of an old fantasy bookstore or video rental shop again.
A fantasy issue truly meant fantasy - films, novels, posters, TV, weird fiction, and even book roundups all packed together.
Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman discussing Death Gate Cycle, Dragonlance, and Dark Sword while fantasy readers eagerly waited for the next big saga.
Long before Middle-earth, Peter Jackson was making deeply strange puppet horror-comedies like Meet the Feebles. Anyone ever see this? I know I haven’t (or I blocked it out!)
Fantasy poster centerfold by Michael Whelan from the book, “Sunrunner’s Fire” by Melanie Rawn
1991 fantasy cinema energy in a single image. Moody lighting, leather coats, immortal angst . . . and questionable sequels.
Fantasy shelves in 1991 included David Gemmell, Charles de Lint, Weis & Hickman, and many names still beloved today.
Along with the other cool round-up list . . . an advertisement for The Eye of the World before The Wheel of Time became one of fantasy’s defining modern epics.
A fascinating attempt to map the history of fantasy fiction long before YouTube retrospectives and endless internet lists.
The issue even included some fun fantasy recommended reading lists divided into pre- and post- Lord of the Rings!
And there you have it - a quick journey through a fantasy magazine from a moment when the genre was shifting into high gear . . . tucked between bookstore shelves, video rental aisles, paperback racks, and the pages of magazines like this one.
What makes this issue especially fun to revisit now is seeing so many familiar names standing near the beginning of much larger legends. Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time was only just beginning. Peter Jackson was still years away from Middle-earth. Weis & Hickman were building new worlds beyond Dragonlance.
Fantasy was changing . . . beginning its climb into the mainstream, yet still feeling like a realm largely reserved for geeks, dreamers, and devoted adventurers.
And somehow, that made discoveries like these feel even more magical.
Until next time, keep your paperbacks stacked high, your friendly dragons nearby, and an indomitable imagination’s eye, Noble Adventurer . . .
💬Tavern Talk
❓Do magazines like this feel like a lost form of fantasy discovery compared to today’s internet culture?
❓Did any long-slumbering fantasy memories awaken while flipping through these pages?
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Oh, I've seen "Meet the Feebles".. I'd definitely say you've not seen it, or you have a very powerful memory shield! Starting back around 1999 or 2000, a friend of mine began hosting a weekly dinner and 'film seminar' dubbed "Waste of Your Life". Slogan: Guaranteed to be three hours of your life better spent doing anything else! There were a few exceptions of 'good' choices, but overwhelmingly they were rather outrageous and cheesy-awful selections. It pretty much felt like our own version of MST3K.
Very nice tour through this issue of Starburst. I collect Starlog, Enterprise Files, Dragon, Different Worlds, and many other fantasy and RPG magazines and fanzines from the late 60s through the early 90s as the last gasp of written media as our “internet.” It’s difficult for a mind raised on ubiquitous always on connection to every opinion to understand that we had to WAIT to read anything about everything! We had to WAIT for movie previews. We didn’t have four teaser trailers, and then multiple trailers leading up to a “final” trailer. We didn’t have high production value film analysis released the week of the box office release. There weren’t spoilers for everything! And finding your people, your tribe was a mix of easy (it was actual living people in your high school) and hard (you could actually correspond by mail with superfans in other states! Literally comic book letter columns and other fanzines would publish the home address of fans that you could write a letter to and geek out together.) It was a different time… and it has been captured in the time capsule of ink on paper. It is now immutable. It isn’t a “feed” that will never be found again, or a wiki post subject to constant updating/revising. It has been CAPTURED in print and stands as written unalterable testimony to the corniness, awesomeness, fashion, vibe, heroism, wickedness, humor, political incorrectness, and honesty of that time period. Long live magazines!
Oh, I've seen "Meet the Feebles".. I'd definitely say you've not seen it, or you have a very powerful memory shield! Starting back around 1999 or 2000, a friend of mine began hosting a weekly dinner and 'film seminar' dubbed "Waste of Your Life". Slogan: Guaranteed to be three hours of your life better spent doing anything else! There were a few exceptions of 'good' choices, but overwhelmingly they were rather outrageous and cheesy-awful selections. It pretty much felt like our own version of MST3K.
Very nice tour through this issue of Starburst. I collect Starlog, Enterprise Files, Dragon, Different Worlds, and many other fantasy and RPG magazines and fanzines from the late 60s through the early 90s as the last gasp of written media as our “internet.” It’s difficult for a mind raised on ubiquitous always on connection to every opinion to understand that we had to WAIT to read anything about everything! We had to WAIT for movie previews. We didn’t have four teaser trailers, and then multiple trailers leading up to a “final” trailer. We didn’t have high production value film analysis released the week of the box office release. There weren’t spoilers for everything! And finding your people, your tribe was a mix of easy (it was actual living people in your high school) and hard (you could actually correspond by mail with superfans in other states! Literally comic book letter columns and other fanzines would publish the home address of fans that you could write a letter to and geek out together.) It was a different time… and it has been captured in the time capsule of ink on paper. It is now immutable. It isn’t a “feed” that will never be found again, or a wiki post subject to constant updating/revising. It has been CAPTURED in print and stands as written unalterable testimony to the corniness, awesomeness, fashion, vibe, heroism, wickedness, humor, political incorrectness, and honesty of that time period. Long live magazines!