Over the last few years this cover by Dave Trampier has been fetishized by the old school community and been recreated countless times. Some have even called it the Greatest Cover Ever.

It's not though. 

This cover tells a lot about what it means to be an adventurer in the world of Dungeons and Dragons but it isn't the most inspiring cover. The adventures are shown after the battle, after the danger is long over, and other than the gigantic gems the idol uses for eyes there really isn't a lot here for you to want to emulate. 

They aren't heroes ready for battle, their bored adventurers hoping that something exciting will show up on the map around the next bend. 

Two Great Recreations of an Icon. 

When I first saw this picture I thought it was simply amazing, but over the years I've I've found that I like this picture less and less. Which is odd because I absolutely love Tramp, but there's just something about the cross-hatching that I don't like. Perhaps it's that you lose the definition of the buildings on the right or that the men coming out of the doorway on the right just seem unfinished. Or maybe it's that the woman fleeing on the left skirt gets lost in the shadow of the building.  

Either way, it's a favorite of many an OSR blogger and I feel like I would be remiss not to feature it during this month, but I'm really not that thrilled with it.

When I first ran across this illustration in the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide I found myself falling in love with the idea of killing everything and taking it's stuff. As greedy as that chubby thief is I found myself all the more so for Dave Trampier's art and for the world he was drawing. 

Still haven't gotten my fill of either of them, you?