Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine #102

Knights of the Dinner Table (KoDT) is the only gaming humor comic I regularly pick up. For those unfamiliar with it, it's the story of The Knights of the Dinner Table, a gaming group that meets every week. There's BA, the GM, Bob, the fuming bull-headed man-of-action, Dave, the power gamer, Sara, the roleplayer, and Brian, the rules lawyer. The art is extremely simple, some would say bad, but this limited art encourages exploration of a different sort seen in most comics. The writing must be strong enough to carry four characters sitting around a table, with limited expressive palettes. Sometimes the writing is off, but the best stories in KoDT involve introducing a new element to the story. This is done in a few ways.

The rarest is format change, as in issue #100, which was all standalone stories, a clear reminiscence of KoDT's backup strip roots, and one of the strongest issues of KoDT ever. More common are game standoffs, where something interesting has happened in the game, and the PCs square off against the GM in a game of wits. Finally, there's a cast shakeup. Some of the Knights best extended stories result from these (the early 'Sara leaves the Knights' storyline is one of my favorites), where the status quo changes, for however short a time, and the group dynamic shifts. That's what this issue is.

Last issue, longtime Knights GM B.A. Felton decided he was burned out, and hung up his GM screen for 'a little while'. This issue shows how the group is getting along, and features an amusing plot twist that has been in the works for a long time. This issue hits all the Knights high points. There's some good gaming humor involving an extended series of gags about the board game 'Risque', and the reveal of the new Knights GM is just killer. It's simultaneously hilarious and somewhat touching. As I mentioned, the reveal of the GM has been an ongoing, and relatively unexplained, plot point for a while, and it makes perfect sense considering the Knights, their continuity, and their basic characters. Great stuff.

What's not so great are the comics not involved with the main plot, in this case a 'Retro KoDT' strip. I'm not a huge fan of the 'Retro KoDT' strips, which mostly involve the introduction of the Dave Boswell character to the Knights. There's no balance to the group, and it always feels like a bad Black Hands strip. (The Black Hands are a rival gaming group. They aren't evil so much as terribly misguided. They have a pretty brutal play style, and some of the worst group dynamics ever. Black Hand strips are, on the whole, hilarious). Even worse is the 'Magazine' part KoDT Magazine. In additon to being poorly designed, with bad art, the articles are usually underwritten (for the interesting stuff, like reviews of games) or overwritten (in the case of everything else). The writing is usually uninspired, and the fact that it's hard to read doesn't help. The 'Magazine' of 'Knight of the Dinner Table Magazine' embraces none of the minimalist aesthetic and charm of the comic. It has been awful since it was introduced, and continues to be awful to this day. In addition, it sometimes feels like little more than a pimp for Kenzer & Company's HackMaster gaming line, which is fine, but could I just have a few ads between comics instead of paying an extra two bucks for this stuff?

So, while the magazine is frontloaded with great comics, the back end is a mess. I just pretend it's not there and wish they'd sell a Knights Lite with just the comics and none of the filler.

Rage-o-Meter The lower the score, the less angry the comic made me. Anger is bad.
KoDT Comics: 3 (A Little Perturbed)
-The Current storyline is looking to be another great one.
-The 'Retro KoDT' story made me a little angry.

KoDT Magazine: 10 (SMASH!)
-The Magazine sucks. That is all.

	Knights of the Dinner Table Magazine #102 Kenzer and Company Development Team: Jolly R. Blackburn, Brian Jelke, Steve Johanssen, David S Kenzer "Hack the Slayer"
	Knights of the Dinner Table (KoDT) is the only gaming humor comic I regularly pick up. For those unfamiliar with it, it's the story of The Knights of the Dinner Table, a gaming group that meets every week. There's BA, the GM, Bob, the fuming bull-headed man-of-action, Dave, the power gamer, Sara, the roleplayer, and Brian, the rules lawyer. The art is extremely simple, some would say bad, but this limited art encourages exploration of a different sort seen in most comics. The writing must be strong enough to carry four characters sitting around a table, with limited expressive palettes. Sometimes the writing is off, but the best stories in KoDT involve introducing a new element to the story. This is done in a few ways. The rarest is format change, as in issue #100, which was all standalone stories, a clear reminiscence of KoDT's backup strip roots, and one of the strongest issues of KoDT ever. More common are game standoffs, where something interesting has happened in the game, and the PCs square off against the GM in a game of wits. Finally, there's a cast shakeup. Some of the Knights best extended stories result from these (the early 'Sara leaves the Knights' storyline is one of my favorites), where the status quo changes, for however short a time, and the group dynamic shifts. That's what this issue is. Last issue, longtime Knights GM B.A. Felton decided he was burned out, and hung up his GM screen for 'a little while'. This issue shows how the group is getting along, and features an amusing plot twist that has been in the works for a long time. This issue hits all the Knights high points. There's some good gaming humor involving an extended series of gags about the board game 'Risque', and the reveal of the new Knights GM is just killer. It's simultaneously hilarious and somewhat touching. As I mentioned, the reveal of the GM has been an ongoing, and relatively unexplained, plot point for a while, and it makes perfect sense considering the Knights, their continuity, and their basic characters. Great stuff. What's not so great are the comics not involved with the main plot, in this case a 'Retro KoDT' strip. I'm not a huge fan of the 'Retro KoDT' strips, which mostly involve the introduction of the Dave Boswell character to the Knights. There's no balance to the group, and it always feels like a bad Black Hands strip. (The Black Hands are a rival gaming group. They aren't evil so much as terribly misguided. They have a pretty brutal play style, and some of the worst group dynamics ever. Black Hand strips are, on the whole, hilarious). Even worse is the 'Magazine' part KoDT Magazine. In additon to being poorly designed, with bad art, the articles are usually underwritten (for the interesting stuff, like reviews of games) or overwritten (in the case of everything else). The writing is usually uninspired, and the fact that it's hard to read doesn't help. The 'Magazine' of 'Knight of the Dinner Table Magazine' embraces none of the minimalist aesthetic and charm of the comic. It has been awful since it was introduced, and continues to be awful to this day. In addition, it sometimes feels like little more than a pimp for Kenzer & Company's HackMaster gaming line, which is fine, but could I just have a few ads between comics instead of paying an extra two bucks for this stuff? So, while the magazine is frontloaded with great comics, the back end is a mess. I just pretend it's not there and wish they'd sell a Knights Lite with just the comics and none of the filler. Rage-o-Meter The lower the score, the less angry the comic made me. Anger is bad. KoDT Comics: 3 (A Little Perturbed) -The Current storyline is looking to be another great one. -The 'Retro KoDT' story made me a little angry. KoDT Magazine: 10 (SMASH!) -The Magazine sucks. That is all.
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