The Art of Mage - 20 years and more

For the anniversary edition of Mage M20, an accompanying artbook has been published, which tries to summarize twenty years of illustration history. Satyros Phil Brucato first looks back self-critically at the beginnings of Mage and the illustration style of "Trenchcoats and Katanas." Subsequently, the reader learns a bit about the workflow in the early years, when illustrations were still sent by mail, revealing glimpses into the early years of White Wolf.

However, the central part is titled Artistic Legacies, introducing many illustrators with a background, anecdotes, and stories - and especially their artistic work for Mage. The artbook impressively shows the range the illustrators have covered and how Mage's graphic representation has changed over the years. The last chapter also presents the illustrations of Mage M20 - and proves that Mage is not just a role-playing game of the 90s. In addition, chapters are dedicated to the signature characters as well as the creation of the Mage Tarot.

I enjoyed the mixture of texts and illustrations immensely because this excursion shows impressively how the complex topics of the most multifaceted game of the World of Darkness is also reflected in an incredible spectrum of artwork. Of the World of Darkness artbooks, this is my clear favorite so far.

(Björn Lippold)