A review by fifteenthjessica
Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History by Sam Witwer, Jon Peterson, Kyle Newman, Michael Witwer

informative medium-paced

4.25

Art & Arcana is a gorgeous and informative tome that could've used a bit more polish (I noted quite a few typos, and I'm a bit concerned about the cracking noise my copy sometimes makes when I open it). It details the history of art (and by extension product development) in the Dungeons & Dragons franchise from the TSR days to the Wizard of the Coast/Hasbro days. A must read for avid D&D fans, and the many full page, full-color illustrations make this a worthwhile book to look at for general fantasy art fans. I do feel, as a relatively new fan (started TTRPGs with 3.5 and have been playing mainly 5e since 2016), that after the Gary Gygax days things seem less detailed.

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Content Warnings

Some of the female character designs in earlier editions are very sexualized for my taste. Also, there's a pedo-joke illustration by the pre 1981-Purge art staff on display in chapter 2.