InQuisition
GAMER'S GRIPE
Extra special fun: Aside from the tried-and-true fans who enjoy
yelling at us for typos and the ever-compelling exploration of the
nature of cheese in gaming, we seem to have a slightly annoyed
fantasy artist, Julie Bell, on hand this month. It all sounds like so
much fun-let's jump right in!
Letter from Julie Bell
I read with interest the article in the
February issue of InQuest about my hus-
band, Boris Vallejo ["Boris," InQuest
#10]. I enjoyed most of it, but I would
like to correct some misunderstandings
in the section about myself. I understand
that the writer tried to make the article
colorful, interesting and, I guess, a bit
controversial. Some of my statements
were taken out of context, therefore giv-
ing a somewhat distorted view of my
beliefs and motivations.
I was quoted as saying, "There are
some people who come to me for an
autograph who actually don't know who
Boris is." I meant this as a surprising fact
and, certainly, a freak occurrence. (it
happened twice.)
GAMER'S GRIPE
Extra special fun: Aside from the tried-and-true fans who enjoy
yelling at us for typos and the ever-compelling exploration of the
nature of cheese in gaming, we seem to have a slightly annoyed
fantasy artist, Julie Bell, on hand this month. It all sounds like so
much fun-let's jump right in!
Letter from Julie Bell
I read with interest the article in the
February issue of InQuest about my hus-
band, Boris Vallejo ["Boris," InQuest
#10]. I enjoyed most of it, but I would
like to correct some misunderstandings
in the section about myself. I understand
that the writer tried to make the article
colorful, interesting and, I guess, a bit
controversial. Some of my statements
were taken out of context, therefore giv-
ing a somewhat distorted view of my
beliefs and motivations.
I was quoted as saying, "There are
some people who come to me for an
autograph who actually don't know who
Boris is." I meant this as a surprising fact
and, certainly, a freak occurrence. (it
happened twice.)
Boris does indeed have his place in
history - his work is the foundation of
all of my work and that of a great fan-
tasy art we see around. I am relatively
new to the field of fantasy art and, of
course, it does feel good when people
recognize me on my own. Will I ever
have a place in the history of fantasy
art? Only time will tell.
While I definitely aim to have my
own approach to my portrayal of
women (or anything else, for that mat-
ter), and I like to show them as strong
and self-sufficient, I would never even
hint that Boris does not do the same. I
have and still do model for Boris' paint-
ings and I would not do so if he didn't
share my strong beliefs in that respect.
When I mentioned turning negative
things into positive actions, the feelings
of jealousy, competitiveness and inse-
curity were only mentioned as abstract
examples, not as secret conflicts lurking
within myself. I regret to see that the
writer saw my "friendly manner" as a
concealment of "darker forces." Boris
and I are both competitive by nature,
which only spurs us to work harder. We
enjoy the process of pushing each other
to the limit and beyond! Most impor-
tantly, we love, respect and admire each
other and our work.
history - his work is the foundation of
all of my work and that of a great fan-
tasy art we see around. I am relatively
new to the field of fantasy art and, of
course, it does feel good when people
recognize me on my own. Will I ever
have a place in the history of fantasy
art? Only time will tell.
While I definitely aim to have my
own approach to my portrayal of
women (or anything else, for that mat-
ter), and I like to show them as strong
and self-sufficient, I would never even
hint that Boris does not do the same. I
have and still do model for Boris' paint-
ings and I would not do so if he didn't
share my strong beliefs in that respect.
When I mentioned turning negative
things into positive actions, the feelings
of jealousy, competitiveness and inse-
curity were only mentioned as abstract
examples, not as secret conflicts lurking
within myself. I regret to see that the
writer saw my "friendly manner" as a
concealment of "darker forces." Boris
and I are both competitive by nature,
which only spurs us to work harder. We
enjoy the process of pushing each other
to the limit and beyond! Most impor-
tantly, we love, respect and admire each
other and our work.
Julie Bell
Fantasy Painter
We're sorry if your section read like that, Julie-
our intentions were quite the opposite. We saw the
fact that fans sought your autograph over Boris'
as something that was funny and ironic. As far as
the mentions about jealousy, competitiveness and
so on: these are all a part of human nature, with
our take being that you've turned some of these
negative experiences into positive ones.
Star Wars Sellout
Okay, I buy my first pack of Star
Fantasy Painter
We're sorry if your section read like that, Julie-
our intentions were quite the opposite. We saw the
fact that fans sought your autograph over Boris'
as something that was funny and ironic. As far as
the mentions about jealousy, competitiveness and
so on: these are all a part of human nature, with
our take being that you've turned some of these
negative experiences into positive ones.
Star Wars Sellout
Okay, I buy my first pack of Star
Wars. I'm all excited. I buy my second
pack and start collecting obsessively. I
buy my 22nd pack - before I realize
there's no R2-D2? No Chewbacca? No
Death Star? What! How can you play
the game without the Death Star sys-
tem card? These cards could have been
easily put into the starter set - in fact,
should have been - but Decipher just
wanted to hold some of the bigger cards
so we'd be forced to buy their next set.
This kind of "marketing strategy" pisses
me off. It's not only unfair, it's down-
right tyrannical!
Terrence Marz
Gary, IN
Yeah, we were pretty miffed when we learned that
there was no Chewie for our Han nor a Death Star
to kill millions of Princess Leia's relatives. Why are
some of the cooler things missing from this release?
Two words: expansion set.
Cheese Omelet
You often talk of cheese. Now we
know what kind of cheese it is: Swiss.
You have a couple of holes in your Jan-
uary issue....
In "Homewreckers" [InQuest #9],
you mention a Hypnotic Specter that
pumps up +1/+1 for a block Mana. I
have a Frozen Shade that does that, but
no Specters.
pack and start collecting obsessively. I
buy my 22nd pack - before I realize
there's no R2-D2? No Chewbacca? No
Death Star? What! How can you play
the game without the Death Star sys-
tem card? These cards could have been
easily put into the starter set - in fact,
should have been - but Decipher just
wanted to hold some of the bigger cards
so we'd be forced to buy their next set.
This kind of "marketing strategy" pisses
me off. It's not only unfair, it's down-
right tyrannical!
Terrence Marz
Gary, IN
Yeah, we were pretty miffed when we learned that
there was no Chewie for our Han nor a Death Star
to kill millions of Princess Leia's relatives. Why are
some of the cooler things missing from this release?
Two words: expansion set.
Cheese Omelet
You often talk of cheese. Now we
know what kind of cheese it is: Swiss.
You have a couple of holes in your Jan-
uary issue....
In "Homewreckers" [InQuest #9],
you mention a Hypnotic Specter that
pumps up +1/+1 for a block Mana. I
have a Frozen Shade that does that, but
no Specters.
Also, [in the Magic Players Guide] on
page 109, the tip about the Willow Priest-
ess has a mistake. It says that her ability
to give a green creature protection from
black would stop your opponent from
Soul-Exchanging a Thrull token. No sale.
Thrulls are black unless laced.
By the way, Homelands isn't the first
