Art by Larry Elmore

Bettie Page was such a big part of Dragon*Con tradition that legendary artist Larry Elmore created a painting for the show of her as a fantasy warrior-woman. My sister Stacy was one of the models that Larry photographed for this picture. (Obviously she was used for the body, not the face!)

My wife and I rented the biopic The Notorious Bettie Page a couple of years ago. The more I learned about the famous model, the more of a study in contradictions she became. She was, simultaneously, old-fashioned and progressive. Innocent in that she didn’t understand the kinky world she was photographed in—things like fetish outfits or bondage pictures and films—but certainly not ashamed at the same time.

It’s hard to put my mental finger on just why Bettie Page intrigued me (and so many others) … but part of it had to be the sense of mystery. She disappeared from the scene. When I first became interested in her in the 1990s no one had any clue where she had gone, what had happened to her, or even if she were alive or dead. She resurfaced several years ago and was finally able to benefit from her renewed popularity, though she was extremely reluctant to let anyone photograph her face. She said, “I want to be remembered as I was when I was young.”

Though the model Bettie Page gained immortality in her famous photographs and endless artist interpretations, the woman Bettie Page passed away on Thursday, December 11, 2008 at the age of 85. I believe her legacy and her popularity will endure. After all, she was completely unaware in her rising fame in the 80s and 90s. Her photographs speak for themselves, and her personality and energy are well preserved in the best of them.

I believe that when creative people read or watch the works of others, they can sometimes not only connect with the material, but somehow “get to know” the folks who wrote it. I read the novels of Margaret Weis since I was in the fifth grade, and when I met her it was like I already knew her. Over the years, as a writer and creator myself, I’ve come to realize just how much of your personality and soul you reveal in your work. Enter the Dead Gentlemen…

Years ago, Sovereign Press shared office space with our partner company, Fast Forward Entertainment. It was a fantastic time for me, since I got to spend daily time with folks I had long-admired: James M. Ward, Timothy Brown, William Connors, Lester Smith, and more. But that’s another blog. It was the office intern, Alex Jacobs, that brought in a VHS tape called The Gamers and told me, “You have to watch this!”

If you’re a geek and haven’t watched The Gamers, go ahead and stop reading and immediately go order it. It’s funny, and the reason it’s funny is because it’s US. If you’ve played D&D for any length of time, you know these guys and have seen these situations. It demonstrated real wit and humor and neither toned nor dumbed it down to make it more appealing for anyone outside the niche.

I suppose it was about a year later that I spotted a DVD in a booth at Gen Con. It was Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake. Made by the same folks who created The Gamers. Out came in the wallet and into my collection went the DVD. Cleverly, I watched the original Demon Hunters film (on the same disc) first. I was mesmerized.

Demon Hunters is not a great film in the sense that any movie reviewer would give it. It was created by college students who only had the vaguest idea what they were doing. Many of the student-actors are terrible, the pacing gets a bit bogged down before the final act, and the video quality is, well, video (not film or high-def).

Did any of these stop me from enjoying Demon Hunters? Christ, no. Matt Vancil (writer/director) is a freaking genius. He’s the next Joss Whedon, I truly believe, just waiting for his moment. Watching Demon Hunters is like watching Whedon’s episode of Roseanne. His moment hasn’t arrived, but you can see the potential. Add on the talents of the other early Dead Gents—including (but not limited to) Don Early, Nathan Rice, and Steve Wolbrecht, and you have this unperfected but tasty recipe for future greatness.

It also revealed the world of Demon Hunters and the Brotherhood of the Celestial Torch. It’s a cousin to such things as Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Ghostbusters, Men in Black, and other mixed-genre material that my brain can’t conjure up at the moment. It combines horror and humor, action and irreverence, drama and slapstick. It made me actually care about the characters even when they tossed out the tension of a particular moment to get a joke.

The sequel, Demon Hunters: Dead Camper Lake built upon the first but showed just how much Dead Gentlemen had learned from the first film. The story and the writing were tighter, the humor and action managed to go even more over the top, yet there were actual character arcs, moments of setup and payoff, and a freaking musical number in a bar. Not to mention a Christmas Tree as an important character in the film. Despite its many flaws, I love the hell out of Dead Camper Lake and pull it out every so often to watch it again and hum along to “Demon Hunter Blues.”

It was after seeing these first three films that my wife and I began a friendship with the Dead Gentlemen. It was Don Early we met first, followed by the rest of the gang at various conventions and events. And, you see, for me it was like I already knew these guys and gals. They had put their heart and soul into their work, so I didn’t have to “get to know them.” The ice and been broken by their films, and it felt like I was hanging out with folks that I had already known.

Our early friendship led to an invite to see an early screening of The Gamers: Dorkness Rising in 2006. Holy. Shit. This movie had the humor of the original film mixed with believable characters who actual develop during the course of the film. It had action that was fun to watch. It was shot with real production values. HD quality, dolly track, crane shots, special effects, nice sets, great props, and other things that geeks like me tend to notice when we’re watching something. The performances are good, and even though this is a Gamers movie, it tells the story in such a way that even someone outside of the hobby might very well enjoy and appreciate the story!

I’m rambling on for too long. I love Dorkness Rising, and then everyone who speaks English should own it. And once they subtitle it, make “who speaks English” read “in the world.” It’s the best ambassador for role playing games there has ever been, and it completely washed the rancid taste of the Dungeons & Dragons movies out of my mouth.

In 2006, Don Early and I came to the mutual decision that we had to figure out a way to work together. Not because we had any particular genius idea, but because we had become part of each other’s extended family. They admired and enjoyed my work and the feeling was more than mutual. So I pondered, and then suggested that we create a role playing game based on the Demon Hunters films. It was something fun and unique and the property had not yet had a chance to find its audience.

Fast forward a bit and the end result in the Demon Hunters Role Playing Game from Margaret Weis Productions. My role on the project ended up being smaller than originally hoped, but it turned out even better than I had imagined. Everyone brought their A game to the table and the results are a wickedly funny yet completely playable RPG that happens to include a hilarious half-hour short film that shows off the amazing talents of the Dead Gents once more (and put Nathan Rice back in his doo-rag to assume the role he was somehow born to play). It also lays the foundation for explaining the world of Demon Hunters to the newbs while keeping the fun.

This was a love letter to my friends on the west coast that is long overdue. These are my people, and I’ll defend them but make no apologies for them because they require none. My only regret is that it takes airplanes and game conventions for us to spend time together. But those tickets are more than worth it.

This if for you: Don, Matt V, Nathan, Steve, Ben, Jen, Chris W, Matt S, Jimmy, Chris D, Emily, Brian, Christian, Scott, Jeremy, Cindy, Camille, Tiffany, Katy, Matt D, Tree—and the other that I stupidly forgot to mention. Love you guys.

Share the love. Check out their films, or flip through the game we made together. And stay tuned, because we’re just getting started.