Editor’s note: This article was contributed by Playboy creator Griffin Maria.
I’ve been a part of the fantasy and tabletop gaming community for several years through my association with an independent game called Laughing Moon RPG. Along with getting involved in the game itself, I’ve also had a lot of fun bringing original character cosplays to life. But I could never have dreamed when I first began those adventures that two of my favorite worlds, tabletop gaming and Playboy, were destined to collide.
Reading fantasy books is a big passion of mine, and one of my favorite things about those books is the artwork inspired by them. Fantasy fiction, especially through the late ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, went hand-in-hand with strong, sexy women. Artists like Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Clyde Caldwell, and Larry Elmore (just to name a few) showcased powerful women wielding weapons or using magic. So much of the art combined sex appeal with danger, strength, and heroism. There’s a long-standing joke about how a chainmail bikini doesn’t actually protect anyone in a sword fight, but I think anyone laughing has missed the point. The artwork, the story, and the game aren’t about reality, after all. This is fantasy. And showing the curves of a woman while she’s kicking butt with a sword and shield is a fun part of that fantasy. When it came to creating my own character cosplays, I took inspiration from those artists. I guess deep down, I wanted to keep that tradition alive.
Imagine my surprise when I actually had the chance to meet one of these legendary artists! Larry Elmore, the artist behind some of the most iconic Dungeons and Dragons artwork, attended a convention out in Arizona a few years ago and the two of us struck up a conversation that lasted hours. We maintained a little bit of contact after that until meeting up again for his final convention before his official retirement. And talk about a storybook ending…
Since the passing of Gary Gygax, the man behind the D&D game, a convention in his honor, GaryCon, has been held in Lake Geneva, WI. Put on by Luke Gygax, one of Gary’s sons, the convention takes place in the hometown of Dungeons and Dragons and hosts a number of legends and luminaries from the golden age of the hobby. Everywhere you turn there’s a mover and shaker whose work defined the genre. Writers and artists mingle with new and old gamers with a dash of celebrities like Joe Manganiello, Vince Vaughn, and Todd Stashwick thrown in the mix as well. But for me, getting to see Larry Elmore one last time was the ultimate highlight.
I came around the corner in the vendor hall dressed as one of my favorite characters, one whose look was inspired by his art, to find Larry hunkered down over a sketch. When he glanced up, Larry flashed his mischievous smile, grabbed his heart and said “Oh my, you can’t do that to me this early in the day! I’ve met a lot of beautiful girls, but you’re gonna be the one who finally killed me with a heart attack!” I laughed, gave him a hug, and soon Larry launched into one of his infamous stories.
The convention is held at the Grand Geneva Hotel, which back in the late ‘60s was built as a Playboy Club. All that would change by the early ‘80s, but when Larry was taken out to lunch here to be interviewed for the job that would eventually change his life, the Playboy Club was still in full swing. Larry said, “Here I was, some nobody from Kentucky, and all these beautiful women were suddenly all around me. I’m trying to concentrate for the interview, but in the back of my mind, I’m thinking I’ve died and gone to Heaven. Of course I was gonna take that job!”
A few minutes later I’m explaining to Larry how Playboy is back, now with a big online presence, and I was one of the new Bunnies on the platform. He looked me up and down, with that ornery sparkle in his eye, and said, “Looks like you stepped right out of one of my paintings and landed right smack in the Playboy Club.”
I hung out with him one last time at the big party held in the Grand Geneva lobby Saturday night, and it occurred to me in the middle of all that noise and chaos how strange and amazing life can be sometimes. Larry’s journey began at the Playboy Club during that fateful interview, and here he was, the last night of his last convention many decades later, spending time with a Bunny in the very place where it all began.
What an honor.
Griffin Maria is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her here.
