Talk:David A. Trampier

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[edit] Where's Tramp?

Is there any references for the story about Trampier's "disappearance". rec.games.frp.dnd FAQ gives a very different version of events:

  Wormy, by Dave Trampier, ran concurrently with What's New? and
  SnarfQuest.  It ended suddenly in the middle of a story, and has
  been the center of no small amount of confusion and consternation.
  What is known for certain is that Dave solicited orders for a Wormy
  collection at one point (around Dragon #102), but for whatever 
  reason, it fell through and was never published (everyone who ordered 
  a copy got their money back).  No one, and I mean no one, in either 
  the gaming or art industries has seen or heard from him since; though
  it is known for certain (through his family) that he is still alive
  and well, just not working with either games or art.

--Waza

The information from the FAQ sounds like additional information, not different information. It would be a good addition to the article. — Frecklefoot | Talk 15:11, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

The reason I say it is different not addition version is the article states that "Checks were returned as undeliverable", allowing this hardly sonds like the actions of a man demanding more money as suggested above. What seems the case are both are unreferenced hearsay. Although above is from a FAQ, what is the source of this? What relatives reported he is alive and well? Here is some more hearsay from the FAQ:

   The most likely story to surface so far (as
   told by an artist who was with TSR at the time) is that Trampier
   wanted more money and threw a major tantrum over the issue, at which
   point the editors returned the remainder of the episodes to him,
   unpublished.  Since neither Trampier nor the editors of Dragon at
   that time will comment on the issue, this story cannot be verified.

Well, it's all hearsay. Can we add it to the article and explicitly state it's all hearsay? — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:21, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

My personal opinion is where no solid info is available or likely to be come available in the near future then hearsay is preferable to no info at all as long as it is reasonable, not disputed and clearly stated as hearsay. However I am not sure what Wiki Policy is. - Waza 23:50, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

This is a slightly different take on it, but it's still hearsay:

The seeds of his disappearance may be hinted at in the strip itself. Wormy 
featured "evil" D&D monsters acting in kindly human ways and the humans tended to 
be the bad guys. Ogres and Trolls war gamed. Wormy the dragon was a pool-playing, 
cigar-smoking lay about. Occasionally violence would erupt but Trampier did not 
hold back. There was blood and terror. Trampier never depicted violence in a 
noble or heroic fashion. Characters ran for their lives. The subtext of Wormy was 
really an anti-gaming message. Wormy subtly screamed at its readers "quit 
fantasizing and experience real life". 

Some claim the artist is dead and buried in Philly. It's been confirmed, however, 
via his family that Trampier is still alive. His whereabouts are utterly unknown, 
even by his brother-in-law (and fellow Dragon contributor) Tom Wham. Wham states 
he's not talked to his brother-in-law since 1982. He thinks Trampier lives in 
Illinois... "somewhere". There's a rumor in comic circles that he's living out of 
his car in Canada. TSR will only make vague statements that point to a possible 
falling out between Trampier and magazine staff. Art Director Roger Raupp stated 
Trampier's strip simply ended because "He didn't turn in any art." An unnamed TSR 
staffer was quoted as saying "I will never work with him again." Dragon magazine 
editor Kim Mohan has stated checks for Trampier's final cartoons were returned 
unopened. 

http://www.geocities.com/conspiracyprime/e2_Wormy.htm. I have also come across several suggestions that TSR was in the process of acquiring the copyrights to many of the cartoons appearing in Dragon, even taking some of the writers and artists to court, and that Trampier was one of the ones who ended up on the short end of the deal. In the more extreme versions of the story (i.e., those less likely to be true), he lost ownership of the comic or had his royalties arrangement reduced. If true, I can see refusing payment as a matter of principle, sort of an "I want it all or nothing" stance. But again, this is all from fan message boards, not legitimate knowledgeable sources. -- Canonblack 06:42, 5 February 2006 (UTC)