Here it is: The first growth ring. I promised you a sequoia, and years later it's still a whipply pole tree -- but, yes, yes, substantially bigger than before. So Bear with me -- I'm in the woods for the long haul.

Much has happened to me. And to all of us, but mainly to me. I struck a robed Goliath and found he was nothing but a well-worn bedsheet. I was carried on the shoulders of Amazons and crowned a king in the caverns beneath expectations. A mosquito the size of a seagull tried to infect me with a virus that causes one's self-esteem to slough off and a mounting appetite for empty flattery and the music of Queen Mab. But I came through it all. Now in deference to your noted but puzzling lack of curiosity about my personal life, I'll cut to the art. The links page and the buying page are both up and functional; and are so cool you'll grow both old and poor playing with them. Or do I boast emptily?

It occurs to me that you may want to send me things, so I'll give you my mailing address. No, silly, it's not that actual location of the Zugtagon, which is a deep, dark secret. But I empty my box at least once a week, and have a particular appetite for praise. Hate mail I just make into little voodoo widgets that visit cursation on the sender, so don't bother with that. Just keep in mind that if you send me anything you want back, you have to send me a legibly self-addressed stamped envelope - this goes for you people overseas, too! And to the guy who sent me the 1500 year-old onyx Inca billiards table: I'm still waiting to hear from you.

Mark Zug
PO Box 182
Lewisberry, PA 17339
USA

Are you still here? Well, take a lemonade, sit in the shade; I'll fire up these venomous cigars and give you my bio, as well as shift mysteriously into the third person. And if you've heard any of this before, you can either continue to Bear with me... or scroll down, it's a computer!

Artist Mark Zug has been drawing for as long as he can remember. He early discovered the power of pencil and paper to bring to life things not available to the senses -- dinosaurs, superheroes, Jules-Vernean submarines, imaginary cars, races of ancient astronauts, starships inspired by then-fresh Star Trek, and the ever popular etcetera. Turning continuously to fiction for inspiration, he discovered the authors Frank Herbert and Tolkien as a teen. Then giving his art a perhaps-needed break after high school, he worked his way up to class-A machinist at a nearby factory while he flirted with a musical career.

In 1985 he met and married oil paint, returning to art under the fresh inspiration of Frank Frazetta and illustrators of the Brandywine School. He attended art school for 2.5 years (no diploma) and capped his tutorial by ghost-painting western novel covers and penciling historical comic strips on the side. His first big break came illustrating Harlan Ellison's I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay, for which he also did 160 pages of fully-painted comics. He fulfilled a long-held dream illustrating Frank Herbert's Dune universe -- in the form of Last Unicorn's collectible card game of the same name, which proved a springboard into the burgeoning world of game illustration.

As of 2004, his work has appeared on the covers of novels by Tanith Lee, Diana Wynne-Jones, Hilari Bell, the Dragonlance series, Star Wars comics, the magazines Popular Science, Dragon, Dungeon, Duelist, Inquest, Star Wars Gamer, Amazing Stories, and graced too many fantasy game products under the Shadowrun, Battletech, Dune and Magic: The Gathering brands to name. He received the Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist in 2001, and a Chesley Award for Best Gaming Related Illustration in 2005.

In years ahead, he aims to create his own top-secret world of the future out of the rejected treasures of science fiction and fact, and to generally keep feeding himself with his horn.