Backstab (magazine)
| Editor | Julien Blondel (current) |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Benoît "Ben" Clerc, Christophe "Croc" Réaux, Julien Blondel, Patrick Renault, Cyril Pasteau |
| Categories | Role-playing game magazine |
| Frequency | Bimonthly |
| Publisher | FC Publications (1996–2005) |
| First issue | Autumn 1996 (issue 0); 1997 (issue 1) |
| Final issue | April–May 2005 (first run, no. 51) |
| Country | France |
| Based in | Pantin, later Paris |
| Language | French |
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Backstab is a French role-playing game magazine devoted to tabletop role-playing games, board games, wargames and collectible card games, published from 1996 to 2005 by FC Publications, a company owned by Asmodee and Halloween Concept.
History
Following an issue 0 that was distributed free of charge in role-playing game shops in the autumn of 1996, Backstab made its proper debut in 1997 as a bimonthly publication.[1] The magazine was directed and largely written by Benoît Clerc (founder of the publishing house SPSR) and Christophe "Croc" Réaux, an author and translator of role-playing games.[1]
Backstab began life as a French version of the British magazine Arcane, published by Future plc, with a number of articles specific to the French market added; when Arcane folded in 1997, Backstab became independent of any foreign content.[1] Early issues continued to credit translated material to Future Publishing.[2]
The magazine was edited by FC Publications, based successively in Pantin (24, rue du Pré Saint-Gervais) and Paris (7, rue de Paradis), with Guillaume Gille-Naves as director of publication.[2] Successive editors-in-chief included Ben (Benoît Clerc), Croc, Julien Blondel (author of Prophecy and Vermine), Patrick Renault and Cyril Pasteau.[1]
Backstab ceased publication in 2005 after issue No. 51 (April–May 2005).[3]
Content and editorial line
Backstab covered tabletop role-playing games, board games, wargames and collectible card games, complemented by features, scenarios for the most popular role-playing games, a column on fantasy and science-fiction literature and, from 1999, interviews with notable figures in the role-playing milieu.[1] Unlike many other French RPG magazines of the period, it also reviewed video games, particularly role-playing and strategy titles on PC and, more rarely, on consoles.[1]
The magazine distinguished itself from its older rival Casus Belli on two main points: a less neutral, more familiar and irreverent tone, comparable to that of video-game magazines, and the fact that it did not shy away from covering video games.[1]
The sociologist Olivier Caïra compares Backstab to other French role-playing game magazines such as Dragon radieux and Chroniques d'outre-monde which, although relatively long-lived, have disappeared, something he regards as characteristic of the high mortality rate of magazines, publishers and professional structures in the tabletop role-playing scene,[4] a milieu he describes as a proto-leisure industry.[5] Julien Pirou likewise notes the limited lifespan of such magazines, the leading French title, Casus Belli, having managed to endure only through several closures and revivals.[6]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Magazine Backstab" (in français). Abandonware France. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Backstab Magazine (French) Issue 08". Internet Archive. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ "Retour du magazine Backstab" (in français). Studio Agate. April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ (Caïra 2007, p. 35).
- ↑ (Caïra 2007, p. 28).
- ↑ (Pirou 2020, p. 92).
Sources
- Caïra, Olivier (2007). Jeux de rôle, les forges de la fiction (in français). Paris: CNRS Éditions. ISBN 978-2-271-06497-4. LCCN 2007444002. OCLC 269320326. Search this book on
- Pirou, Julien (2020). La grande aventure du jeu de rôle: toute l'histoire, des origines à nos jours (in français). Paris: Ynnis. pp. 172–177. ISBN 978-2-37697-165-8. OCLC 1224495541. Search this book on
External links
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