Dune, Usagi Yojimbo, and Boba Fett by Bill Sienkiewicz.
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Category: Illustration
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Daimyo Vader
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King Kirby
Today would’ve been Jack Kirby’s 97th birthday, we have Jack to thank for probably the majority of Marvel superheroes you’ve seen on the big screen (plus a hell of a lot you haven’t).
Captain America is Jack’s along with Joe Simon, and with Stan Lee he created Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Nick Fury, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer, Loki, Galactus, and (a considerably more verbose) Groot. That doesn’t even cover his characters that have appeared on screen, seriously, he helped create a lot of characters.
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Nightmare Fuel
Just in case you were wondering which FF monster illustration was best for inducing nocturnal terrors that would be the Night Stalker.
Still scares the shit out of me.
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Deathtrap Dungeon
That cover by Iain McCaig just because it’s so damn good.
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Fighting Fantasy
Danger lurks in every corner of Port Blacksand — infamous city of evil-doers!
YOU are an apprentice in the Thieves’ Guild of Port Blacksand. Tonight is the testing time, the climax of your training. Your mission is to find and steal a priceless gem, the Eye of the Basilisk, and the special skills you have learned will be tested to the limit!
I honestly can’t remember how many times I took this book out of the library. Competition was pretty fierce for Fighting Fantasy books and this was one of my go-to options when the only books available were those I’d already read.
My other go-to was also my first Fighting Fantasy book: Deathtrap Dungeon. I have such vivid memories of it. It was vol 6 in the FF series, the front cover was a many-eyed Bloodbeast (though in reality only two of the eyes were real, the rest blisters), and YOU, the hero, were taking part in the Trial of Champions in the titular dungeon of Fang. As well as the Bloodbeast there was a Pit Fiend, a Manticore – my strongest memory is dying of poison but I can confidently say I died many, many other ways too.
Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014 is in London on 7 Sep, Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone will be there but £50+ is a bit rich for my blood (between FF and 40K they’ve done fairly well out of me over the years!). Though I was almost swayed by the artist line-up including John Blanche and Russ Nicholson. Russ Nicholson’s art really captured my imagination as a kid, I like to think I could still do a fairly accurate sketch of his Rhino-Man from Citadel of Chaos from memory but it’s probably better for everyone if I leave you with his.
