Monday, November 19, 2007

Simon Davis

I must confess that I have only ever met the renowned artist Simon Davis at conventions and, even then, I have a feeling that he has no idea who I am. However, I am fortunate nonetheless because he is another great artist who has provided an illustration for one of my short stories.

The story in question is ‘Mark of the Beast’, a Torben Badenov tale, concerning a Kislevite mercenary and his band, set within Games Workshop’s fantasy Warhammer World. The story was commissioned effectively as a prequel to my first novel ‘The Dead and the Damned’, published in 2002. ‘Mark of the Beast’ explained how some of the original mercenary band first got together and described the incident that forced them to quit the Tzar’s army, to go freelance, as it were.

Mark of the Beast

When it was published in ‘Inferno!’ #34, I was delighted to discover that Simon had painted the picture – of Badenov battling a brutish beastman – to accompany the story. I had been aware of his work previously through 2000AD, for which he stills regular paints. He is probably best known in that particular publication for his work on Sinister Dexter and, more recently, Stone Island. In fact, there is an interview with him in the latest issue of the Judge Dredd Megazine.

Simon’s unique style certainly proved a fitting and dynamic choice for ‘Mark of the Beast’ and I only hope that the opportunity arises one day to work with him again, more directly this time.

You can read ‘Mark of the Beast’ in the Black Library short story anthology ‘Way of the Dead’.


The image taken from Black Library’s Inferno! Magazine issue 34 is the property of Games Workshop Ltd, and used with permission. Copyright © Games Workshop Ltd, 2007, all rights reserved.

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