Fighting Fantasy Fest 2014 - Goodies galore!

Tickets for FIGHTING FANTASY FEST 2014 - the world's first ever convention dedicated to Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks - are on sale now. Guests of Honour Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone will be giving a talk about how FF first came to be, artists Chris Achilleos, Russ Nicholson, Malcolm Barter and Tony Hough are guests, and the event will also feature the official book launch of YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks. But that's not all...

Every full price paying guest will also receive a complimentary Adventurer's Backpack. (We want everyone who attends FIGHTING FANTASY FEST to feel like a VIP.)

So what's in this Adventurer's Backpack? What, you mean apart from a collectible convention programme, Tin Man Games app download code, a poster and the bag itself (which is sure to become a collector's item in its own right)?

How about a limited edition metal miniature of Zagor, the Warlock of Firetop Mountain himself? How about a Pax Britannia novel by Yours Truly? And how about a Fighting Fantasy gamebook? Not only that, but if you're one of the first 100 people to buy a ticket for FIGHTING FANTASY FEST that gamebook will be none other than the much sought after, limited edition hardback of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, including a solution and map, and a host of other fascinating snippets of information.

And as if that wasn't enough to tempt you, everyone who buys a ticket for FIGHTING FANTASY FEST will be entered into a draw to win the chance to have their name appear in a forthcoming Fighting Fantasy app from Tin Man Games.

Aside from the Adventurer's Backpack, and the money-can't-buy prize on offer, we also have all of the following planned for Sunday 7 September 2014:

• Arion Games will be running sessions of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG
• Tin Man Games and Inkle Studios will be talking about their app adaptations of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks and Steve Jackson's Sorcery! epic
• Trade stands
• Book signings
• Panels and talks
• An exhibition of rare Fighting Fantasy memorabilia
• A Fighting Fantasy auction

Among the items being auctioned at FIGHTING FANTASY FEST will be two swords, currently owned by Ian Livingstone, made to promote the Deathtrap Dungeon video game, and seen here in the hands of the Warlocks of Firetop Mountain.

If you think this sounds like something you would like to be involved in, don't delay - click this link and purchase your ticket today!

YOU ARE THE HERO - Putting out the call

I am so close to finishing the manuscript for YOU ARE THE HERO that you could say I'm at paragraph 395 (to use a gamebook analogy). I have interviewed a great many people about Fighting Fantasy and their experiences of it - and they've had some great stories to tell - but there are still a significant number of creators I have not been able to contact*, despite having trawled the Internet, and called in all manner of favours.

So, if anyone could help me in tracking down and contacting any of the following, I would greatly appreciate it. But time is, as they say, of the essence...

Emmanuel (original cover artist on The Citadel of Chaos)
Malcolm Barter (interior artists for The Forest of Doom)
Duncan Smith (illustrator of Scorpion Swamp)
Gary Ward & Edward Crosby (interior artists for Caverns of the Snow Witch)
Tim Sell (illustrator of House of Hell)
Steve Jackson US (of Steve Jackson Games and writer of Scorpion Swamp)**
Bob Harvey (artist)
Andrew Chapman (writer)
Geoffrey Senior (artist)
Kevin Bulmer (artist)
Bill Houston (artist)
Brian Bolland (artist)
Declan Considine (artist)
David Martin (artist)
Gary Mayes (artist)
Dave Carson (artist)
Martin Allen (writer)
Jim Bambra (writer)
Stephen Hand (writer)***
Keith P Phillips (writer)
Simon Dewey (cover artist on The Adventures of Goldhawk series)
Pete Tamlyn (co-writer of the Advanced Fighting Fantasy series)
Carl Sargent (writer)
Nik Williams (artist)
Chris Moore (cover illustrator for the Wizard Books edition of Starship Traveller)
Richard Corben and R Courtney (cover artists of some of the US editions of FF gamebooks)
Clarecraft (who made a range of Fighting Fantasy figurines)
Richard Scrivener (Puffin commissioning editor on the FF series towards the end of Puffin's tenure)

I know that seems like I lot, but I can assure you I have already interviewed a lot more for the book!

Feel free to pass this on to anyone who you think might be able to help.

* Or who have not returned my calls, if you know what I mean.

** Every time I contact Steve Jackson Games, they seem to think I'm trying to contact Steve Jackson UK (whom I know), despite me repeating repeatedly that this is not the case.

*** I'm really keen to talk to Stephen Hand.

YOU ARE THE HERO Fighting Fantasy Art Prints

If you pledged your support to the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter at the GHOUL reward level or above, then you will be receiving one print - or maybe more, depending on how much you pledged - of a piece of artwork by one of these fabulous Fighting Fantasy artists.

Russ Nicholson

Iain McCaig

Martin McKenna

Tony Hough

Iain's print is of the Dwarf Trialmaster from Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon.

Tony's print is of the still undead pirate captain Cinnabar from Bloobones.

However, Martin's and Russ's prints are going to of brand new artwork that is being commissioned for YOU ARE THE HERO, the definitive history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Martin's artwork will form the cover of the book, while Russ's illustration will be in his classic Fighting Fantasy style and will appear inside.

I realise that it's hard ordering a print you've never seen - even if you are a massive fan of Martin's or Russ's artwork - so the survey will give you the option of not deciding yet and once the artwork's done, you can make your choice then, at a later date.

So, backers, keep an eye on your email inboxes...

Have your portrait painted by Iain McCaig!

Yes, you read that right. THE Iain McCaig - Star Wars concept artist, creator of Darth Maul, Ian Livingstone's favourite FF artist, and illustrator of such classic Fighting Fantasy adventures as City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon, and cover artist for The Forest of Doom and Island of the Lizard King.

Iain has been very supportive of this project since the start and I was absolutely blown away when he offered his services for the following three - yes THREE - rewards!

SAPPHIRE - Iain will produce one black and white illustration of YOU as a character in a typical Fighting Fantasy interior illustration (of Iain's choice).

EMERALD - Iain will produce one digital colour illustration of YOU as a character in a typical Fighting Fantasy interior illustration, giving you the choice of a range of characters or situations.

DIAMOND - Iain will produce one traditional painting, the subject matter to be chosen by YOU in discussion with Iain, and as long as it fits within the FF world, anything goes!

So what are you waiting for? Check out these new rewards on the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter page today!

Iain McCaig offers his support to the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter

Iain McCaig is the legendary Fighting Fantasy artist behind the illustrations in such books as City of Thieves and Deathtrap Dungeon, as well as the cover artist for Island of the Lizard King, Forest of Doom and The Zagor Chronicles.

Well how would you like to own an original Iain McCaig illustration? One featuring YOU in a classic FF-style black and white illustration. That would be totally awesome, wouldn't it, but impossible... Wouldn't it?

Well, no, as it happens, at least if the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter project reaches a high enough level of funding.

To find out more, check out the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter page and Update #4. Oh, and tell all your friends.

The YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter is now live!

If you've just stumbled across this blog by accident and are thinking, "The YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter? What's that?" then let me explain...

To celebrate 30 years of monsters, magic and mayhem I want to write the definitive history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks - YOU ARE THE HERO. But I can't do it without your help, hence the Kickstarter.

I've already interviewed a host of people involved with the FF series - including Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone - and many of the FF artists have agreed to have their art featured within the book.

So follow this link to the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter page, check out the rewards on offer, and then pledge what you can to make this book a reality.

While you're at it, please 'Like' the YOU ARE THE HERO Facebook page and follow @You_Are_TheHero on Twitter.

And last of all - but possibly most important of all - tell all your friends, family, work colleagues, the bloke you met down the pub... everybody! Tell everybody about YOU ARE THE HERO and, if the Kickstarter funding goal is achieved, this time next year you'll receive a limited edition copy of the History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks in time for Christmas!

Thank you. :-)

The Behemoth from Bloodbones

Ace artist Tony Hough's been at it with Photoshop again, this time colouring the Behemoth from my fourth Fighting Fantasy gamebook Bloodbones.

I always loved this particular image. I imagined this sea monster as looking like something drawn in the ocean of some Renaissance map of the world and Tony got the look spot on with his design - and the crow's nest and splintered mast stuck between the leviathan's teeth finished it off nicely.

You can see more of Tony's coloured Bloodbones images here, and don't forget you can buy his artbook Fragments here.

The Cat in the Fez anyone?

Buy it here.

Relativity

I love this...

To see how it was made, click here.

Here's the original inspiration by (one of my favourite artists) M C Escher...

And here's Doctor Who's take on the idea - and not executed half as well as the Lego model, I might add...

Mark Harrison

It's been a while since I posted a piece focused on a particular artist, so I'm making up for that fact now with this post about Mark Harrison.

I first came across Mark's work through legendary British comic 2000AD. He's illustrated everything from Durham Red to Pulp Sci-Fi but I particularly remember his visceral art for Gordon Rennie's Glimmer Rats.

However, roughly eight years after Glimmer Rats I found myself working with Mark myself. He realised the cover for Unnatural History - featuring a duel atop a steam train and a T-Rex with St Paul's Cathedral in the background - and since then has produced every Pax Britannia novel cover (including Al Ewing's El Sombra and the forthcoming Gods of Manhattan).

You can visit Mark's own website here, and see his other novel covers, alongside his comic artwork and concept paintings for computer games.

Meanwhile, here are his six Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novels to date in their full gruesome glory.

Enjoy...

Unnatural History

Leviathan Rising

Human Nature

Evolution Expects

Blood Royal

Dark Side

Howl of the Werewolf

I discovered this today...


It's a piece entitled 'Howl of the Werewolf' and is by the obviously very talented Paul Mudie. I just find myself wondering whether it was inspired by my fifth Fighting Fantasy adventure Howl of the Werewolf which is being re-released later this year.

If you know, or if you're Paul, please drop me a line by replying to this post.

Emerson Tung - Stormslayer artist's blog

Emerson Tung, the talented guy behind these amazing colour Stormslayer pics, has got himself a blog, on which you can see some of the paintings he created inspired by my last Fighting Fantasy gamebook. You can check it out for yourself here.


And just a reminder that there's only a couple of months now until Night of the Necromancer, my next Fighting Fantasy gamebook, is published.

Spotlight on Pirkka Harvala

Tin Man Games are running a feature on Pirkka Harvala, the artist behind many of the illustrations to appear in their new iGamebook App An Assassin in Orlandes. You can read an interview with the Finnish magician himself here, and check out his artwork here.

The SFX Weekender

So, I drove down to Camber Sands yesterday for the second half of the SFX Weekender (I mean why else would you go to Camber Sands?) and had a great time.

I hooked up with David Moore and Jonathan Oliver of Abaddon/Solaris Books and signed some stock, as well as giving away some Pax Britannia badges, and was interviewed for a forthcoming podcast. I met ace Slaine artist and Preacher cover artist Glenn Fabry (who happens to think he's quite good). I was welcomed by Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers and ran into these interesting-looking fellows...


I listened to China Mieville talk about writing for the YA market (or not as the case may be), I listened to Jon Oliver read from his first novel The Call of Kerberos, I watched the fantastic Moon (starring the even more fantastic Sam Rockwell), I listened to a Q&A session with Toby Whithouse, creator of Being Human, having just watched a sneak preview of tonight's episode, and listened to a panel discuss the various merits, or otherwise, of tie-in and spin-off fiction (or tie-off, as one of the panellists called it).

Tom Baker regaling the crowds

Jon Oliver - lord of all he surveys

Glenn Fabry talks comic special effects budgets

Al Ewing - fellow Abaddon author

The 2000AD stand - Clint Langley and Leigh Gallagher draw for your entertainment

To conclude, here's a list of ten things that I now know as a result of the SFX Weekender that I didn't know 48 hours ago:

1) You can buy a bespoke Dalek for £3,000 but it'll take at least 10 weeks to make.
2) Glenn Fabry's thinking of becoming a teacher.
3) The novelisation of Snakes on a Plane was Black Flame's best-selling title.
4) Tom Baker gets chatted up in Waitrose by ladies of a certain age (that means they're in their 70s, I think).
5) Ianto Jones actor Gareth David-Lloyd was unaware of the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre's version of Torchwood, which they call Torchwool.
6) Cosplay is really just what my 3 year-old calls dressing up (but done by adults).
7) Gareth David-Lloyd would like to play Lion-O in a live-action version of Thundercats.
8) He-Man is camp.
9) Leigh Gallagher can't draw as quickly as Clint Langley.
10) This Christmas will see the release of the first Pax Britannia Ulysses Quicksilver omnibus.

Stormslayer - Beauty and the Beast

Came across this online today...


It's a painting of the Manticore that appears at the start of Stormslayer (my most recently published Fighting Fantasy adventure gamebook). It's by a very talented artist called Angeline and I for one am very impressed.

And here's the original illo by artist Stephen Player.


You can see more of Angeline's work at her blog Follow the Muse and at her gallery at DeviantART. I checked it out myself and came across this...


... which I can't help thinking is Larni the Huntress and her Sabretooth taking on the Yeti, who also appear in Stormslayer. So colour me pleased! And here's the original illo by artist Stephen Player...


If anyone else comes across any other Stormslayer-inspired illos, do let me know, and I'll post them here.

FIghting Fantazine #2 - coming soon!

Check out the cover to the new issue of the Fighting Fantasy fanzine aptly named Fighting Fantazine. The painting of the Salamander is by Natalie Roberts, a.k.a Nat the Rat, who turned in this fabulous piece of work which won her a well-deserved przie over at the official FF website.

Night of the Necromancer - the first look

Today I am very proud to reveal the first sneak preview of Martin McKenna's illustrations for my latest Fighting Fantasy gamebook Night of the Necromancer.


Night of the Necromancer will be published by Wizard Books 1 April 2010. Martin will also be producing the cover for the book, so prepare to be amazed.

Night of the Necromancer news

Be here tomorrow (Friday 4 December) at 3.00pm for a sneaky peek of what Martin McKenna has produced for Night of the Necromancer (the new Fighting Fantasy gamebook coming in April 2010) so far. You won't want to miss it I can promise you...

Stormslayer redux

I came across this the other day, thanks to the magic of Google alerts...


I was absolutely blown away when I realised that someone had re-imagined a scene from Stormslayer and done such a fantastic job of rendering it in full colour. The level of detail is amazing, and it is totally faithful to a scene described in the book.

I did a little digging and discovered that the piece was by Emerson Tung (a.k.a. Zeo-X) who has also produced his own versions of the Steam Golem and the Tremor Worm from the book.


There's loads more to see through his online gallery which you can find here. And if you happening to be reading this, Zeo, drop me a line and say "Hi!"

Juggernaut Redux

I came across this today...


It's another artist's interpretation of the Juggernaut from Stormslayer and you can see the influence of the movie Transformers in this version (which also inspired elements of the gamebook, as it happens).

And here's artist Stephen Player's original illustration from the book.


To comment on TheFoundingFields version at deviantART, click here.