A Revelation and a Very Special Guest

 

Following on from my recent ‘covers’ post – here's a third one! Unveiled at last: the cover to the forthcoming ‘Martillo’ collection, with stellar art from the incomparable David Broughton. But there’s more! I can now exclusively reveal that the book will feature one or two pieces of interior guest-art by none other than...

(Drum-roll, please!)

...2000AD artist BEN WILLSHER!

Yup, I am absolutely gobsmacked and honoured to have the ‘Judge Dredd’ superstar contributing to our strange saga of the cross 1940s Spanish priest (and his sledgehammer.) More news on the ‘Martillo’ front soon, as David B. and I put the finishing touches to what looks set to be a 50-page volume of chaos, cassocks and Cubism!

Keep Me Covered (x 2)

Two separate stories of mine have garnered two different cover spots, it seems: always an absolute honour, I should add. The first fantastic frontispiece is for Paragon #13, showcasing an eighteen-year-old Spencer Nero’s flashback conflict with the sort of creature that would give Ray Harryhausen a profound dose of the heebie-jeebies. The intrepid and highly talented artist is Neil Roche, also known as Bhuna, and the creature in question is based on designs by James Corcoran, who draws the interior strip, ‘Spencer Nero Goes South’. Neil has also drawn a Nero two-pager, ‘Spencer Nero and the Ruthless Rhymer’, which follows in a Paragon tradition of rhyming stories. Not sure if that’s in #13 as well or being saved for a later issue, but having seen Neil’s completed art, I can confirm that it looks gorgeous – albeit in a deeply sinister way.

The other cover is for ‘The Zen Fusilier’, as mentioned in a previous posting, which has been chosen as the cover story for the forthcoming Massacre For Boys Picture Library. The art here is by David Frankum and is, frank(um)ly, jaw-dropping. As I commented to Massacre impresario Chris Denton, there’s a strong Brian Bolland vibe to David’s line-work on this awe-inspiring piece: precise, detailed and evocative. Unfortunately, it sounds like the Picture Library will be out later than the Massacre boys originally intended, but good things come to those wait, particularly in the small press.