Classic Sword And Sorcery Art

⚔️

[oldschoolfrp]

More 'spring' cleaning and I can't believe I finally found this, over 40 years after it went missing -- my original copy of RuneQuest 2nd ed from 1980, the stand-alone softcover version with Luise Perrin/Perenne's cover art in color, by Steve Perrin & Ray Turney for Chaosium.

At some point ca 1984-85 I thought it was a good idea to tuck it into the back of an unlabeled folder behind some blank graph paper and an encounter I wrote pitting Sartar characters against Lunar Empire agents, across from some notes on heraldry and late 16th century fashion. There is a hint of flood damage here, minor discoloration of 2 corners of the back cover and almost unnoticeable paper wrinkling, but still looks pretty good for a used copy approaching 50 years old.

[retro-scifi-and-fantasy-art]

Chris Moore (1947-2025, British) Gardens of the Moon (1999) by Steven Erikson (Author)

[70sscifiart]

Bernie Wrightson, 1970, cover to This is Legend #1

[thefugitivesaint]

Bruce Pennington, ''Swords in the Mist'' by Fritz Leiber, 1975 (Meulenhoff) German edition of the 1968 book

[cosmicretreat]

Gerald Brom

[pmamtraveller]

By N. C. Wyeth

[sandmandaddy69]

Gerald Brom

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Savage Sword of Conan - art by Earl Norem (1982)

[jedivoodoochile]

Art by Gerald Brom.

[phantastische-illustrationen]

'Le temple de la nuit', 1978 (Philippe Caza)

[elderscrollsconceptart]

Shrine of Peryite

Concept art for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Art by Ray Lederer

[pat1dee]

John Farson -The Good Man

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower - The Battle Of Jehrico Hill

Art by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove

[pat1dee]

John Farson -The Good Man

Stephen King’s The Dark Tower - The Battle Of Jehrico Hill

Art by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove

[observadorcosmico]

John Carter by Joe Jusko

[vintagerpg]

Now, unlike Michael Newton’s book of hope, I appreciate the clarity of this book’s title: Encyclopedia of Things that Never Where (1985). Stating that definitively really gets all that belief malarkey out of the way and lets us appreciate these things on their own imaginary terms (as Georgess McHargue encouraged us to do on Monday).

This book is more like a collection of several small topical encyclopedias, each discrete from the others and in their own alphabetical order. Nor do they necessarily make a perfect or intuitive sense all the way through. Things of the Cosmos is mostly gods of major mythologies, but also King Arthur and his knights. Things of the Ground and Underground collects faeries and tree spirits, but also the manticore, Minotaur and Sphinx. Things of Wonderland seems to imply things from literature, but really it collects all manner of fantastical places, from fiction, but also from legend. Things of Magic, Science and Invention could just as well have been called Things and left it at that; it collects notable items, from Thor’s hammer to Jekyll’s potion to the many unusual uses for nails. Things of Water, Sky and Air covers all the creatures not detailed in Earth chapter — Grendel is here, griffins, too, and all the sea serpents. Finally, Things of the Night details the undead and other creatures who hide from the sun, whether they go bump or not.

Robert Ingpen’s art throughout is a pure joy. There are so many illustrations, the book is awash in them, and they’re all amazing, often subverting expectation but also remaining recognizable. There’s a warmth to it, like sitting by a fire, and he has a real talent for collaging together different elements that feels less museum-like and more evokes the crowded study of an eccentric scholar. I can’t imagine the amount of time it took to put together this portfolio, but it was well worth it. It’s a treasure.

[blacklotusmuseum]

"Goblin Grenade"

Fallen Empires 1994 | Illus. Ron Spencer

"According to accepted theory, the Grenade held some kind of flammable mixture and was carried to its target by a hapless Goblin." — Sarpadian Empires vol. IV

[oldschoolfrp]

Seen at Historicon in Lancaster, PA, in the board game library: Some golden oldies here, including Dungeon!, Dark Tower, Dungeon Master, Dragon Strike, Nuclear War, Samurai Swords, and some Avalon Hill classics like D-Day and Tactics II.