Although I can see some merit to latter-day, anime-influenced fantasy such as one finds between the covers of Pathfinder, my heart will always belong to 80s fantasy. I've written of my unabashed admiration for Larry Elmore in his prime and the "fantastic realism" of American fantasy in the 80s, but where I get really starry-eyed is with British fantasy art and imagery from that decade. I suspect that, in addition to pure nostalgia, this has a lot to do with the fact that my attraction to D&D in the 80s stemmed in large part from my budding interest in medieval history. Knights, princesses, and dragons came first; Tolkien and Howard came some years later.
As someone who went on to develop that budding interest into a B.A. in History and writing history professionally, I continue to appreciate the imagery of British fantasy in the 80s (and down to today in the form of such heritage brands as Warhammer and Dragon Warriors). British fantasy seemed to take the concept of "fantastic realism" to an almost absurd degree. For example, the world of Legend, the default setting for Dragon Warriors, is barely more than a mythical medieval Europe with a fresh coat of paint hastily applied. Warhammer's Old World is hardly better.
Yet these are not faults in my eyes, but rather assets. I can't really explain it, but the rampant historicity of those worlds - or of my own personal favorite, Magnamund - clicks for me in ways that 6-foot swords and wuxia theatrics never will.
That being said, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Warhammer's Old World and the land of Legend perhaps stray a bit too close to being simulacra of our own past. I think that's why I prefer Magnamund; for all its trappings of an 80s British fantasy world, it also includes healthy doses of Tolkien and even Star Wars. Although it's possible to spot the historical analogs, they're not as glaringly obvious to someone schooled in medieval/Renaissance history.
I'll leave things off, then, with a little tour through the visuals of Magnamund courtesy of the inimitable Gary Chalk and the late, great Brian Williams. Whether this is all new to you or you're an old hand, I do hope you enjoy...
It is perhaps no surprise that this is my favourite era and genre of fantasy art. There's something punky and irreverent about the British fantasy art scene of the 80's which lends it a vivacity that I don't see in US art of the same era (which is not to say it's not there).
ReplyDeleteI see your point, but in Legend's defense, it's really only Albion and the surrounding realms that are straight-up medieval Earth analogues. Krarth is pure sword & sorcery wasteland wackiness. The Rathurbosk and its bridge-city is as 80s Brit fantasy as it gets. Heck, even Ellesland isn't exactly like England, considering that there are ninja (Harbinger) clan villages hidden in the north... I could go on, but you get my idea.
ReplyDeleteThe original Dragon Warriors books contain a lot of great 80s Brit fantasy art, too. The Advanced Fighting Fantasy RPG/gamebooks (which are apparently about to be reprinted) are worth checking out as well.
kelvin: Good call on the punky/irreverent tone. It's what's lacking from Elmore and Parkinson, as much as I like their stuff.
ReplyDeleteblizack: I hope I didn't come across as dumping too much on Legend. You're absolutely right; there are elements in the setting that would make it difficult to simply shift over to a map of Europe in 1400. I LOVE Rathorbosk and Krarth; if I get to run a DW campaign at any time in the future, they're definitely penciled in for higher level adventures. When I was writing, I was thinking more of the True Faith, the Crusades, the Transylvania/Muslim/Mongol pastiche-lands, etc.
What I absolutely adore about DW is its take on monsters, myth, and magic, which manages to make all three scary and mysterious--not easy to do for an FRPG!
I love the Magnamund books. IIRC, you can find them online now.
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally agree with punky art in 80's british fantasy. One of the reasons I love old Warhammer.
Yup, ProjectAon.org. I've been reading the Lone Wolf books through that even though I still have my old paperbacks. You should check out Seventh Sense (accessible through Project Aon)--it's a great little program that automates the system. Only downside is the programmer's doing it as a labor of love and he's only gotten up to Book 7.
ReplyDeleteIf you're interested in Magnamund as a campaign setting, Mongoose is putting out some nice product for their revamped, non-d20 Lone Wolf RPG. Their Sommerlund sourcebook is almost entirely system-free, for example.
I must say I largely agree with this sentiment. For me it's less nostalgia and more genuine appreciation because I wasn't actually around when this art was produced.
ReplyDeleteI will say though that we disagree on Warhammer. The only problem I have with it is that it mirrors the Early Modern Period instead of my beloved 12th century. It has plenty of Tolkien and even more Moorcock.
My teenaged heart was broken when Gary Chalk stopped working on the Lone Wolf books.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware until just now that Brian Williams had passed away. :(
Evan: Oh yeah, the Warhammer world is dripping with Tolkien and Moorcock. But when it comes to human cultures, or even the physical geography of the Old World, it's pretty much a straight lift from history.
ReplyDeleteCoop: Apparently he died unexpectedly in October of last year:
http://tinyurl.com/4d3f8uv
Gone way too soon.
On the subject of Chalk, I actually couldn't stand his stuff when I was first reading the books as a kid. As I've gotten older, my appreciation for him has grown by leaps and bounds. I'm still trying to justify the cost of picking up the French edition of the Lone Wolf RPG (Loup Solitaire) purely on the basis of the fact that it features new artwork by Gary.
Thanks for putting these together.. they will fit nicely in Grumpy Greyhawk :)
ReplyDeleteGreat pics!
ReplyDeleteFor me, the defining style of 80s British fantasy is that of Russ Nicholson. I absolutely loved his work on the Fiend Folio and, even more, his pictures for the 'Fighting Fantasy' books.
I appreciate this post a lot. Some of those images took me to the early days of my gaming. I really love me some 80's Warhammer!
ReplyDeleteExcellent stuff, I like the style a lot, I have played RuneQuest for several decades and their artwork always was rather crude.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, you and I have some similar tastes. I loved Gary Chalk's Lone Wolf artwork back when I was a kid, and I think my nostalgia for his work helped me to grow to appreciate Russ Nicholson's work (which I despised back when Fiend Folio came out).
ReplyDeleteSeeing the crooked innkeeper with his greasy rag on a rope and the arrogant young lordling on his horse brought back great memories!
Ironically, I used to despise Chalk's work as a lad. As I got older, I came to appreciate his mastery of pen and ink as well as his unique visual aesthetic. Russ Nicholson I didn't discover til a few years ago (never owned the Fiend Folio or any of the Fighting Fantasy books--heresy, I know), but I immediately fell in love.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen this? Looks like Joe Dever finally hooked up with an artist of Chalk's caliber. Hopefully we'll see more work from the guy in the future and more than just maps. One of the things that's really destroyed me about the 21st century revival Lone Wolf revival is how the art direction has completely missed the mark on the old visuals. I don't need any dungeonpunk in my Lone Wolf, thanks.