Russ Nicholson - The Passing of a Legend

We were very sorry to hear of the passing of Russ Nicholson last Wednesday, after a short illness, and know that many who read this will be feeling just as bereft as we are.

'Legend' is a word that is over-used these days, but it certainly applies when talking about the man who brought the first Fighting Fantasy gamebook to life. The Warlock of Firetop Mountain was the readers' introduction to the world of FF and it was Russ's illustrations as much as the text that drew children into the deadly dungeon that was the Warlock's lair.

Russ's work also set a high benchmark for others to follow. Oft imitated but never surpassed, when Russ took his pen for a walk across the page he conjured inriguing characters, hideous monsters, whole armies, and entire worlds from the nib. To see him work was like watching a wizard practising his craft; he waved his wand and visceral scenes of action and adventure were brought forth upon the page in ink.

Steve, Russ and Ian at Fighting Fantasy Fest 3 in 2019.

Ian Livingstone said, "I first had the pleasure to work with Russ during the early years of Games Workshop. His wonderfully atmospheric illustrations filled the pages of White Dwarf. I fondly remember working with him when he illustrated the cards in Workshop’s Warlock game published in 1980, and later Eye of the Dragon, the solo adventure which I wrote for Dicing with Dragons. Most famously, Russ illustrated the first edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, his iconic pen and ink illustrations setting the standard for future Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Russ was an amazing man with an incredible talent, and he left an incredible legacy. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him."

Steve Jackson added, "This is dreadful news. Russ was the founding father of the black and white art which became so important as one of the features of FF. Sadly, his adventure has ended here. Gone but not forgotten. Our condolences to the Nicholson family.”

Those of you who have read Secrets of Salamonis may have noticed a personal tribute to Russ by Steve. One of the lead characters in the book is named Ruznik Ulsson in his honour.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time, and all those who were inspired by his incredible work.

Zagor the Warlock, by Russ Nicholson.

Chris Achilleos (1947-2021)

We were very sorry to hear the terrible news that renowned fantasy artist Chris Achilleos passed away after a short illness on Monday afternoon.

Ian Livingstone posted this tweet in response to the announcement:

For many young fans in the 1980s, the cover of Temple of Terror was their first introduction to the work of the legendary artist, although he had already painted the cover for Space Assassin, and would go on to produce others for the series, including Armies of Death and the seminal background lore books, Out of the Pit and Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World. His painting appears in The Fighting Fantasy Poster Book an unprecedented four times!

Chris (full name 'Christos') was interviewed about his work for YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks, and even provided the cover for the second volume. This was what he had to said about the creation of the cover painting for Temple of Terror:

“I was dealing with Ian and he called me and said, ‘I’m going to leave it to you to design me the creature for this new book I’m writing. I’m going to tell you the scene and you come up with the creature, because you probably don’t need guidance on this from someone like me.’ And I said, ‘That sounds great, yeah. Then you can describe it from my painting.’

“It was a guardian of this gate and it was a desert scene – a city half buried under sand – so I designed this creature that lies in wait, buried under the sand... It was something I’d seen in a wildlife programme, these desert snakes that hide in the sand and just have their eyes out and then they pounce on you. So I imagined the same creature sort of lying in wait for someone to try and pass the gate. I drew that and he was delighted with it. In fact he bought the original from me.”

This trust that the writer had in the artist, also resulted in Chris producing one of the most recognisable cover paintings in British fantasy gaming, that of Titan - The Fighting Fantasy World:

“With that Ian said, ‘Just draw a dragon picture, Chris,’ and then left it to me. So I had to consider first of all that’s it a double spread… and then come up with something. When you don’t get a manuscript or a story that already describes what you need to do, when you’re left to yourself, you tend to go round in circles with many ideas and not focusing on one, not knowing quite what to do. Time flies and you’re still wondering which way to go.

“In this case, this was what was going on. I felt like, I’ve got to stop here; it’s not working. So I made up a story in my head about a shape-shifting wizard, who is attacking this city, in the form of this giant dragon, being held back. He’s destroyed the army that you can see… The drawbridge is down, he’s holding onto one of the chains – the other one’s already been broken – and the rest of the bridge is broken and down… The best of the knights have been killed. In desperation the baron comes out with his magicians, or druids or priests, to do magic with the dragon – not to hold him, not to destroy him, but to turn him back into human form and conquer him.

“The clue I put in there that the dragon is not just an animal – it’s a shape-shifting being, a super-being if you like, a magician – is that I put earrings and bracelets on him. That’s what that’s saying. That’s also why it’s called ‘Dragon Spell’. They’re putting a spell on him and trying and revert him back to a human being so they can defeat him. The question in that picture is, will he turn back to human or will he just snap out of it and literally bite the heads off them? That’s what the picture’s saying. People either see that consciously or unconsciously.”

Chris also had the honour of providing the cover art for the first Fighting Fantasy novel, Steve Jackson's The Trolltooth Wars:

“I was given the outline of the story and it was left up to me. I quite liked the concept of an orc fighting off a disgusting skeleton.”

Fans will be deeply saddened by the passing of a great artist and a fine man, but Chris leaves behind an immense body of work that has adorned everything from Doctor Who novels to Whitesnake album covers, as well as FF gamebooks. But certainly, the worlds of Fighting Fantasy would be diminished without Chris's contributions, and our thoughts remain with his friends and family at this difficult time.

In memory of

Chris Achilleos

1947-2021

Martin McKenna (1969-2020)

We were deeply saddened yesterday to learn of the passing of fan-favourite Fighting Fantasy artist Martin McKenna, at the beginning of September.

If there is one artist who encapsulates the way the art of the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks developed over the years, in terms of tone as well as subject matter, it has to be Martin McKenna. He illustrated 12 FF gamebooks in total, and ended up producing covers for 18 of them in their various different editions.

He also produced the wraparound cover art for Jonathan Green's YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks. When interviewed for the book, he didn't attribute his success to one big break:

“It was probably more like a lot of little breaks. Really early stuff like meeting Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone in ‘86 was helpful. They liked the fanzine work which had included a Fighting Fantasy spoof, and they recommended a submission to Warlock magazine. Coincidentally Marc Gascoigne had seen my fanzine stuff and liked it, and he was then editor of Warlock. Most importantly, an invitation came from John Blanche, then art director at Games Workshop, to produce work for him. John’s initial contact came as a result of me entering an art competition featured in the Citadel Journal. Instead of the hoped-for prize of a two quid postal order, I got a letter from John expressing interest in my stuff. This led to my very first paying commission: illustrations for an Out of the Pit article in Warlock. So a bunch of things came together in the very beginning. And one way or another they've continued to do so ever since.”

Daggers of Darkness was the first Fighting Fantasy adventure to feature Martin's artwork, after he was commissioned to illustrate the book when he was aged just 17 years-old, and still at school!

Illustrations from Daggers of Darkness.

He soon became the go to guy for horror-themed titles, illustrating not only Vault of the Vampire and Revenge of the Vampire, but also Dead of Night, Legend of the Shadow Warriors, Moonrunner, Curse of the Mummy, Howl of the Werewolf and Night of the Necromancer.

Illustrations from Vault of the Vampire.

Illustrations from Dead of Night.

Illustrations from Legend of the Shadow Warriors.

Illustrations from Moonrunner.

Illustrations from Revenge of the Vampire.

Illustrations from Curse of the Mummy.

Illustrations from Howl of the Werewolf.

Illustrations from Night of the Necromancer.

Over the years Martin's style matured and developed, as he moved from drawing with a fine pen and ink on paper to working digitally, which allowed him to draw fine white lines on black, as well as vice versa. This, coupled with modern printing techniques, meant that his more recent illustrations are some of the most detailed ever to appear in Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.

Martin's first cover for a Fighting Fantasy gamebook did not appear until the last title in the Puffin Books' run - that of Curse of the Mummy. Produced using traditional media, Martin would later touch it up digitally for the Wizard Books re-release of the title.

The cover for Curse of the Mummy, by Martin McKenna.

Ian Livingstone's later Puffin FF gamebooks were all illustrated by Martin McKenna, as was the first new Fighting Fantasy adventure published by Wizard Books, Eye of the Dragon. Indeed, Martin's work most recently appeared in the new edition of Ian Livingstone's Return to Firetop Mountain, introducing his art to a new generation of Fighting Fantasy fans, who will now be able to appreciate how great a loss his passing is to older FF fans.

Illustrations from Return to Firetop Mountain.

Illustrations from Legend of Zagor.

Illustrations from Eye of the Dragon.

On hearing of Martin's passing, Ian Livingstone put into words what no doubt everyone is thinking at this time: "Absolutely shocking and a tragic loss of life."

Steve Jackson had this to say: "Martin will always be remembered as one of the principal and most prolific of the Fighting Fantasy artists."

He will be truly missed, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very difficult time.

In memory of

Martin McKenna

1969-2020

Those who knew what a genuinely kind person Martin was wanted to do something to honour his memory and so are in the process of setting up a charity in his name, which will help disadvantaged children gain access to arts programs.

If you feel able to help, and would like to make your own small donation in Martin's name, you can do so here. 

And if you find yourself in need of somebody to talk to during these difficult times, do not hesitate to pick up the phone and speak to someone.

Carl Sargent (1952-2018)

We were very sorry to hear the news, late last night, that the prolific RPG writer, author, and parapsychologist, Carl Sargent, has passed away.

Carl will be better known to Fighting Fantasy fans the world over as Keith Martin, author of seven gamebooks in the series, written between 1988 and 1995 - Stealer of Souls, Vault of the Vampire, Master of Chaos, Tower of Destruction, Island of the Undead, Night Dragon, Legend of Zagor, and Revenge of the Vampire.

However, his work appeared under his own name when he collaborated with Ian Livingstone on the quartet of four short novels - Firestorm, Darkthrone, Skullcrag, and Demonlord - which featured the exploits of three heroes from Legend of Zagor*.

Just as he enriched the worlds of Greyhawk, Warhammer, Shadowrun and Earthdawn with his work, the world of Titan would have seemed a much smaller place without Carl's contributions.

And so tonight we shall be raising a glass of fine Mortvanian claret, drawn from the cellars of Castle Heydrich, in his memory, and our thoughts remain with his friends and family at this difficult time.

In memory of

Carl Sargent

1952-2018

* Which was itself based on the board game designed by Ian Livingstone and published by Parker Brothers.