Lone Wolf unique cover differences
Dec 26, 2020 20:59:16 GMT
greylord, lobisome, and 1 more like this
Post by lorddarkstorm on Dec 26, 2020 20:59:16 GMT
There's a lot of unique Lone Wolf cover art that isn't often seen, and I wanted to go through it all and see how it all looks - however there didn't seem to be a singular resource for this so I've tried to grab representations of everything myself. Below is, I hope every piece of unique cover art in the main Lone Wolf series. I've put some of my thoughts on each below - bear in mind I've rewritten these quite a bit as new covers are released, so if anything is a bit confusingly worded that is why (and please let me know!)
If you know of something that's not here (and isn't heavily based on existing art with just the image flipped or somesuch), again please let me know.
First, book one:
As might be expected, "Flight from the Dark" has the most unique covers in the series - my searches have thus far found 24 (or 22 if you think counting the Hungarian/Gallimard 1st ed covers are cheating)! Starting from the top left, I think the original Sparrow art is the best, showing Lone Wolf disheveled having just killed a Giak. Only issue is that Lone Wolf looks rather older than he should. The Beaver reprint has a younger Lone Wolf but is otherwise less impressive. The US Pacer art looks kind of generic to me, and the Red Fox art is great but doesn't really fit the book - to the point I struggle to understand what part of the book it is supposed to depict. The top right art is a French 2012 reprint from Gallimard featuring a Vordak, and there's no way around this...it's terrible.
Starting the second row, the Mongoose art is pretty decent. This is by Alberto Dal Lago (sometimes misspelt as "Del Lago" in the very early Mongoose books). The green-bordered Spanish Altea cover has a nice theme, but I feel like it's shooting for desperation but ends up kind of makes Lone Wolf look insane lol. The new art for the Italian book issued from Vincent Books is also by Alberto Dal Lago, (which I suspect will also be the art used when Ben Dever republishes the earlier books in english given he wants all art to be Dal Lago's) is quite decent, showing Lone Wolf fleeing the Monastery (although this only happens in the special edition
). These Italian volumes are many years removed from his Mongoose work, and to me show his growth as an artist as they're almost all substantially better then his Mongoose ones. The Spanish reprint from Timun Mas has art featuring a muscly shirtless Lone Wolf that seems more suited to a romance novel lol - this will be a continuing theme throughout the books they published. Finishing up the second row, we have a newer French reprint from Gallimard which atones for their 2012 reprint in the first row. It also features a Vordak, but the illustration is far nicer, and is my second favourite of the book 1 covers. These newer French reprints with the white border are illustrated by Ugo Chiola.
For the third row, the Bulgarian cover just has generic art not really worth a comment (edit - as it transpired this is because it is lifted from Dragonlance, as is all the Bulgarian edition art, and thus has no real link to the events in the books), as does the Serbo-Croatian cover. The Danish cover with a black border and a snake is also pretty basic. The sole Hungarian book from Totem uses modified Pacer art, giving Lone Wolf the Sommerswerd in book 1! The row finishes off with the AFSF cover for the Czech market which shows....I have no idea, but it's certainly not generic! Maybe a Giak? Though as later books will show, the AFSF covers sometimes don't have much to do with the book at hand. As best I can tell these are all done by Juraj Maxon.
For the fourth row, Åskfågeln have two Swedish variants, the first of which was done by Gary Chalk and the second by Lukas Thelin. They are both quiet nice, though Gary's once again makes Lone Wolf looks like a veteran. The next one is a 2021 Gallimard release for the 550 FFTD extended version. Nice Vordak in the middle here, but the large amount of wasted space is disappointing to me. This is followed by Holmgard Publishing's 2021 Definitive Edition. It's pretty good, but I don't know about the large new font for the title here and how the "A" & "R" go into his head! Finally we have the Gallimard first edition - it's much the same as the Red Fox one but substantially zoomed in. More on that in book two's Gallimard 1st edition discussion...
For the bottom row we first have the 2022 Gallimard collectors edition softback, which is excellent Vordak art and for me a candidate for best art alongside Gary Chalk's, though as it's the first book I think showing LW is important so I'll still give the nod to the OG! Next we have Jambo's new 2023 release for the Brazillian market. It's well done and I like their lone wolf. However while their Giaks look cool, they don't look much like Giaks! Moving on we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover. Finally we have the 40th anniversary variant cover for Vincent books, using Gary Chalk art from the French version of the Mongoose LW RPG released by Le Grimoire in 2007. The cover is good, as although it wasn't intended for this I can imagine it as LW having finally reached Holmgard (though as is almost the norm for book 1 covers LW looks too old).
Book two:
"Fire on the Water" has almost as many covers as "Flight from the Dark". We start again with the original Sparrow cover, and it's a nice one showing Vonotar firing off a spell. The Beaver reprint cover isn't quite as nice, with Lone Wolf fighting Vonotar's undead with a Death Hulk in the background. Pacer seem to have taken inspiration from the Beaver cover, with a redrawn Vonotar again spellcasting. The Red Fox cover has a really cool looking undead on a ship, and is my fave cover for book 2. The first row finishes off with the older Gallimard reprint, showing a shocked looking sailor. Not great but a big improvement from that line's book one.
The second row begins with the Mongoose cover, which again is decent, showing Lone Wolf attacking the undead, a frequent theme here, as the Altea cover shows the same. Satisfyingly creepy undead for the Altea cover. For his second go around with Vincent Books, Dal Lago also plumps for the climactic sea battle, and his art is quite nice here as well. Timun Mas once again has a shirtless Lone Wolf, this time fighting undead. This row ends with the newer Gallimard reprint, with Lone Wolf about to attack some Kraan I believe. It's pretty good but not the most exciting scene.
Third row begins with the second and final Danish cover, and this time a better job was done - Lone Wolf has the Sommerswerd (although glowing blue here, did it detect orcs?
) and we see some ships, so it's a bit less basic. Serbo-Croatian & Bulgarian covers follow, and are as generic as before. If we're being charitable we could say the AFSF cover depicts the Sommerswerd, though it doesn't look that much like it and is not golden, so it may just be a coincidence. Finally we have an interesting one - this is the original first edition Gallimard art, done by my favourite LW artist Peter Andrew Jones, who did the Red Fox covers for 1-20, and Edizioni EL for 1-26. These early French covers are mostly the same as the Red Fox art, but it's interesting to note that it was Gallimard who brought Peter Andrew Jones into Lone Wolf, and they continued to use them through to book 7. He mentions on his site elsewhere that Joe Dever loved the Gallimard covers and so brought him onboard for the UK Red Fox editions. I do wonder why Gallimard stopped using him, since as we'll get to later, their art from book 8 onwards leaves a *lot* to be desired. PAJ made a comment on his site that back then, he once called Gallimard with a query and was surprised to have a British person answer the phone, so I wonder if that person knew his work and was the one who originally recommended him (Gallimard approached him to do the covers), and perhaps later left the company leading to the change in artist. That's all total speculation though. Anyway, the French art here is generally the same as the Red Fox books for 1-7, but with some differences, here being among the most substantial - it kind of looks like an unfinished version of the Red Fox one. I wonder if there was a tight deadline here and PAJ was a bit disatisfied and went back to it for Red Fox?
Firstly on the bottom row we have Lukas Thelin's work for the Swedish Åskfågeln reprint. I really like it, showing Vonotar's attack on the Duranese ship from Lone Wolf's perspective as he's fighting off the undead. Next we have Jambo's, which again shows LW fighting the undead in the climactic battle on the seas. LW looks like he's seen things since Jambo's fresh faced depiction of him in book 1! Finally we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover.
Book three:
The Sparrow art for "The Caverns of Kalte" shows the Ice Barbarians on Ski's. Not a fan of this one. This time there are not one but two Beaver reprints with different covers. Anyway, the first is the showdown with Vonotar in Brumalmarc's chamber. This is good, but would be even better without Loi Kymar's head awkwardly popping in from the bottom. The second shows a rather forlorn looking Akraa’Neonor chilling on its own outside. The Pacer art has a very hunched Vonotar with the Akraa’Neonor behind him. Cool design choice, though Vonotar could do with looking a bit more threatening. The earlier Gallimard reprint has a Javek on the front. It's ok.
Second row starts off with the Red Fox cover showing a Frostwyrm, this is my fave for this book. Mongoose art shows him fighting a Baknar, and is ok. Altea one is just weird, has a giant head in the background and someone who looks a lot more like Loi Kymar than Vonotar attacking Lone Wolf? Dal Lago goes back to the Baknar for Vincent as well and it's pretty cool, and much nicer then his earlier effort. Timun Mas has....you guessed it, a shirtless Lone Wolf in sunny Kalte! They also go with a Baknar fight.
Third row starts off with what the later Gallimard reprints. I originally thought it was a Baknar again, but as ixia1 has noted this scene tallies exactly with the above ground Kalkoth encounter. It's a very cool cover. The AFSF cover shows the eye of a scaly being. Is this supposed to be a Javak or Frostwyrm, or is it yet again coincidence? Who knows? Bulgarian cover finally seems to have something to do with the subject matter, showing a wizard and a serpent, but again it might just be a coincidence lol. Serbo-Croatian art has Lone Wolf looking at a Frostwyrm in a river perhaps. Pretty nice. We end the row with Åskfågeln, where Lukas Thelin's art is definitely Lone Wolf facing off against a Frostwyrm. As usual his art is great and relevant to the plot.
Finally on the bottom row we have the Gallimard first edition - again looks slightly unfinished compared to the Red Fox version, with less carcasses in front of the Frostwyrm and no condensation on its body, followed by Jambo's with another Frostwyrm, looking more cobra-ish here. Finally we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover.
Book four:
Sparrow art for "The Chasm of Doom" shows a Vassagonian on horseback about to attack. Pretty good. Once again we have two Beaver reprints. The first bizarrely shows an Elix in a wasteland - the art itself is great but it doesn't really capture the book vibe I think. The second goes back to Vassagonians on horseback about to attack Lone Wolf. Pacer art shows the same, though I think the Beaver reprint does it better. Red Fox goes with Lone Wolf or one of his men fighting the Meresquid. Seems a bit heavily armed to be them though. As usual for Peter Andrew Jones it's good art, but doesn't seem that relevant this time.
Second row starts with the Mongoose art showing Lone Wolf fighting against the Vassagonian Captain on his bird. It's ok. The Altea cover shows Lone Wolf retreating before spirits escaping the Maakengorge. The Altea art generally isn't that good, but there's a creepiness to it that appeals to me. For Vincent Books Dal Lago goes with a Vassagonian on horseback about to attack Lone Wolf. It's fine. Timun Mas has Shirtless Wolf squaring off against Barraka, who is poised with the Dagger of Vashna, and Madelon can be seen on the Altar. Probably their best one. Finally the Gallimard reprint shows....I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's the nameless imp from section 168 that's later implied to be a Daemonak, but it's way too batlike here.
Third row begins with the last of the Bulgarian covers, which I'm not sure about if it's trying to depict something from the novel. It looks more like it should go with book three and the Baknar lol. Next is the AFSF art with....gems? I guess it could refer to the gems mined at Ruanon, which is the reason for Lone Wolf being sent there to begin with, but it's kind of thin again. Serbo-Croatian art goes with the same as Mongoose, but their bird looks a lot more lizard like. Looking at the four covers from this publisher, I think the artist really liked wyrm-like creatures. This is the last unique Serbo-Croatian art - there is one more book but it uses the Red Fox coverart. Next for Åskfågeln we have Lukas Thelin's depiction of Barraka vs Lone Wolf again (this time shirted). It's pretty great, and is my fave for book four. Gallimard First Edition is next, pretty close to the Red Fox version, with just the tentacle missing some banding as far as noticeable differences go.
Last row begins with the 2022 Gallimard reprint, featuring I assume the battle with the stoneworm. I quite like this. Then we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover, and we end with Jambo's take on the Vassagonian horserider attacking LW. It's ok.
Book five:
For "Shadow on the Sand" we start with what is the final Sparrow cover. It's Haakon, and it looks goofy. There's a nice sci-fi vibe to it but I don't really like it as a portrayl of Haakon. Pacer have pretty cool art of the aerial battle with the Vordak. Next is Red Fox, and here Peter Andrew Jones has drawn what to me is one of the truly iconic pieces of Lone Wolf art. I assume he saw Gary Chalk's internal art beforehand and this struck his fancy:
And what we end up with is an absolutely superb looking Drakkarim warrior. I love this.
Mongoose have Lone Wolf facing off against Haakon (outside for some reason). It's ok. Gallimard have absolutely awful art of what I assume is a Drakkarim warrior.
Second row starts with Vincent Books where Dal Lago goes with the Vordak battle this time, it's pretty good. Altea go with the Kwara from the sewer. Lone Wolf doesn't want any of it! Our final Timun Mas book finally has a Shirted Wolf, clearly the five book series has been a quest to find a shirt to fit his muscles. Sad to see the last of them. Our first German book which up until now has not had an exclusive cover. This one shows a Dhorgaan. One thing though...it's not really "unique", as it's a coloured version of Gary Chalk's art for sections 253 and 400 interposed:
Weird thing to do. Finally we have the Gallimard first edition, with what is by far the most substantial change compared to what Red Fox would get. As a negitive the Drakkarim is far less detailed, but on the plus side there is a full moon in the background which looks great!
Third row starts with the Beaver reprint (which should have been in the first row but I forgot it - whoops)! Very similar to the Pacer work, but not quite as good. The AFSF art is next, and FINALLY has a solid link to the book, with the Book of the Magnakai dominating the book. It is depicted as a 3D book, which is actually pretty cool. Next is Åskfågeln, I believe Lukas Thelin's art is pre-vordak fight. It's fine, but not as good as his previous ones. Next is the 2022 Gallimard reprint, which is the ever popular Drakkarim. As usual for this era of Gallimard, it's a great cover. Finally we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with another cartoonised take on an existing cover, although this time it looks to be based off the UK Beaver reprint rather than the Berkley/Pacer cover.
Book six:
We start with the Beaver edition of "The Kingdom of Terror". It shows the Dakomyd. It looks goofy. The internal art looks goofy too so I don't blame it. Pacer goes for the death of Cyrilus. It's great and a surprising choice. Would have preferred Lone Wolf was looking at Cyrilus, but either way it's great, and my fave for this book. Not sure what the Red Fox one is supposed to be, I assume a less goofy take on the Dakomyd. It's pretty good. I think the Mongoose Cover is attempting the same. The book name, however, obscures the face. Oops! German cover is again cribbing from Gary Chalk, but what is bizarre is that it is *still* from Shadows of the Sand. Don't think there's too many Vassagonians searching through sewers in book six:
Second row starts with Altea. Not sure if Lone wolf is rubbing the Dakomyd's belly or once again falling backwards in fright lol. Dal Lago's Vincent Books cover and the Beaver reprint both go with the battle against Roark's undead. Both are good. Gallimard reprint...not sure what's going on here. Can only assume it's Roark summoning Tagazin. That or he's about to go on an episode of Knightmare... The AFSF cover is as usual rather vague. You could make the argument it's Roark summoning again, though that looks like more of a gem or orb then an amulet. Would work fine for Cauldron of Fear!
Final row starts with Åskfågeln and what I assume is Lukas Thelin's take on a Dakomyd. He's gone more Lamia like. It's ok. Next is a Gallimard first edition whose only difference from the Red Fox version is shading. Next is a wonderful rendition of Lone Wolf fighting a Yawshath. This is a Vincent Books limited variant by the mapmaker of the more recent Holmgard/Vincent editions, Francesco Mattioli. Hope he does some more! We end with the 2022 Gallimard reprint. It's ok, but I'm not entirely sold on Lone Wolf's perspective. At first glance he's lost an arm, and even when I got what's going on it's not very convincing to me.
Book seven:
We start "Castle Death" with Beaver, who have Zahda in both the original and reprint. The original shows him looking pretty daunting, but the reprint with him on his throne with the lorestones makes him look frail. The original is simply good, while the remake is not good itself, but certainly gave later artists ideas. Pacer art is rubbish, with Lone Wolf fighting a beastman outside the castle. Red Fox (and for the last time the original Gallimard French version) goes with the Lekhor. It looks awesome, but is not my fave this time round because, after a rather boring looks at the castle for Mongoose, we come to...
The second row starts with Dal Lago's Vincent Books art, and it's a super upgraded version of the Beaver reprint scene, this time with Lone Wolf silhouetted in chains, with a much more powerful looking Zahda and his cronies before him. Absolutely superb, and my fave for this book. This is probably the biggest gulf between his older and newer work for the Lone Wolf covers. I don't know who the Gallimard reprint is supposed to show. Not that great either. This will be the last reprint in the images, from 8 onwards I'll be showing the original Gallimard covers as they are now the same, and the original has smaller text so the art is more visible. The AFSF cover may? show a Lekhor. Looks rather different, but who knows. Altea have lone wolf turned away from a ruined castle with a man's face and hand. Huh? To end the row, for Åskfågeln Lukas Thelin, like Dal Lago, goes with the trial scene. It's pretty good. Next we have PAJ's last work for Gallimard for their first editions. I can see no difference from Red Fox other than possibly shading, but that could just be the transfer. 2022 Gallimard also plumps for the Lekhor, and it's pretty fantastic, with a cool moody rainswept setting, and a castlevania-esque castle death in the background. I love it.
Book eight:
We start "The Jungle of Horrors" with Beaver, who have a cool cover with some of the aforementioned horrors and the temple. The Beaver reprint is ok, with Lone Wolf dealing with some Raghu I think? Pacer's is ok, not sure what's supposed to wading out of the swamp there, maybe the Anapheg? One horn too many though! Red Fox's is superb and the winner again for me. Positioning of the Taan-spider and the bloody skulls is fantastic. Mongoose has Lone Wolf fighting a Vordak in the Monastery. Pretty bland.
Second row starts off with Vincent Books and Dal Lago's take on the Taan-spider, which is decent, and then a surprisingly generic effort from Altea. AFSF one is on point for once with another appearance for the Taan spider, and the first post-PAJ Gallimard art is...disappointing to say the least. Raghu again. We end with Åskfågeln and Lukas Thelin's take on the Taan-spider, with Lone Wolf and Paido going up against it back to back. It's pretty damn great. It's also the last of the Åskfågeln books released thus far.
Finally on the third row we have the 2024 Gallimard cover, depicting LW and Paido fighting the Xlorg. Xlorg looks superb, this is perhaps Djib's strongest cover thus far.
Book nine:
We start with Beaver's take on "The Cauldron of Fear", which is the siege of Tahou. It's ok. Pacer and Red fox both show a battler with Giaks and either Kraan or Doomwolves. Pacer's is ok, Red Fox's is based on an internal illustration and is pretty good. Mongoose I initially couldn't place, but it was pointed out to me that the monster has a ring on its finger - it's the Psi-Ghoul. I originally thought that Dal Lago's one for Vincent Books was the Zadragon fight, but seems that it's an even more mutated take on the Psi-Ghoul. It's pretty good. The Goldman one I have no idea. It doesn't ring a bell from being cribbed from elsewhere (unless it's from the Legends novels, haven't read them in ages) and doesn't really match the book at all. Cool looking though, and the last (only?) unique German cover we'll see. Altea is again much less weird then usual, with a battle against the Zadragon again. The AFSF book I think goes with the same thing, and the Gallimard book is another disappointment. They dropped PAJ for this? We end the row with Åskfågeln who continue to use Lukas Thelin. It's the best of the set, though again I think there were better things to cover. Finally we have 2023 Gallimard, which goes for the siege of Tahou from the perspective of a Gourgaz rallying troops outside the city. It's pretty good and the best of the book nine art to me. Sadly no one went with the fall into the cauldron or the showdown with Kimah, which is a bit disappointing. Or the Brian Williams depiction of the Zaaryx Ghoul, that thing was nightmare fuel.
Book ten:
We start "The Dungeons of Torgar" with the Beaver cover, and it's the best of this set. Superbly intricate armour on the Drakkarim, with Torgar in the distance. Both Pacer & Red fox covers are boring, a rare miss for PAJ. Dal Lago's Mongoose cover is ok, and his Vincent Books cover is pretty good. Altea has Lone Wolf meditating in front of a skull design, they've really toned things down. AFSF cover has a doomwolf and the Gallimard cover has a rather generic looking Zagganozod. Åskfågeln shows the battle with the Drakkarim. 2024 Gallimard has a Nadziranim from the final scene. It's pretty good but the framing could be better - I think shifting to the left a bit would have captured it better - Djib has posted the full size version of the art:
I think Torgar is a little bit of a struggle for the artists because there's not really that much interesting to sink their teeth into, except the climactic scene with Gnaag that shouldn't really be spoiled, though Djib managed to get some of the flavour of that with his, and that's my fave for this book.
Book eleven:
"The Prisoners of Time" brings us down to only nine covers now. We start with the Beaver cover, which shows a nicely alien landscape. Pacer is kind of disappointing as it goes with a cover that could have come from any book. Red Fox has another of PAJ's iconic covers. I feel a bit guilty calling it my favourite as like the Pacer book it doesn't take any advantage of being in the Daziarn, but it's so damn good! He makes the Chaos-rats look like something magical. Obviously this is my fave for this set. Dal Lago goes for the Chaos Master both for Mongoose and Vincent. I think his later Vincent one is better, but neither capture the bizareness of the internal art in a satisfactory manner for me. ALTEA GOES OUT WITH A BANG! Back to super weirdness for the last Spanish cover art. It has nothing to do with the book and I love it. AFSF one...is it supposed to be a hint of Vonotar? Not sure. Gallimard have their first decent coverart since switching away from PAJ. Was this character in the book? I don't remember them. Gallimard 2024 shows the Shadow Reavers, it's an excellent cover.
Book twelve:
With "The Masters of Darkness" comes the end of the Magnakai books and also the final Beaver cover. They end with the best of this set, with Gnaag, Kraggenskull and I assume Taktaal looming over a brilliantly realised Helgedad. Could do with the darklords looking a bit better though. Pacer also have darklords on the cover, with Slu-tar(if I take out the hyphen it breaks proboard somehow) bizarrely in pride of place. Weird as he's not in the novel. Red Fox has a cool looking bird which I originally assumed is the Sea-scavenger, and was puzzled as there were much better choices in this book, but it turns out that unlike pretty much all the other PAJ art Gallimard or Red Fox commisioned which was original for Lone Wolf, this one was pre-done stuff licensed from PAJ, and was originaly art for a record album cover for a band called Nightwing. Mongoose have a rather disappointing look at Helgedad. I'm surprised Dal Lago went back to this after doing the same for Castle Death. For Vincent, Dal Lago goes with Gnaag, and while it's good, the internal illustration of Gnaag is much cooler and kind of shows this up:
Where are my internal organs? Too gruesome for a cover?
The AFSF book goes with the Sea-scavenger again, bizarrely with a knight on it, which did not happen in the book. Gallimard have a random (giak?) soldier. Looks ok. Gallimard 2024, like Salmon, shows all the Darklords you encounter in the book. This is the only Djib cover thus far that I don't really vibe with. His Gnaag is ok, but I don't really like these takes on Kraggenskull or Taktaal.
Book thirteen:
With The Plague Lords of Ruel, for the first time we start with the Red Fox cover, with Lone Wolf battling a Vazhag pack. For the first time (still undecided on Chasm) PAJ shows us his take on Lone Wolf's design. His idea seems to be to never show his face (maybe for self insertion purposes)? The design itself is very cool. Pacer have Lone Wolf up against the Dholdaarg, it's ok. Mongoose, who at this point switch to Pascal Quidault for their covers, opt for the climactic battle with the Exterminus and Cadak, which doesn't really come off for me, and for Vincent Books Dal Lago goes with the Giganite fight from the forest route(thanks Ixia!) It's pretty cool, and one of Dal Lago's most colourful covers. The AFSF book has a random wizard who I guess is a Cenar Druid. The Gallimard book has a rather more obvious druid.
Book fourteen:
For "The Captives of Kaag", The Red Fox cover is easily the best here. Kaag design is awesome and the skeleton with the spear through it is great too. Another of my fave Lone Wolf art pieces. Pacer go with Lone wolf attempting to snipe an Ashradon. It's ok. Mongoose go with the battle against a polymorphed Nadziran, it's pretty good. Vincent Books has the Ashradon too. AFSF cover I assume is Banedon. As usual it's kinda tenuous. Finally the Gallimard cover has Banedon tied to a post with...I guess another polymorphed Nadziran? Don't remember one like that in the book.
Book fifteen:
With "The Darke Crusade", the Red Fox cover has the first frontal view of Lone Wolf for PAJ's design, where he is again careful to keep the face hidden. The fight with the Drakkarim looks awesome. The Pacer cover I think shows the river ambush with the Ciquali. It's pretty good. The remaining four all presumably show Drakkarim, to better or worse effect. Mongoose and Vincent Books are pretty good here, but what is the final of the AFSF books and the Gallimard book both look pretty awful. Shame the AFSF series doesn't end with another tenuous link to the actual content!
Book sixteen:
For "The Legacy of Vashna", we're down to five covers now, till the end of the Grand Master series. Red Fox has Lone Wolf going up against the Ghost of Vashna (not in the book but I wish it was!), which is cool. Pacer has Lone Wolf squaring off against Shamath and her cronies, it's pretty good. Mongoose opt for Cadak and the acolytes of Vashna. Acolytes are boring, but the silhouetted Cadak looks quite cool. It's based on the illustration on section 345. Vincent Books also goes with Shamath but in her transformed state as Gnekasha the Worm-thrall. It's good, but a bit drab. Gallimard I assume are showing Vashna. I think at this point in time we knew Vashna was furry & had a snout, but Vashna here looks more lizard like. They nailed the snout though! If you go and find the Gallimard reprint art though, you will see Vashna's face has been replaced by obnoxiously large text.
Book seventeen:
I'll level with you : for "The Deathlord of Ixia", four out of five of the covers are rightly of the Deathlord, and none of them are that impressive to me.
Vincent Books breaks the trend as Dal Lago goes for the Ixian Mhagan, it's ok. Disappointing set overall.
The internal illustration of the Deathlord is my fave:
Really he should look more like the Horned King from Black Cauldron lol
Book eighteen:
For "Dawn of the Dragons" Red Fox give us another iconic piece of PAJ art. Pacer also went to PAJ this time, and have a very similar piece of art. Both are awesome with wonderful looking dragons. The Pacer art has a closer and cool looking Kai Monastery. Mongoose lost the Lone Wolf contract and was picked up by Mantikore, and at the same time the artist changes to Victor Manuel Leza Moreno. They also go for a very traditional dragon and it looks kind of drab when next to the superb PAJ dragons, and also Dal Lago's dragons for Vincent Books which while not quite as good as the PAJ ones are pretty damn great too, with some lovely use of colour. Another disappointment from Gallimard, which a rather weak looking dragon in comparison.
Book nineteen:
"Wolf's Bane" again has Red Fox/Pacer covers from PAJ with similar yet not identical scenes. Wolf's Bane looks cooler in the Red Fox cover as the Pacer one gives him a more demonic look, but the crumbling bridge is pretty cool there. The Mantikore one with I assume Cryopedeans coming out of the stargate...er portal, and the Vincent Books one with them are both pretty boring. For Gallimards, if the face in the mirror is supposed to be Wolf's Bane, does it mean Lone Wolf looks like that ?
Book twenty:
The end of the Grand Master series and the last Pacer book, and also the final pieces of Red Fox PAJ art for both, as once again both Red Fox & Pacer go with art from PAJ but....they're both a bit odd. The Red Fox one is clearly supposed to be Zantaz except it doesn't look that much like him. The Pacer one is superb but...what's it of? Is that supposed to be an incarnation of Naar (confirmed it is, cheers blackcat)? It looks nothing like the Naar of Wolf's Bane. Mantikore also go with Zantaz, theirs look pretty great, though I would have liked some colour on the weapons. Vincent Books goes with Kekataag the Avenger, and again it looks pretty good. The internal illustrations for both are the best though, and the Zantaz one in particular is one of my fave pieces of Lone Wolf art:
Gallimard one is again bad. I'm not even sure what it's of?
Book twenty-one:
With "Voyage of the Moonstone" we have the start of the New Order! I believe this is where Red Fox start using Brian Williams for cover art now (he is attributed for one image in the lone wolf calender, and by process of elimination it must be this one), which will last for the remainder of the Red Fox LW books. ? Sadly unlike his interior art it's kind of average, though its nice and colourful. Everyone has chosen the same scene scene for their cover! With the new order, the Italian Edizioni EL series happily decides to break from Red Fox and continies using PAJ art, so we get to see his stuff for a while longer, and they begin with an amazing spider themed ship - I really like this art. Another drab piece from Mantikore, while Gallimard have a decent looking depiction. Mantikore did a reprint only in German with rather boring art of the moonstone. Dal Lago gives us another spider (probably the best one aside from the spidership) for the Vincent Books cover.
Book twenty-two:
For "The Buccaneers of Shadaki", both Red Fox and Mantikore go with the Nigumu-sa battle, though Red Foxes is a bit nicer. Gallimard's is pretty generic. Edizioni EL's looks awesome but it's not relevant to the book as EL licensed PAJ art that PAJ had made for another project (In this case a fantasy novel). Mantikore's reprint is another simple one with a pirate flag. Dal Lago also plumps for the Nigumu-sa battle with a fine cover for Vincent Books.
Book twenty-three:
For "Mydnight's Hero", Red Fox goes with the escape, Holmgard Press (who replace Mantikore) have I assume Karvas on their cover, which looks super generic, and Edizioni EL uses PAJ art from the Legends of Lone Wolf novel "The Telling" for some reason??? Gallimard is absent, as for 23 and 24 they used Red Fox art in these books for reasons unknown. The Mantikore reprint has a picture of a crown on it. Obviously they were going for a minimalist look, but it's pretty boring I think. Holmgard here use Victor Manuel Leza Moreno for the last time for their cover, probably because the art had already been commisioned by Mantikore before Holmgard took over (the art was on Mantikore's website before 22 was released). Dal Lago's for Vincent Books is an excellent cover, though a bit different from the Bavazanur in the internal illustration which I assume it depicts.
Book twenty-four:
For "Rune War", Red Fox and Holmgard both depict the siege, though Red Fox's is perhaps a bit nicer. Edizioni EL's one is licensed PAJ art originally made for a non-lone wolf video game, so has nothing to do with the subject matter - looks nice though. Holmgard go back to Alberto Dal Lago for their first totally solo reprint, and have used him for all their covers since. Mantikore's, which is no longer a reprint for them as they never got this far the first time, shows off one of Vandyan's Runes. Dal Lago uses an extremly similar scenario for Vincent books as he did for the Holmgard version.
Book twenty-five:
With "Trail of the Wolf", Red Fox have their first great piece of art since PAJ stopped doing them, with Xaol trying to break Lone Wolf's forcefield. Holmgard one with Xaol on a throne of bones is cool too. Gallimard's is ok. Edizioni EL use art from a previous book again, this is PAJ's art for the Pacer version of Deathlord of Ixia! Fun fact - when I first saw this as I was gathering unique art, it was before I saw the Pacer art, and I though this would be a better fit for book 17 lol. Little did I know! Mantikore go with Gazad Helkona, which is pretty bland. I'm rarely a fan of just having a building as the only element on a cover unless the design is something eyecatching. Beaver's Jungle of Horrors Temple of Ohrido or their Torgar/Helgedad, Red Fox's Kaag & Pacer's Kai Monastary for Dawn of the Dragons, or...whatever that castle is in Edizioni EL Buccaneers of Shadaki could have pulled it off. But in all those situations they had other elements anyway.
Book twenty-six:
For "The Fall of Blood Mountain", Red Fox show the dwarves defending, which is quite nice. Holmgard go with the Shom’zaa, which looks nice but again I'm not really a fan of the drabber art. No idea what Gallimard are showing, but I've only played Blood Mountain once so I may have forgotten something. Edizioni EL's last licensed PAJ art is from a fantasy novel - probably the weakest of his work used in Lone Wolf. Mantikore's reprint, unlike their other books does not have a defining feature on it. I don't really like it as it doesn't really connect to the book for me. Once again Dal Lago uses an extremly similar scenario for Vincent books as he did for the Holmgard version - even moreso then with Rune War. All the general ideas are the same but there are lots of small changes in terms of scale and details.
Book twenty-seven:
Red Fox have a decent illustration of Sejanoz on their cover and Edizioni EL use Chris Achilléos art made for "The War Hound and the World's Pain" by Michael Moorcock. Gallimard went with the Red Fox illustration for their book again. Mantikore's one shows the claw of naar and returns to their older trend of trying to put a key item or theme from the book on the cover. Holmgard's art is a darker take on the original Red Fox art. I like the revised, creepier mask, although I miss the colour of the Red Fox one. The Vincent Books cover actually resolves this to an extent as ADL works off his earlier work but puts more light and colour into it, as well as panning out a bit. Great revisions.
Book twenty-eight:
For “The Hunger of Sejanoz”, Red Fox have a cool looking Nahba Worm, Gallimard goes with a Bhanarian soldier that looks pretty good, and Edizioni EL use Chris Achilléos art from the game Talisman. For the newer covers, Mantikore has Sejanoz's flag while Dal Lago's Holmgard cover opts for the Nahba Worm like the original. Next it's much the same cover he has done for Vincent Books. Some slight changes to the ground and spikes, and a reframing to show less of the path. I don't think the difference changes the perception of the piece like it does for 27. Finally we have the 40th anniversary variant cover also for Vincent books, an interestingly shaded closeup of Sejanoz. It's pretty cool.
Book twenty-nine:
For "The Storms of Chai, Dal Lago's cover for Holmgard press takes the title literally, while Ugo Chiola's art for the Gallimard reprint cover shows Zashnor descending in its polymorphed Ice Dragon form to fight the Grand Master. Then we have Giuseppe Camuncoli's beautiful art for the Vincent Books limited edition. Only 100 were made and sadly none of them are mine. Finally Mantikore's has a pair of axes. I presume to denote their heavy use by the Skarada in this book. Three great covers here, and I'm a sucker for dragons so normally I'd go with the Gallimard cover, but Giuseppe Camuncoli's is just wonderful and my fave of these.
Here is some (as far as I know) unused cover art for Storms of Chai:
Given the style I presume it was done by Victor Manuel Leza Moreno for Mantikore before Joe Dever started Holmgard Press. Not a fan of the character designs, but the mood is quite nice.
This was done by Nate Furman for Mongoose back in 2008, when we thought the book was almost done. The horse galloping through the water is quite nice.
Book thirty:
We originally only had one piece of unique art for book 30 (Dead in the Deep), a lovely view of evil rising from the Maakengorge by Dal Lago, with two variants though - the normal Vincent Books version is the same as the Holmgard release, but they made a limited edition version for the Lucca Comics & Games show, with the Lake of Blood redder and the gorge greyer. In 2021 Gallimard released new art by Jean-Baptiste Reynaud for their upcoming French release of it. It's obviously based on Dal Lago's, but in the more cartoony style of the current Gallimard releases, and with Vashna's army of the damned making an apperance. I like it. Mantikore has since released theirs, and although their new order concept leaves their covers somewhat limited in scope, the creepy skull is for sure the best of the Mantikore NO covers by a wide margin.
There is also this from the initial announcement:
The same art again, but various changes were made for the final art, most obvious with the hand.
Book thirty-one:
The Holmgard/Vincent Books cover also has a colour variant available as a limited edition from Vincent Books, and I personally prefer it to the standard colours. It makes the Agarashi look more demonic, and gives a suggestion of armageddon to me, which is fitting for the story. Mantikore has the blood moon rising...once again (sorry for the zelda reference!).
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The World of Lone Wolf mini series has a fair bit of unique art, though nothing like as much as the main series.
Book one:
As the first in the series, "Grey Star the Wizard" again has the most unique art for its series. We start off with the Beaver art, which is quite nice, followed by the Pacer art which is ok. Then there is Gary Chalk's art for the Megara collector's edition, which is my favoruite of this set. Ending the first row is the Gallimard reprint art, showing a Soldier Mantiz. The art is a bit basic, which will be a recurring theme. I see the word "Junior" in the bottom right, so I wonder if these reprints were released under a children's imprint (although when I was a kid I preferred more complex art for my fantasy books...).
Starting the bottom row, we have the other coverart for the Megara release, done by Pascal Quidault, showing Grey Star himself. Next we have the Mantikore release doing the same, which continues the muted tone of their Lone Wolf reprints, though they seem to be keeping to the "self insert" mindset, never really showing his face. Finally we have Dal Lagos's art for Vincent Books and we're three for three in just showing GS. Peronally I prefer a bit more action then is going on in the art on this row. Megara sadly only released book one as they went bankrupt before releasing book two.
Book two:
Beaver's release of "The Forbidden City" has GS and some delightful looking creeps behind him. My fave of this set. The Pacer art is pretty weak, though very strong in sideburn power. Mantikore have GS looking down on the city, Gallimard have Shasarak himself, looking far from terrifying here, and Dal Lago has GS in mortal peril from Deathgaunts, a big improvement from the first volume.
As well as the official art, here is the planned art for book two of the Megara editions by Gary Chalk:
Sadly with Megara's problems this was never released. Or at least I never received my copy! It's not as nice as the first one though. The POV is interesting, but GS comes off looking a bit silly.
Book three:
For "Beyond the Nightmare Gate", Beaver depict GS in front of a Shadow Gate. Very nice. Pacer has GS on the Ethetron fighting off chaos birds. It's ok, though GS himself looks a bit weird. Mantikore also go for the Shadow Gate, and it's their best cover for this series. It's been a very long time since I read this book so maybe I've forgotten something, but I have no idea what Gallimard is going for here. Maybe it's the Chaos Master? Doesn't look much like it. Dal Lago goes with GS & Tanith facing off against the creature of the mist. Always a fan of putting the creepies on the cover.
Book four:
For the final book "War of the Wizards", Beaver have gone for...huh? Does anyone know? It certainly looks cool and is my fave of the set, but I'm not sure who he's fighting. I will have to reread the book. Pacer have GS and the moonstone, with various enemies behind him (I think a Flying Snake and a Shadkine warrior, not sure about the third). It's ok. Mantikore go with the Shasarak fight, but there's not much wizz-bang. Gallimard go with a Shadakine warrior, and it's their best cover by far, though for the finale they could have chosen a better subject matter. Dal Lago goes with the Shasarak fight too, though for wizards duels they're a bit close together, so it looks a bit off to me.
--edit - I'll leave the original comments on the art used for the bulgarian covers above, but it is taken from AD&D - please see these posts:
projectaon.proboards.com/thread/3033/lone-wolf-unique-cover-differences?page=3&scrollTo=46351
projectaon.proboards.com/thread/3036/lone-wolf-cover-artists-wanted?page=2&scrollTo=46356
If you know of something that's not here (and isn't heavily based on existing art with just the image flipped or somesuch), again please let me know.
First, book one:
As might be expected, "Flight from the Dark" has the most unique covers in the series - my searches have thus far found 24 (or 22 if you think counting the Hungarian/Gallimard 1st ed covers are cheating)! Starting from the top left, I think the original Sparrow art is the best, showing Lone Wolf disheveled having just killed a Giak. Only issue is that Lone Wolf looks rather older than he should. The Beaver reprint has a younger Lone Wolf but is otherwise less impressive. The US Pacer art looks kind of generic to me, and the Red Fox art is great but doesn't really fit the book - to the point I struggle to understand what part of the book it is supposed to depict. The top right art is a French 2012 reprint from Gallimard featuring a Vordak, and there's no way around this...it's terrible.
Starting the second row, the Mongoose art is pretty decent. This is by Alberto Dal Lago (sometimes misspelt as "Del Lago" in the very early Mongoose books). The green-bordered Spanish Altea cover has a nice theme, but I feel like it's shooting for desperation but ends up kind of makes Lone Wolf look insane lol. The new art for the Italian book issued from Vincent Books is also by Alberto Dal Lago, (which I suspect will also be the art used when Ben Dever republishes the earlier books in english given he wants all art to be Dal Lago's) is quite decent, showing Lone Wolf fleeing the Monastery (although this only happens in the special edition
). These Italian volumes are many years removed from his Mongoose work, and to me show his growth as an artist as they're almost all substantially better then his Mongoose ones. The Spanish reprint from Timun Mas has art featuring a muscly shirtless Lone Wolf that seems more suited to a romance novel lol - this will be a continuing theme throughout the books they published. Finishing up the second row, we have a newer French reprint from Gallimard which atones for their 2012 reprint in the first row. It also features a Vordak, but the illustration is far nicer, and is my second favourite of the book 1 covers. These newer French reprints with the white border are illustrated by Ugo Chiola.For the third row, the Bulgarian cover just has generic art not really worth a comment (edit - as it transpired this is because it is lifted from Dragonlance, as is all the Bulgarian edition art, and thus has no real link to the events in the books), as does the Serbo-Croatian cover. The Danish cover with a black border and a snake is also pretty basic. The sole Hungarian book from Totem uses modified Pacer art, giving Lone Wolf the Sommerswerd in book 1! The row finishes off with the AFSF cover for the Czech market which shows....I have no idea, but it's certainly not generic! Maybe a Giak? Though as later books will show, the AFSF covers sometimes don't have much to do with the book at hand. As best I can tell these are all done by Juraj Maxon.
For the fourth row, Åskfågeln have two Swedish variants, the first of which was done by Gary Chalk and the second by Lukas Thelin. They are both quiet nice, though Gary's once again makes Lone Wolf looks like a veteran. The next one is a 2021 Gallimard release for the 550 FFTD extended version. Nice Vordak in the middle here, but the large amount of wasted space is disappointing to me. This is followed by Holmgard Publishing's 2021 Definitive Edition. It's pretty good, but I don't know about the large new font for the title here and how the "A" & "R" go into his head! Finally we have the Gallimard first edition - it's much the same as the Red Fox one but substantially zoomed in. More on that in book two's Gallimard 1st edition discussion...
For the bottom row we first have the 2022 Gallimard collectors edition softback, which is excellent Vordak art and for me a candidate for best art alongside Gary Chalk's, though as it's the first book I think showing LW is important so I'll still give the nod to the OG! Next we have Jambo's new 2023 release for the Brazillian market. It's well done and I like their lone wolf. However while their Giaks look cool, they don't look much like Giaks! Moving on we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover. Finally we have the 40th anniversary variant cover for Vincent books, using Gary Chalk art from the French version of the Mongoose LW RPG released by Le Grimoire in 2007. The cover is good, as although it wasn't intended for this I can imagine it as LW having finally reached Holmgard (though as is almost the norm for book 1 covers LW looks too old).
Book two:
"Fire on the Water" has almost as many covers as "Flight from the Dark". We start again with the original Sparrow cover, and it's a nice one showing Vonotar firing off a spell. The Beaver reprint cover isn't quite as nice, with Lone Wolf fighting Vonotar's undead with a Death Hulk in the background. Pacer seem to have taken inspiration from the Beaver cover, with a redrawn Vonotar again spellcasting. The Red Fox cover has a really cool looking undead on a ship, and is my fave cover for book 2. The first row finishes off with the older Gallimard reprint, showing a shocked looking sailor. Not great but a big improvement from that line's book one.
The second row begins with the Mongoose cover, which again is decent, showing Lone Wolf attacking the undead, a frequent theme here, as the Altea cover shows the same. Satisfyingly creepy undead for the Altea cover. For his second go around with Vincent Books, Dal Lago also plumps for the climactic sea battle, and his art is quite nice here as well. Timun Mas once again has a shirtless Lone Wolf, this time fighting undead. This row ends with the newer Gallimard reprint, with Lone Wolf about to attack some Kraan I believe. It's pretty good but not the most exciting scene.
Third row begins with the second and final Danish cover, and this time a better job was done - Lone Wolf has the Sommerswerd (although glowing blue here, did it detect orcs?
) and we see some ships, so it's a bit less basic. Serbo-Croatian & Bulgarian covers follow, and are as generic as before. If we're being charitable we could say the AFSF cover depicts the Sommerswerd, though it doesn't look that much like it and is not golden, so it may just be a coincidence. Finally we have an interesting one - this is the original first edition Gallimard art, done by my favourite LW artist Peter Andrew Jones, who did the Red Fox covers for 1-20, and Edizioni EL for 1-26. These early French covers are mostly the same as the Red Fox art, but it's interesting to note that it was Gallimard who brought Peter Andrew Jones into Lone Wolf, and they continued to use them through to book 7. He mentions on his site elsewhere that Joe Dever loved the Gallimard covers and so brought him onboard for the UK Red Fox editions. I do wonder why Gallimard stopped using him, since as we'll get to later, their art from book 8 onwards leaves a *lot* to be desired. PAJ made a comment on his site that back then, he once called Gallimard with a query and was surprised to have a British person answer the phone, so I wonder if that person knew his work and was the one who originally recommended him (Gallimard approached him to do the covers), and perhaps later left the company leading to the change in artist. That's all total speculation though. Anyway, the French art here is generally the same as the Red Fox books for 1-7, but with some differences, here being among the most substantial - it kind of looks like an unfinished version of the Red Fox one. I wonder if there was a tight deadline here and PAJ was a bit disatisfied and went back to it for Red Fox?Firstly on the bottom row we have Lukas Thelin's work for the Swedish Åskfågeln reprint. I really like it, showing Vonotar's attack on the Duranese ship from Lone Wolf's perspective as he's fighting off the undead. Next we have Jambo's, which again shows LW fighting the undead in the climactic battle on the seas. LW looks like he's seen things since Jambo's fresh faced depiction of him in book 1! Finally we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover.
Book three:
The Sparrow art for "The Caverns of Kalte" shows the Ice Barbarians on Ski's. Not a fan of this one. This time there are not one but two Beaver reprints with different covers. Anyway, the first is the showdown with Vonotar in Brumalmarc's chamber. This is good, but would be even better without Loi Kymar's head awkwardly popping in from the bottom. The second shows a rather forlorn looking Akraa’Neonor chilling on its own outside. The Pacer art has a very hunched Vonotar with the Akraa’Neonor behind him. Cool design choice, though Vonotar could do with looking a bit more threatening. The earlier Gallimard reprint has a Javek on the front. It's ok.
Second row starts off with the Red Fox cover showing a Frostwyrm, this is my fave for this book. Mongoose art shows him fighting a Baknar, and is ok. Altea one is just weird, has a giant head in the background and someone who looks a lot more like Loi Kymar than Vonotar attacking Lone Wolf? Dal Lago goes back to the Baknar for Vincent as well and it's pretty cool, and much nicer then his earlier effort. Timun Mas has....you guessed it, a shirtless Lone Wolf in sunny Kalte! They also go with a Baknar fight.
Third row starts off with what the later Gallimard reprints. I originally thought it was a Baknar again, but as ixia1 has noted this scene tallies exactly with the above ground Kalkoth encounter. It's a very cool cover. The AFSF cover shows the eye of a scaly being. Is this supposed to be a Javak or Frostwyrm, or is it yet again coincidence? Who knows? Bulgarian cover finally seems to have something to do with the subject matter, showing a wizard and a serpent, but again it might just be a coincidence lol. Serbo-Croatian art has Lone Wolf looking at a Frostwyrm in a river perhaps. Pretty nice. We end the row with Åskfågeln, where Lukas Thelin's art is definitely Lone Wolf facing off against a Frostwyrm. As usual his art is great and relevant to the plot.
Finally on the bottom row we have the Gallimard first edition - again looks slightly unfinished compared to the Red Fox version, with less carcasses in front of the Frostwyrm and no condensation on its body, followed by Jambo's with another Frostwyrm, looking more cobra-ish here. Finally we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover.
Book four:
Sparrow art for "The Chasm of Doom" shows a Vassagonian on horseback about to attack. Pretty good. Once again we have two Beaver reprints. The first bizarrely shows an Elix in a wasteland - the art itself is great but it doesn't really capture the book vibe I think. The second goes back to Vassagonians on horseback about to attack Lone Wolf. Pacer art shows the same, though I think the Beaver reprint does it better. Red Fox goes with Lone Wolf or one of his men fighting the Meresquid. Seems a bit heavily armed to be them though. As usual for Peter Andrew Jones it's good art, but doesn't seem that relevant this time.
Second row starts with the Mongoose art showing Lone Wolf fighting against the Vassagonian Captain on his bird. It's ok. The Altea cover shows Lone Wolf retreating before spirits escaping the Maakengorge. The Altea art generally isn't that good, but there's a creepiness to it that appeals to me. For Vincent Books Dal Lago goes with a Vassagonian on horseback about to attack Lone Wolf. It's fine. Timun Mas has Shirtless Wolf squaring off against Barraka, who is poised with the Dagger of Vashna, and Madelon can be seen on the Altar. Probably their best one. Finally the Gallimard reprint shows....I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's the nameless imp from section 168 that's later implied to be a Daemonak, but it's way too batlike here.
Third row begins with the last of the Bulgarian covers, which I'm not sure about if it's trying to depict something from the novel. It looks more like it should go with book three and the Baknar lol. Next is the AFSF art with....gems? I guess it could refer to the gems mined at Ruanon, which is the reason for Lone Wolf being sent there to begin with, but it's kind of thin again. Serbo-Croatian art goes with the same as Mongoose, but their bird looks a lot more lizard like. Looking at the four covers from this publisher, I think the artist really liked wyrm-like creatures. This is the last unique Serbo-Croatian art - there is one more book but it uses the Red Fox coverart. Next for Åskfågeln we have Lukas Thelin's depiction of Barraka vs Lone Wolf again (this time shirted). It's pretty great, and is my fave for book four. Gallimard First Edition is next, pretty close to the Red Fox version, with just the tentacle missing some banding as far as noticeable differences go.
Last row begins with the 2022 Gallimard reprint, featuring I assume the battle with the stoneworm. I quite like this. Then we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with a cartoonised take on the Berkley/Pacer cover, and we end with Jambo's take on the Vassagonian horserider attacking LW. It's ok.
Book five:
For "Shadow on the Sand" we start with what is the final Sparrow cover. It's Haakon, and it looks goofy. There's a nice sci-fi vibe to it but I don't really like it as a portrayl of Haakon. Pacer have pretty cool art of the aerial battle with the Vordak. Next is Red Fox, and here Peter Andrew Jones has drawn what to me is one of the truly iconic pieces of Lone Wolf art. I assume he saw Gary Chalk's internal art beforehand and this struck his fancy:
And what we end up with is an absolutely superb looking Drakkarim warrior. I love this.
Mongoose have Lone Wolf facing off against Haakon (outside for some reason). It's ok. Gallimard have absolutely awful art of what I assume is a Drakkarim warrior.
Second row starts with Vincent Books where Dal Lago goes with the Vordak battle this time, it's pretty good. Altea go with the Kwara from the sewer. Lone Wolf doesn't want any of it! Our final Timun Mas book finally has a Shirted Wolf, clearly the five book series has been a quest to find a shirt to fit his muscles. Sad to see the last of them. Our first German book which up until now has not had an exclusive cover. This one shows a Dhorgaan. One thing though...it's not really "unique", as it's a coloured version of Gary Chalk's art for sections 253 and 400 interposed:
Weird thing to do. Finally we have the Gallimard first edition, with what is by far the most substantial change compared to what Red Fox would get. As a negitive the Drakkarim is far less detailed, but on the plus side there is a full moon in the background which looks great!
Third row starts with the Beaver reprint (which should have been in the first row but I forgot it - whoops)! Very similar to the Pacer work, but not quite as good. The AFSF art is next, and FINALLY has a solid link to the book, with the Book of the Magnakai dominating the book. It is depicted as a 3D book, which is actually pretty cool. Next is Åskfågeln, I believe Lukas Thelin's art is pre-vordak fight. It's fine, but not as good as his previous ones. Next is the 2022 Gallimard reprint, which is the ever popular Drakkarim. As usual for this era of Gallimard, it's a great cover. Finally we have Holmgard's 2024 Junior Edition, with another cartoonised take on an existing cover, although this time it looks to be based off the UK Beaver reprint rather than the Berkley/Pacer cover.
Book six:
We start with the Beaver edition of "The Kingdom of Terror". It shows the Dakomyd. It looks goofy. The internal art looks goofy too so I don't blame it. Pacer goes for the death of Cyrilus. It's great and a surprising choice. Would have preferred Lone Wolf was looking at Cyrilus, but either way it's great, and my fave for this book. Not sure what the Red Fox one is supposed to be, I assume a less goofy take on the Dakomyd. It's pretty good. I think the Mongoose Cover is attempting the same. The book name, however, obscures the face. Oops! German cover is again cribbing from Gary Chalk, but what is bizarre is that it is *still* from Shadows of the Sand. Don't think there's too many Vassagonians searching through sewers in book six:
Second row starts with Altea. Not sure if Lone wolf is rubbing the Dakomyd's belly or once again falling backwards in fright lol. Dal Lago's Vincent Books cover and the Beaver reprint both go with the battle against Roark's undead. Both are good. Gallimard reprint...not sure what's going on here. Can only assume it's Roark summoning Tagazin. That or he's about to go on an episode of Knightmare... The AFSF cover is as usual rather vague. You could make the argument it's Roark summoning again, though that looks like more of a gem or orb then an amulet. Would work fine for Cauldron of Fear!
Final row starts with Åskfågeln and what I assume is Lukas Thelin's take on a Dakomyd. He's gone more Lamia like. It's ok. Next is a Gallimard first edition whose only difference from the Red Fox version is shading. Next is a wonderful rendition of Lone Wolf fighting a Yawshath. This is a Vincent Books limited variant by the mapmaker of the more recent Holmgard/Vincent editions, Francesco Mattioli. Hope he does some more! We end with the 2022 Gallimard reprint. It's ok, but I'm not entirely sold on Lone Wolf's perspective. At first glance he's lost an arm, and even when I got what's going on it's not very convincing to me.
Book seven:
We start "Castle Death" with Beaver, who have Zahda in both the original and reprint. The original shows him looking pretty daunting, but the reprint with him on his throne with the lorestones makes him look frail. The original is simply good, while the remake is not good itself, but certainly gave later artists ideas. Pacer art is rubbish, with Lone Wolf fighting a beastman outside the castle. Red Fox (and for the last time the original Gallimard French version) goes with the Lekhor. It looks awesome, but is not my fave this time round because, after a rather boring looks at the castle for Mongoose, we come to...
The second row starts with Dal Lago's Vincent Books art, and it's a super upgraded version of the Beaver reprint scene, this time with Lone Wolf silhouetted in chains, with a much more powerful looking Zahda and his cronies before him. Absolutely superb, and my fave for this book. This is probably the biggest gulf between his older and newer work for the Lone Wolf covers. I don't know who the Gallimard reprint is supposed to show. Not that great either. This will be the last reprint in the images, from 8 onwards I'll be showing the original Gallimard covers as they are now the same, and the original has smaller text so the art is more visible. The AFSF cover may? show a Lekhor. Looks rather different, but who knows. Altea have lone wolf turned away from a ruined castle with a man's face and hand. Huh? To end the row, for Åskfågeln Lukas Thelin, like Dal Lago, goes with the trial scene. It's pretty good. Next we have PAJ's last work for Gallimard for their first editions. I can see no difference from Red Fox other than possibly shading, but that could just be the transfer. 2022 Gallimard also plumps for the Lekhor, and it's pretty fantastic, with a cool moody rainswept setting, and a castlevania-esque castle death in the background. I love it.
Book eight:
We start "The Jungle of Horrors" with Beaver, who have a cool cover with some of the aforementioned horrors and the temple. The Beaver reprint is ok, with Lone Wolf dealing with some Raghu I think? Pacer's is ok, not sure what's supposed to wading out of the swamp there, maybe the Anapheg? One horn too many though! Red Fox's is superb and the winner again for me. Positioning of the Taan-spider and the bloody skulls is fantastic. Mongoose has Lone Wolf fighting a Vordak in the Monastery. Pretty bland.
Second row starts off with Vincent Books and Dal Lago's take on the Taan-spider, which is decent, and then a surprisingly generic effort from Altea. AFSF one is on point for once with another appearance for the Taan spider, and the first post-PAJ Gallimard art is...disappointing to say the least. Raghu again. We end with Åskfågeln and Lukas Thelin's take on the Taan-spider, with Lone Wolf and Paido going up against it back to back. It's pretty damn great. It's also the last of the Åskfågeln books released thus far.
Finally on the third row we have the 2024 Gallimard cover, depicting LW and Paido fighting the Xlorg. Xlorg looks superb, this is perhaps Djib's strongest cover thus far.
Book nine:
We start with Beaver's take on "The Cauldron of Fear", which is the siege of Tahou. It's ok. Pacer and Red fox both show a battler with Giaks and either Kraan or Doomwolves. Pacer's is ok, Red Fox's is based on an internal illustration and is pretty good. Mongoose I initially couldn't place, but it was pointed out to me that the monster has a ring on its finger - it's the Psi-Ghoul. I originally thought that Dal Lago's one for Vincent Books was the Zadragon fight, but seems that it's an even more mutated take on the Psi-Ghoul. It's pretty good. The Goldman one I have no idea. It doesn't ring a bell from being cribbed from elsewhere (unless it's from the Legends novels, haven't read them in ages) and doesn't really match the book at all. Cool looking though, and the last (only?) unique German cover we'll see. Altea is again much less weird then usual, with a battle against the Zadragon again. The AFSF book I think goes with the same thing, and the Gallimard book is another disappointment. They dropped PAJ for this? We end the row with Åskfågeln who continue to use Lukas Thelin. It's the best of the set, though again I think there were better things to cover. Finally we have 2023 Gallimard, which goes for the siege of Tahou from the perspective of a Gourgaz rallying troops outside the city. It's pretty good and the best of the book nine art to me. Sadly no one went with the fall into the cauldron or the showdown with Kimah, which is a bit disappointing. Or the Brian Williams depiction of the Zaaryx Ghoul, that thing was nightmare fuel.
Book ten:
We start "The Dungeons of Torgar" with the Beaver cover, and it's the best of this set. Superbly intricate armour on the Drakkarim, with Torgar in the distance. Both Pacer & Red fox covers are boring, a rare miss for PAJ. Dal Lago's Mongoose cover is ok, and his Vincent Books cover is pretty good. Altea has Lone Wolf meditating in front of a skull design, they've really toned things down. AFSF cover has a doomwolf and the Gallimard cover has a rather generic looking Zagganozod. Åskfågeln shows the battle with the Drakkarim. 2024 Gallimard has a Nadziranim from the final scene. It's pretty good but the framing could be better - I think shifting to the left a bit would have captured it better - Djib has posted the full size version of the art:
I think Torgar is a little bit of a struggle for the artists because there's not really that much interesting to sink their teeth into, except the climactic scene with Gnaag that shouldn't really be spoiled, though Djib managed to get some of the flavour of that with his, and that's my fave for this book.
Book eleven:
"The Prisoners of Time" brings us down to only nine covers now. We start with the Beaver cover, which shows a nicely alien landscape. Pacer is kind of disappointing as it goes with a cover that could have come from any book. Red Fox has another of PAJ's iconic covers. I feel a bit guilty calling it my favourite as like the Pacer book it doesn't take any advantage of being in the Daziarn, but it's so damn good! He makes the Chaos-rats look like something magical. Obviously this is my fave for this set. Dal Lago goes for the Chaos Master both for Mongoose and Vincent. I think his later Vincent one is better, but neither capture the bizareness of the internal art in a satisfactory manner for me. ALTEA GOES OUT WITH A BANG! Back to super weirdness for the last Spanish cover art. It has nothing to do with the book and I love it. AFSF one...is it supposed to be a hint of Vonotar? Not sure. Gallimard have their first decent coverart since switching away from PAJ. Was this character in the book? I don't remember them. Gallimard 2024 shows the Shadow Reavers, it's an excellent cover.
Book twelve:
With "The Masters of Darkness" comes the end of the Magnakai books and also the final Beaver cover. They end with the best of this set, with Gnaag, Kraggenskull and I assume Taktaal looming over a brilliantly realised Helgedad. Could do with the darklords looking a bit better though. Pacer also have darklords on the cover, with Slu-tar(if I take out the hyphen it breaks proboard somehow) bizarrely in pride of place. Weird as he's not in the novel. Red Fox has a cool looking bird which I originally assumed is the Sea-scavenger, and was puzzled as there were much better choices in this book, but it turns out that unlike pretty much all the other PAJ art Gallimard or Red Fox commisioned which was original for Lone Wolf, this one was pre-done stuff licensed from PAJ, and was originaly art for a record album cover for a band called Nightwing. Mongoose have a rather disappointing look at Helgedad. I'm surprised Dal Lago went back to this after doing the same for Castle Death. For Vincent, Dal Lago goes with Gnaag, and while it's good, the internal illustration of Gnaag is much cooler and kind of shows this up:
Where are my internal organs? Too gruesome for a cover?
The AFSF book goes with the Sea-scavenger again, bizarrely with a knight on it, which did not happen in the book. Gallimard have a random (giak?) soldier. Looks ok. Gallimard 2024, like Salmon, shows all the Darklords you encounter in the book. This is the only Djib cover thus far that I don't really vibe with. His Gnaag is ok, but I don't really like these takes on Kraggenskull or Taktaal.
Book thirteen:
With The Plague Lords of Ruel, for the first time we start with the Red Fox cover, with Lone Wolf battling a Vazhag pack. For the first time (still undecided on Chasm) PAJ shows us his take on Lone Wolf's design. His idea seems to be to never show his face (maybe for self insertion purposes)? The design itself is very cool. Pacer have Lone Wolf up against the Dholdaarg, it's ok. Mongoose, who at this point switch to Pascal Quidault for their covers, opt for the climactic battle with the Exterminus and Cadak, which doesn't really come off for me, and for Vincent Books Dal Lago goes with the Giganite fight from the forest route(thanks Ixia!) It's pretty cool, and one of Dal Lago's most colourful covers. The AFSF book has a random wizard who I guess is a Cenar Druid. The Gallimard book has a rather more obvious druid.
Book fourteen:
For "The Captives of Kaag", The Red Fox cover is easily the best here. Kaag design is awesome and the skeleton with the spear through it is great too. Another of my fave Lone Wolf art pieces. Pacer go with Lone wolf attempting to snipe an Ashradon. It's ok. Mongoose go with the battle against a polymorphed Nadziran, it's pretty good. Vincent Books has the Ashradon too. AFSF cover I assume is Banedon. As usual it's kinda tenuous. Finally the Gallimard cover has Banedon tied to a post with...I guess another polymorphed Nadziran? Don't remember one like that in the book.
Book fifteen:
With "The Darke Crusade", the Red Fox cover has the first frontal view of Lone Wolf for PAJ's design, where he is again careful to keep the face hidden. The fight with the Drakkarim looks awesome. The Pacer cover I think shows the river ambush with the Ciquali. It's pretty good. The remaining four all presumably show Drakkarim, to better or worse effect. Mongoose and Vincent Books are pretty good here, but what is the final of the AFSF books and the Gallimard book both look pretty awful. Shame the AFSF series doesn't end with another tenuous link to the actual content!
Book sixteen:
For "The Legacy of Vashna", we're down to five covers now, till the end of the Grand Master series. Red Fox has Lone Wolf going up against the Ghost of Vashna (not in the book but I wish it was!), which is cool. Pacer has Lone Wolf squaring off against Shamath and her cronies, it's pretty good. Mongoose opt for Cadak and the acolytes of Vashna. Acolytes are boring, but the silhouetted Cadak looks quite cool. It's based on the illustration on section 345. Vincent Books also goes with Shamath but in her transformed state as Gnekasha the Worm-thrall. It's good, but a bit drab. Gallimard I assume are showing Vashna. I think at this point in time we knew Vashna was furry & had a snout, but Vashna here looks more lizard like. They nailed the snout though! If you go and find the Gallimard reprint art though, you will see Vashna's face has been replaced by obnoxiously large text.
Book seventeen:
I'll level with you : for "The Deathlord of Ixia", four out of five of the covers are rightly of the Deathlord, and none of them are that impressive to me.
Vincent Books breaks the trend as Dal Lago goes for the Ixian Mhagan, it's ok. Disappointing set overall.
The internal illustration of the Deathlord is my fave:
Really he should look more like the Horned King from Black Cauldron lol
Book eighteen:
For "Dawn of the Dragons" Red Fox give us another iconic piece of PAJ art. Pacer also went to PAJ this time, and have a very similar piece of art. Both are awesome with wonderful looking dragons. The Pacer art has a closer and cool looking Kai Monastery. Mongoose lost the Lone Wolf contract and was picked up by Mantikore, and at the same time the artist changes to Victor Manuel Leza Moreno. They also go for a very traditional dragon and it looks kind of drab when next to the superb PAJ dragons, and also Dal Lago's dragons for Vincent Books which while not quite as good as the PAJ ones are pretty damn great too, with some lovely use of colour. Another disappointment from Gallimard, which a rather weak looking dragon in comparison.
Book nineteen:
"Wolf's Bane" again has Red Fox/Pacer covers from PAJ with similar yet not identical scenes. Wolf's Bane looks cooler in the Red Fox cover as the Pacer one gives him a more demonic look, but the crumbling bridge is pretty cool there. The Mantikore one with I assume Cryopedeans coming out of the stargate...er portal, and the Vincent Books one with them are both pretty boring. For Gallimards, if the face in the mirror is supposed to be Wolf's Bane, does it mean Lone Wolf looks like that
?Book twenty:
The end of the Grand Master series and the last Pacer book, and also the final pieces of Red Fox PAJ art for both, as once again both Red Fox & Pacer go with art from PAJ but....they're both a bit odd. The Red Fox one is clearly supposed to be Zantaz except it doesn't look that much like him. The Pacer one is superb but...what's it of? Is that supposed to be an incarnation of Naar (confirmed it is, cheers blackcat)? It looks nothing like the Naar of Wolf's Bane. Mantikore also go with Zantaz, theirs look pretty great, though I would have liked some colour on the weapons. Vincent Books goes with Kekataag the Avenger, and again it looks pretty good. The internal illustrations for both are the best though, and the Zantaz one in particular is one of my fave pieces of Lone Wolf art:
Gallimard one is again bad. I'm not even sure what it's of?
Book twenty-one:
With "Voyage of the Moonstone" we have the start of the New Order! I believe this is where Red Fox start using Brian Williams for cover art now (he is attributed for one image in the lone wolf calender, and by process of elimination it must be this one), which will last for the remainder of the Red Fox LW books. ? Sadly unlike his interior art it's kind of average, though its nice and colourful. Everyone has chosen the same scene scene for their cover! With the new order, the Italian Edizioni EL series happily decides to break from Red Fox and continies using PAJ art, so we get to see his stuff for a while longer, and they begin with an amazing spider themed ship - I really like this art. Another drab piece from Mantikore, while Gallimard have a decent looking depiction. Mantikore did a reprint only in German with rather boring art of the moonstone. Dal Lago gives us another spider (probably the best one aside from the spidership) for the Vincent Books cover.
Book twenty-two:
For "The Buccaneers of Shadaki", both Red Fox and Mantikore go with the Nigumu-sa battle, though Red Foxes is a bit nicer. Gallimard's is pretty generic. Edizioni EL's looks awesome but it's not relevant to the book as EL licensed PAJ art that PAJ had made for another project (In this case a fantasy novel). Mantikore's reprint is another simple one with a pirate flag. Dal Lago also plumps for the Nigumu-sa battle with a fine cover for Vincent Books.
Book twenty-three:
For "Mydnight's Hero", Red Fox goes with the escape, Holmgard Press (who replace Mantikore) have I assume Karvas on their cover, which looks super generic, and Edizioni EL uses PAJ art from the Legends of Lone Wolf novel "The Telling" for some reason??? Gallimard is absent, as for 23 and 24 they used Red Fox art in these books for reasons unknown. The Mantikore reprint has a picture of a crown on it. Obviously they were going for a minimalist look, but it's pretty boring I think. Holmgard here use Victor Manuel Leza Moreno for the last time for their cover, probably because the art had already been commisioned by Mantikore before Holmgard took over (the art was on Mantikore's website before 22 was released). Dal Lago's for Vincent Books is an excellent cover, though a bit different from the Bavazanur in the internal illustration which I assume it depicts.
Book twenty-four:
For "Rune War", Red Fox and Holmgard both depict the siege, though Red Fox's is perhaps a bit nicer. Edizioni EL's one is licensed PAJ art originally made for a non-lone wolf video game, so has nothing to do with the subject matter - looks nice though. Holmgard go back to Alberto Dal Lago for their first totally solo reprint, and have used him for all their covers since. Mantikore's, which is no longer a reprint for them as they never got this far the first time, shows off one of Vandyan's Runes. Dal Lago uses an extremly similar scenario for Vincent books as he did for the Holmgard version.
Book twenty-five:
With "Trail of the Wolf", Red Fox have their first great piece of art since PAJ stopped doing them, with Xaol trying to break Lone Wolf's forcefield. Holmgard one with Xaol on a throne of bones is cool too. Gallimard's is ok. Edizioni EL use art from a previous book again, this is PAJ's art for the Pacer version of Deathlord of Ixia! Fun fact - when I first saw this as I was gathering unique art, it was before I saw the Pacer art, and I though this would be a better fit for book 17 lol. Little did I know! Mantikore go with Gazad Helkona, which is pretty bland. I'm rarely a fan of just having a building as the only element on a cover unless the design is something eyecatching. Beaver's Jungle of Horrors Temple of Ohrido or their Torgar/Helgedad, Red Fox's Kaag & Pacer's Kai Monastary for Dawn of the Dragons, or...whatever that castle is in Edizioni EL Buccaneers of Shadaki could have pulled it off. But in all those situations they had other elements anyway.
Book twenty-six:
For "The Fall of Blood Mountain", Red Fox show the dwarves defending, which is quite nice. Holmgard go with the Shom’zaa, which looks nice but again I'm not really a fan of the drabber art. No idea what Gallimard are showing, but I've only played Blood Mountain once so I may have forgotten something. Edizioni EL's last licensed PAJ art is from a fantasy novel - probably the weakest of his work used in Lone Wolf. Mantikore's reprint, unlike their other books does not have a defining feature on it. I don't really like it as it doesn't really connect to the book for me. Once again Dal Lago uses an extremly similar scenario for Vincent books as he did for the Holmgard version - even moreso then with Rune War. All the general ideas are the same but there are lots of small changes in terms of scale and details.
Book twenty-seven:
Red Fox have a decent illustration of Sejanoz on their cover and Edizioni EL use Chris Achilléos art made for "The War Hound and the World's Pain" by Michael Moorcock. Gallimard went with the Red Fox illustration for their book again. Mantikore's one shows the claw of naar and returns to their older trend of trying to put a key item or theme from the book on the cover. Holmgard's art is a darker take on the original Red Fox art. I like the revised, creepier mask, although I miss the colour of the Red Fox one. The Vincent Books cover actually resolves this to an extent as ADL works off his earlier work but puts more light and colour into it, as well as panning out a bit. Great revisions.
Book twenty-eight:
For “The Hunger of Sejanoz”, Red Fox have a cool looking Nahba Worm, Gallimard goes with a Bhanarian soldier that looks pretty good, and Edizioni EL use Chris Achilléos art from the game Talisman. For the newer covers, Mantikore has Sejanoz's flag while Dal Lago's Holmgard cover opts for the Nahba Worm like the original. Next it's much the same cover he has done for Vincent Books. Some slight changes to the ground and spikes, and a reframing to show less of the path. I don't think the difference changes the perception of the piece like it does for 27. Finally we have the 40th anniversary variant cover also for Vincent books, an interestingly shaded closeup of Sejanoz. It's pretty cool.
Book twenty-nine:
For "The Storms of Chai, Dal Lago's cover for Holmgard press takes the title literally, while Ugo Chiola's art for the Gallimard reprint cover shows Zashnor descending in its polymorphed Ice Dragon form to fight the Grand Master. Then we have Giuseppe Camuncoli's beautiful art for the Vincent Books limited edition. Only 100 were made and sadly none of them are mine. Finally Mantikore's has a pair of axes. I presume to denote their heavy use by the Skarada in this book. Three great covers here, and I'm a sucker for dragons so normally I'd go with the Gallimard cover, but Giuseppe Camuncoli's is just wonderful and my fave of these.
Here is some (as far as I know) unused cover art for Storms of Chai:
Given the style I presume it was done by Victor Manuel Leza Moreno for Mantikore before Joe Dever started Holmgard Press. Not a fan of the character designs, but the mood is quite nice.
This was done by Nate Furman for Mongoose back in 2008, when we thought the book was almost done.
The horse galloping through the water is quite nice.Book thirty:
We originally only had one piece of unique art for book 30 (Dead in the Deep), a lovely view of evil rising from the Maakengorge by Dal Lago, with two variants though - the normal Vincent Books version is the same as the Holmgard release, but they made a limited edition version for the Lucca Comics & Games show, with the Lake of Blood redder and the gorge greyer. In 2021 Gallimard released new art by Jean-Baptiste Reynaud for their upcoming French release of it. It's obviously based on Dal Lago's, but in the more cartoony style of the current Gallimard releases, and with Vashna's army of the damned making an apperance. I like it. Mantikore has since released theirs, and although their new order concept leaves their covers somewhat limited in scope, the creepy skull is for sure the best of the Mantikore NO covers by a wide margin.
There is also this from the initial announcement:
The same art again, but various changes were made for the final art, most obvious with the hand.
Book thirty-one:
The Holmgard/Vincent Books cover also has a colour variant available as a limited edition from Vincent Books, and I personally prefer it to the standard colours. It makes the Agarashi look more demonic, and gives a suggestion of armageddon to me, which is fitting for the story. Mantikore has the blood moon rising...once again (sorry for the zelda reference!).
---
The World of Lone Wolf mini series has a fair bit of unique art, though nothing like as much as the main series.
Book one:
As the first in the series, "Grey Star the Wizard" again has the most unique art for its series. We start off with the Beaver art, which is quite nice, followed by the Pacer art which is ok. Then there is Gary Chalk's art for the Megara collector's edition, which is my favoruite of this set. Ending the first row is the Gallimard reprint art, showing a Soldier Mantiz. The art is a bit basic, which will be a recurring theme. I see the word "Junior" in the bottom right, so I wonder if these reprints were released under a children's imprint (although when I was a kid I preferred more complex art for my fantasy books...).
Starting the bottom row, we have the other coverart for the Megara release, done by Pascal Quidault, showing Grey Star himself. Next we have the Mantikore release doing the same, which continues the muted tone of their Lone Wolf reprints, though they seem to be keeping to the "self insert" mindset, never really showing his face. Finally we have Dal Lagos's art for Vincent Books and we're three for three in just showing GS. Peronally I prefer a bit more action then is going on in the art on this row. Megara sadly only released book one as they went bankrupt before releasing book two.
Book two:
Beaver's release of "The Forbidden City" has GS and some delightful looking creeps behind him. My fave of this set. The Pacer art is pretty weak, though very strong in sideburn power. Mantikore have GS looking down on the city, Gallimard have Shasarak himself, looking far from terrifying here, and Dal Lago has GS in mortal peril from Deathgaunts, a big improvement from the first volume.
As well as the official art, here is the planned art for book two of the Megara editions by Gary Chalk:
Sadly with Megara's problems this was never released. Or at least I never received my copy! It's not as nice as the first one though. The POV is interesting, but GS comes off looking a bit silly.
Book three:
For "Beyond the Nightmare Gate", Beaver depict GS in front of a Shadow Gate. Very nice. Pacer has GS on the Ethetron fighting off chaos birds. It's ok, though GS himself looks a bit weird. Mantikore also go for the Shadow Gate, and it's their best cover for this series. It's been a very long time since I read this book so maybe I've forgotten something, but I have no idea what Gallimard is going for here. Maybe it's the Chaos Master? Doesn't look much like it. Dal Lago goes with GS & Tanith facing off against the creature of the mist. Always a fan of putting the creepies on the cover.
Book four:
For the final book "War of the Wizards", Beaver have gone for...huh? Does anyone know? It certainly looks cool and is my fave of the set, but I'm not sure who he's fighting. I will have to reread the book. Pacer have GS and the moonstone, with various enemies behind him (I think a Flying Snake and a Shadkine warrior, not sure about the third). It's ok. Mantikore go with the Shasarak fight, but there's not much wizz-bang. Gallimard go with a Shadakine warrior, and it's their best cover by far, though for the finale they could have chosen a better subject matter. Dal Lago goes with the Shasarak fight too, though for wizards duels they're a bit close together, so it looks a bit off to me.
--edit - I'll leave the original comments on the art used for the bulgarian covers above, but it is taken from AD&D - please see these posts:
projectaon.proboards.com/thread/3033/lone-wolf-unique-cover-differences?page=3&scrollTo=46351
projectaon.proboards.com/thread/3036/lone-wolf-cover-artists-wanted?page=2&scrollTo=46356
