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Post by lorddarkstorm on Dec 28, 2020 15:07:48 GMT
Quick correction: This was done by Nate Furman for librogame back in 2008, when we thought the book was almost done. It was the planned cover for the Mongoose edition, not the Italian version only (although it was revealed first on an Italian website...). At that time, Mongoose was planning to publish the book and the Italian editor of that period was just copying the artwork of the English edition (it changed when Vincent Books got the rights to publish the books in 2013). Ah, I had assumed it wasn't mongoose art from this: forum.mongoosepublishing.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=37362But I guess Matthew meant that the reason they didn't use Dal Lago was wrong, not that it wasn't there art. I'll correct it, thanks. Also, I don't know if you are interested by this, but there was another version of the cover of book 30: this is what was first revealed as the cover of "Dead in the Deep" before it was updated by Alberto Dal Lago. It seems identical to the one we know but if you look carefully, the gloved hand and the monsters in the background are different from the one that has been finally used.  It's a bit minor, but since we only have one piece of art for 30 I'll add it, cheers. Well spotted too, never noticed it had changed from the initial reveal. |
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Dec 28, 2020 15:12:19 GMT
There are the Alberto Dal Lago's versions: link (check the end of the very first post) Cheers. And now, for something different, you've missed the new cover artwork for book 9 in Swedish, revealed last February on the Facebook page of Askfageln. Another creation of Lukas Thalin. However, I don't know if the book is available for sale...  I suspect with their health issues things got delayed.  Thanks for this, it's the best art yet for 9. Still disappointed nobody went for the descent or Kimah though! |
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Post by Black Cat on Dec 28, 2020 15:23:15 GMT
Yeah well, can we really trust what Matthew Sprange said? Less than a year after that discussion on the Mongoose forums, in June 2009, Alberto announced that he was stopping his collaboration with Mongoose because "there has been some problems between him and Mongoose" (my words back then, based on a announcement made on Librogame's Land). Pascal Quidault was announced as the new cover illustrator a week later and guess what? Almost exactly 5 years later, he also quitted citing problems with the management. Maybe Mongoose was planning to have a backup cover illustration for book 29 in case the situation with Dal Lago got worst. In the end, it didn't change anything as they didn't even published that book. |
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Dec 28, 2020 15:30:46 GMT
Mongoose was a very weird company. I ended up with so many copies of their early books as they kept sending me new ones due to mistakes. I just wish they didn't make the mistakes in the first place...
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Post by Black Cat on Dec 28, 2020 15:49:12 GMT
There are a couple of varionts though - the Vincent Books version is differently coloured from the Holmgard version, with the Vincent version making the Lake of Blood redder and the gorge greyer. Just to make it clear: the Vincent Books was a special limited edition available only at the Lucca Comics & Games (like the orange and white one for book 29), as identified by the little tag at the bottom right. The normal edition use the original colors: linkKeep up the good work! |
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Dec 28, 2020 20:35:36 GMT
There are a couple of varionts though - the Vincent Books version is differently coloured from the Holmgard version, with the Vincent version making the Lake of Blood redder and the gorge greyer. Just to make it clear: the Vincent Books was a special limited edition available only at the Lucca Comics & Games (like the orange and white one for book 29), as identified by the little tag at the bottom right. The normal edition use the original colors: linkKeep up the good work! Cheers, changed that. Also added the GS books in, there really wasn't much unique art, it seems that as best I can tell all the initial releases except Pacer used the same art. |
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Post by Draugohtar on Dec 29, 2020 13:56:35 GMT
Great post, thanks a lot!
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Post by Black Cat on Dec 29, 2020 18:36:55 GMT
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...). I can maybe give an explanation about the French version of the books (as French is my first language and I own all the LW books). Believe it or not, Gallimard is currently releasing the 5th edition of the series. As you already have discovered, between the first and second edition, they changed the cover artwork of the first 7 books for some unknown reasons. All the other covers remained the same between the first and fourth edition (that is, for books 8 to 20, books 1 to 7 have the same covers from the second to the fourth edition). Books 21 and 22 were first published during the first edition run: they were re-release in the second edition and the rest (23 to 28) were first published during that second edition run (fun fact: Gallimard published Rune War as book 23 and Mydnight's Hero as book 24. How I was puzzled by the Story so Far of Rune War talking about an adventure that I didn't know would come only a few months later!) Starting with the third edition, only the first 20 books of the series were republished. The fact that they published book 29 with the 5th edition without publishing any of the other NO books for the last 20 years is strange. Maybe they are planning to re-release them once the first 20 books are done? I know that book 30 will also be published in French soon (it was first expected for the second half of 2020...). And with the 5th edition, new cover artwork is expected for all books. As for the Grey Star series, it was published with new cover artwork for the second edition, the first edition using the original Beaver artwork. The series sadly never went for a third, fourth or fifth edition and is not available anymore. You've mentionned the "Junior" (in fact, it is Folio Junior) you see on the cover of book 1, 2nd edition of the GS series. For both the first and second edition of all the Choose Your Own Adventure books, Gallimard published them in their Folio Junior collection, aimed at a young audience. I don't own any third, fourth or fifth edition (my copy of book 29 is the limited oversized edition, using the original cover artwork), so I don't know if the mention of Folio Junior is still there. However, Gallimard currently indicates that Folio Junior is aimed at readers aged between 9 and 13: my copy of book 29 mentions that the book is intended for readers 12 and up and the regular edition mentions is for readers 10 and up... So it's not clear if it is still part of the Folio Junior collection or if the Choose Your Own Adventure books is now a seperate collection altogether. One thing is for sure, it is part of Gallimard Jeunesse, the part of the publishing company aimed at young audience. |
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Dec 29, 2020 19:00:48 GMT
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...). I can maybe give an explanation about the French version of the books (as French is my first language and I own all the LW books). Believe it or not, Gallimard is currently releasing the 5th edition of the series. As you already have discovered, between the first and second edition, they changed the cover artwork of the first 7 books for some unknown reasons. All the other covers remained the same between the first and fourth edition (that is, for books 8 to 20, books 1 to 7 have the same covers from the second to the fourth edition). Books 21 and 22 were first published during the first edition run: they were re-release in the second edition and the rest (23 to 28) were first published during that second edition run (fun fact: Gallimard published Rune War as book 23 and Mydnight's Hero as book 24. How I was puzzled by the Story so Far of Rune War talking about an adventure that I didn't know would come only a few months later!) Starting with the third edition, only the first 20 books of the series were republished. The fact that they published book 29 with the 5th edition without publishing any of the other NO books for the last 20 years is strange. Maybe they are planning to re-release them once the first 20 books are done? I know that book 30 will also be published in French soon (it was first expected for the second half of 2020...). And with the 5th edition, new cover artwork is expected for all books. As for the Grey Star series, it was published with new cover artwork for the second edition, the first edition using the original Beaver artwork. The series sadly never went for a third, fourth or fifth edition and is not available anymore. You've mentionned the "Junior" (in fact, it is Folio Junior) you see on the cover of book 1, 2nd edition of the GS series. For both the first and second edition of all the Choose Your Own Adventure books, Gallimard published them in their Folio Junior collection, aimed at a young audience. I don't own any third, fourth or fifth edition (my copy of book 29 is the limited oversized edition, using the original cover artwork), so I don't know if the mention of Folio Junior is still there. However, Gallimard currently indicates that Folio Junior is aimed at readers aged between 9 and 13: my copy of book 29 mentions that the book is intended for readers 12 and up and the regular edition mentions is for readers 10 and up... So it's not clear if it is still part of the Folio Junior collection or if the Choose Your Own Adventure books is now a seperate collection altogether. One thing is for sure, it is part of Gallimard Jeunesse, the part of the publishing company aimed at young audience. Cheers for all that info. Perhaps they didn't want to pay PAJ to reuse his 1-7 art? Whatever the reason, I'm glad they commissioned him the first time round as his art for Shadow on the Sand was the thing that got me into Lone Wolf.  I noticed that thing with 23 & 24. I had gotten to volume 23 and was resizing the Gallimard art. Because my mind was expecting art for Mydnight's Hero, I was just staring at it for twenty seconds thinking it looked familiar before I realised it was the red fox Rune War art, and then I noticed the title "La Guerre des Runes" I realised what they had done. How bizarre! Good to hear they are publishing book 30 soon, look forward to seeing more Ugo Chiola art hopefully! |
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Post by kolinovic on Jan 28, 2021 11:37:04 GMT
Bit late to the party here - saw the OP over Christmas on my phone and meant to thank you but I got sidetracked!
It's a fantastic bit of research and really well brought together, and the commentary was very enjoyable too!
FWIW here's my take on the art for each cover:
For Flight from the Dark I like Gary Chalk's art, it was the version I had as a kid and it never occurred to me that LW was a bit of a veteran, though I see what you mean now. The others are a great mix of styles and quality, with the high and low points being the Dal Lago escape and the French Vordak respectively.
Fire on the Water, again I like Chalk's Vonotar, and as you rightly say, the Swedish perspective is very effective. At some stage I'll have to wander around a Spanish bookshop to see if the book covers all have this kind of topless approach, regardless of the topic!
Completely agree with your Caverns of Kalte views, and the Baknar seems to be the most well-designed cover. Strange, the Akra'a Neonor was a great topic for a cover but nobody comes close to the quality of the interior art...
The Chasm of Doom was probably a tricky one to do cover art for, as the main events of the book don't necessarily lend themselves to illustration that well. The Swedish one is probably the best.
For Shadow on the Sand, it was only when I found Project Aon that I realised what Haakon looked like, as I'd never seen the original art and never guessed which one he was in the Magnamund Companion. The Predator-looking Mongoose one is decent art but a very odd take on him! I agree that the theme of the Drakkar on the lookout is a great one for cover art, though I think the interior illustration catches the atmosphere best. Most of the takes on the Vordak leaping out of the sky are well done.
The Kingdoms of Terror... that initial illustration was the one I had and I honestly hated it! It was awkward lending that book to my mates in case anyone else saw it! The graveyard fight is well illustrated in the others though. Can't get my head around what the German cover team was thinking of with this and some of their others! Is that the Yawshath on the Mongoose one maybe?
You've hit the nail on the head with Castle Death, completely agree with everything.
For the Jungle of Horrors, I always liked that first illustration. I never really took to any of the Red Fox illustrations, they always seemed a bit 'clean' if you know what I mean? I like Dal Lago's art, though it has a more mature feel than perhaps suits the genre. His monsters for books 3, 10 and 11 are great though.
There's an explanation somewhere in the downloadable content on here for what Joe Dever wanted on the cover of the Cauldron of Fear which shows how closely the original art came to his own desire and makes that my favourite. Agreed though that they could have picked better subject matter in this book.
For Book 10, the original and the Tagazin art are some of the best LW cover art. I like the idea of the perspective for the Mongoose cover but it's not fantastically executed.
The perspective for the Mongoose Book 11 is another really good idea, might be the best of these covers which is odd as there's so much inspiration in the text for subject matter.
I always liked the Beaver cover for book 12, though it still has the confusing issue of who's the 3rd darklord! The Pacer one seems very inspired by the Magnamund Companion, and I like the range of takes on how Gnaag looks, though I'd agree that the internal illustration from Book 12 is probably the best.
For the GM series, I never liked Red Fox's approach to drawing Lone Wolf's head. I love Dal Lago's take on the Giganite (presume it's that?) which makes the text much more scary when you go back to it after.
Most of the Book 14 ones are a bit of a miss for me too. Dal Lago does the clever perspective again and probably edges this.
None of the Book 15 ones really stand out either. That Nightstalker would have been good subject matter for a cover but the Drakkarim are nothing special.
Dal Lago's cover for Book 16 is really good, one of my favourites from all the GM covers.
Again I completely agree with the Ixiataaga efforts for Book 17. Dal Lago's wins by default, and I quite like that the Mhagan looks more intimidating than in the book.
The range of dragons on Book 18 are all great, if you were to average the score for all the covers it'd probably win.
For Wolfs Bane I'd agree with you again, though there's something very Resident Evil about some of those!
Agreed again on the Curse of Naar that the illustrations of Zantaz and Kekataag in the book are better than those on the cover, though I like Dal Lago's.
The Italian cover of Book 21 is the only decent one imho.
I like both the Red Fox and Manticore covers of Book 22, and the sneaky Ixia one too!
The new take on a unicorn for Mydnight's Hero is truly bizarre. I quite like the Red Fox one and the Holmgard one is decent though again feels a bit mature for the series.
The colours of Red Fox's Rune War work well, it's one of their better covers.
More surprise Ixian art for Trail of the Wolf - maybe some strong feelings of an opportunity missed back for Book 17? The Xaol pics are decent, I'd agree that Red Fox edge it. There's something a bit Crystal Maze about the Holmgard one!
The Red Fox cover for the Fall of Blood Mountain is great - a classic Lone Wolf feel to it somehow. I like Holmgard's take on what the Shom'zaa looks like, I prefer it to the interior illustration.
The first Vampirium illustration is good, I like the foreground detail in it too.
Not a huge fan of any of the Hunger of Sejanoz covers, the worm is very maggoty!
The Storms of Chai covers also missed a bit of a trick, some great moments in that book that could have made the cover. I like the unused horse one though.
I absolutely love the Dead in the Deep cover. One of the best in the whole series!
And the cover of the Dusk of Eternal Night is a classic too - captures the scene very well and gives it a bit of a Gondolin feel.
For the Grey Star covers, I found the originals (the first in each set) fine, they went with the internal art in giving the books a very different feel from Lone Wolf. I like Gary Chalk's art too though.
Thanks again for bringing all this together- a hugely enjoyable thread!
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Jan 28, 2021 21:33:21 GMT
I always liked that first illustration. I never really took to any of the Red Fox illustrations, they always seemed a bit 'clean' if you know what I mean? If you mean PAJ's work (Red Fox 1-20, Edizoni 21-26) - yep, I know what you mean. Strangely that was actually one of the things that drew me to his covers when I was younger (that and his use of vivid colour which I still love!). There's an explanation somewhere in the downloadable content on here for what Joe Dever wanted on the cover of the Cauldron of Fear which shows how closely the original art came to his own desire and makes that my favourite. Agreed though that they could have picked better subject matter in this book. Yeah, I ran into that when I was researching who drew each cover. Surprised me that was what he wanted. For Book 10, the original and the Tagazin art are some of the best LW cover art. I like the idea of the perspective for the Mongoose cover but it's not fantastically executed. Yes, the angle on Mongoose, and having *both* Tagazin and Roark is interesting. I always liked the Beaver cover for book 12, though it still has the confusing issue of who's the 3rd darklord! The Pacer one seems very inspired by the Magnamund Companion, and I like the range of takes on how Gnaag looks, though I'd agree that the internal illustration from Book 12 is probably the best. I've always assumed it was meant to be Taktaal and there was some early draft where he was described like that (obviously he certainly wasn't in the final version). We meet 3 darklords in the book, and the other two are pictured. I wonder if anyone ever asked Joe? I guess at this point we just have to assume it's Xog - he's mentioned in the book and he's a shapeshifter, so he could look like whatever. The new take on a unicorn for Mydnight's Hero is truly bizarre. I have a theory that all the PAJ art for Edizioni was stock art PAJ had done for another job which was re-licensed. This one with the unicorn thing was commissioned for the lone wolf novel "The Telling" - I can't find my copy right now and it's been decades since I read it, but from memory it's supposed to be Banedon on the cover fighting some monster the elder magi asked him to fight from his short story in the book. (edit, yup, finally found my copy, was Agarash's supposed mount, the "Gagadoth") And the cover for Buccaneers of Shadaki was originally for "The Heirs of Hammerfell" www.peterandrewjones.net/paintings_science_fiction/swa337.htmAnd as mentioned 25 was commissioned by Pacer for their cover of "The Deathlord of Ixia". That leaves 21, 24 & 26. An argument could be made that 21 could have been commissioned for this book (Giant Spider on ship/Spidership), but 24 & 26 have no such links. I think Edizioni EL probably decided commissioning brand new art like Red Fox had been doing was too expensive and decided to just use stuff he had already done for others to save money. Thanks again for bringing all this together- a hugely enjoyable thread! Thanks. |
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Feb 14, 2021 12:57:39 GMT
I recently purchased Peter Andrew Jones's artbook, "Heroes & Villains". Among other art, it contains some of the LW coverart he did for the gamebooks and novels, and gives some insight into them. There were a couple of notes that are relevant I'll share here: The art he did for book 12, "The Masters of Darkness", was not made for the book - it was for an album called "Something in the Air" by Nightwing. Which solves the question of why it was curiously unrelated to the book compared to most of his work.  The art he did for book 21 of Edizoni El (the spidership), which I theorised in an above post as perhaps the only one specifically commissioned for Lone Wolf, was indeed created specifically for lone wolf:  The art he did for book 24 of Edizoni El was originally for a video game called "Sleeping Gods Lie":  So given it can now be confirmed that 22,23,24 & 25 for Edizoni El were licensed rather than originals, I think we can assume 26, the final PAJ art that Edizoni El used was likewise. |
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andyc
Kai Lord
Posts: 211
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Post by andyc on Feb 14, 2021 13:34:15 GMT
Interesting, this is a great thread btw. Thanks for the update.
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Post by lorddarkstorm on Feb 14, 2021 21:37:04 GMT
Interesting, this is a great thread btw. Thanks for the update. Cheers. |
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Post by Black Cat on Mar 31, 2021 20:54:23 GMT
I've stumbled on this today: after books 29 and 30, book 31 will also have a limited edition in Italian with a slightly different cover. Somehow, I prefer this one over the original.  |
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