Marc Gascoigne

What is there to say?

This is a big collection of artwork of the Old World from the 90s and early 2000s that really shows that Millennium shift to the big classical battle paintings aesthetic of 5th and 6th edition that are incredibly nostalgic for me from the mora unique and weird cartoony style of the 90s. Personally, I prefer the character of the bizarre old stuff, but the skill and dynamism on display in the landscapes filled with waves of Bretonnian Knights and hordes of Lizardmen Saurus with a delightful amphibian aspect cannot be denied. The former get my imagination going about individuals and their lives, while I get lost in the beauty and detail of the latter that takes me back to picking up boxes of the squat one piece and shield Chaos Warriors and the the Beastmen who, casting my mind back, kinda looked like they were about to launch into a pole dancing routine on their halberds...

Warhammer Fantasy was my first introduction to Warhammer, but 40K really stole my heart, and I might be biased, but I do think there is something more unique and fascinating in general about the art of the Dark Millennium. Regardless, the art of the Old World and the Realms is wonderful, and at least they can be accused of doing weird artwork and in store posters that are weird fascistic propaganda pieces, like some of the return of Guilliman stuff was. The old and the future settings always look better and themselves when they are more grimy and weird.

A phenemonal collection from a stable of absolutely brilliant artists.… (more)

By Calgar's calloused cuticles, this book is nightmare gorgeous and shouldn't be judged by its awkwardly designed cover!

Covering the full span of the release or Warhammer 40K in 1987 to this book's release in 2006 the is a breathtaking look at artwork for each faction from a veritable smorgasbord of artists, including many who are forgotten or missed because they only did a set number of pieces.

Having just come from devouring Adrian Smith's book, which had no titles or text, I appreciated seeing some of that in here and everything with the title, artist, and where they are from. This includes box art, codices, comics, video games, novels, and more.

I am the same age as Warhammer 40K and have been a daughter of Chaos for many years, and I was amazed at how many pieces were entirely new to me, as well as feeling an immense amount of nostalgia for things I recognise that first got my interested and then hooked on this universe.

If I had anything critical to say, beyond the cover being unnecessarily ugly (in design, not the Crimson Fist artwork), it would be that the quotes throughout are rarely actually interesting or insightful, generally amounting to 'artist is great and knows Warhammer good', which I absolutely agree with, but it's funny to see it so many times. Oh, and most notes are relatively relevant, which makes the ones that aren't seem very bizarre. Honestly though, Blanche et al absolutely deserve their flowers and to tell each other and us how awesome they think each other are. This book is proof!… (more)

The final outing of brooding hero Chadda Darkmane and his rock-like jawline sees our hero, in reflective mode after the great victory against Rivel, thrown rapidly into another battle. This time his companions are super-wizard Yaztromo, who finds that without his powers he is just an old man in a big dress; the weasely con-artist Weasel (and don't we all know a Weasel, good character writing there by MG); and the sexy elf Star, who has a damn good excuse for being the pastiche of a sexy minor character. This all flows along nicely, has some nice battle set pieces, a trio of fine villains with some decent characterisation and plot-twists, lots of weird gory monsters that don't get used as much as they should; and builds to an excellent pair of final chapters and an almost perfect finale. Lacks any sort of depth and is a bit of a sausage fest, but you can't have everything.… (more)