He showed us marvels

It’s impossible to imagine the Fabled Lands without the involvement of Russ Nicholson, who died this month. His filler drawings are my favourites, little vignettes necessary for gamebook layout so that options don’t spill over a page, but also perfect for evoking the ambience of each book’s setting. He always put something extra into all the pictures: comic book style inserts, fragments of unknown scripts, characterful onlookers in the background of a scene, a thousand touches that convey personality, colour, humour and reality.

For some reason we had a struggle getting the Pan Macmillan art director to let us use Russ for the world maps. They had a different illustrator lined up but, as you can see by comparing the first four FL books with the last three, Russ’s cartography was streets (and forests, and mountains) ahead. In FL book 3 they printed the two halves of their map the wrong way round, at which point they admitted that maybe we’d been right all along and Russ should handle it.

I put a personal tribute to Russ on my Patreon page (unlocked) and I asked other members of the Fabled Lands team to contribute their memories. Here’s Paul Gresty:

“I first met Russ in 2010, when I was his interpreter at a gaming event in Paris. He’d illustrated many, many books that I owned and loved, and I was incredibly excited to spend a weekend with him. Throughout that event, Russ was interesting, and kind, and humble; whenever a fan of his work asked him to sign a book, Russ also took the time to draw an illustration in there, too.

“At some point that weekend I asked Russ if he’d sign a copy of Citadel of Chaos for me. I was expecting a signature, and perhaps a quick sketch. Instead, Russ took the book back to his hotel room so that he could spend some time on a picture. When he returned the book to me the next day he’d drawn a phenomenal illustration (an axe-wielding warrior and a dragon) right across the book’s copyright and title pages – and he actually apologised that it wasn’t as good as he’d hoped. The paper in the book wasn’t ideal for ink drawing, he explained; the ink had bled on the page a little. I guess that’s an artist term. Bleeding ink or not, I was overjoyed with the illustration.

“I’m happy and grateful that I was able to work with Russ after that, and to meet him in person a few more times. He was a creative powerhouse, and a joy to be around. Incidentally, it was Russ who introduced me to the Fabled Lands books, showing me a book that somebody had brought for him to sign. He (correctly) told me I’d enjoy reading them.”

Jamie Thomson adds:

“A sad loss indeed, both personally and professionally. I remember meeting him in our White Dwarf offices a few times way back when, just a nice guy and so talented. Iconic game book and WD illustrator. I guess the ink blot story is my favourite. He was doing a Fabled Lands map and blotted it by accident. Me and Dave immediately came up with 'The Hole in the World' so it looked like it was deliberate. Well, I think we did, maybe it was Dave or Russ that came up with it, I can't remember. Anyway, there were quite a few things that we added to the stories and the lore that came from Russ; he inspired us too.”

At first I wasn't sure about Jamie’s recollection there because Russ's world map for FL didn't appear in print until books 5 and 6, so how come he drew the Hole in the World before anyone else? It's probable that he drew his own version of the world map right from the outset in order to have a context for the regional maps in each book. It's typical of Russ's boundless enthusiasm for and professional pride in his work that he'd do that even without a commission from the publisher. He improved every idea we gave him. He was our Jack Kirby, our Billy Preston, the Eno to our Roxy Music. As film directors value a great cinematographer, we valued Russ – as a good friend as well as a collaborator. He won’t just be missed, he’s irreplaceable.

He leaves behind his partner Jacqui. His wife, I should say, as they had planned to get married while Russ was in hospital, only he got moved to another ward which couldn’t accommodate a bedside ceremony. Had he come home I’ve no doubt they would have had the wedding then, but sadly he died in hospital. Fans will remember him fondly, friends with love, but the real wrenching loss is Jacqui’s.

However, as long as we have Russ’s art we can still see the expression of his personality. In that sense he’s with us always. Here is a small selection of illustrations by him that you might not have come across before.

This from the summer 1978 issue of Fantasy Tales:

This from A Dying Trade:

A sample page Russ did for The DFC:

Two more sample pages for The DFC, this time for the John Blake strip:

A test page for Mirabilis, because in the early days we thought Leo and Martin would be too busy on the gazetteer book to handle the comic strip chores as well:

Layout page for “Rich and Strange”, one of several Mirabilis standalone stories I wrote to run in The Guardian newspaper:

(Only one story, “A Wrong Turning”, was ever fully illustrated, and that by Martin McKenna whose loss we also mourn.)

Part of the layouts for the Camelot Eclipsed comic book (originally The New Knights of Camelot):

Some concept art for Shadow King:

A rough that Russ prepared for A Town Through Time, a project we pitched without success to publishers in the late ‘90s:

You can see how much on-spec work an artist has to produce in order to nab a few paying gigs. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Here's another -- Russ's drawings for the Conquerors game.

How Russ got his briefs

Right from when I started writing gamebooks, I wanted Russ Nicholson as one of my artists. That wasn't because he illustrated Warlock of Firetop Mountain, oh no. I'd been a fan long before that, on the basis of his work in White Dwarf and, years before I started reading that, in the brilliant British magazine Fantasy Tales, edited by Stephen Jones. Here's his illustration in issue one (Summer 1977) accompanying Michael Moorcock's self-parody "The Stone Thing":

Thanks to Mr Jones, I tracked Russ down to the jungles of Papua New Guinea, where he was helping a super villain build his lair, and persuaded him to do the illustrations for Eye of the Dragon - not the Fighting Fantasy gamebook; I'm talking about the original one. Since then we've worked on a lot of projects together, but few more ambitious or creatively successful than Fabled Lands. Let's face it, without Russ's images, the world of Harkuna would feel like it was just made up or something. Illustrations like the one here of the canals of Metriciens (below: colourized version from Megara's art team) reach out and drag you into another world. It's not only Coleridge's definition of poetic faith we experience when Russ is on top form; it's the willing commitment to belief.

Enough preamble. This is all by way of saying that, while engaged in the 21st century version of clearing out the attic - to wit, sorting through old folders on my computer - I came across the original art brief I sent to Russ for Fabled Lands book 2. And for the sake of historical interest, here it is - sent by snail mail, of course. We didn't have no fancy international network in those days:

Hi Russ - the maps look great. I love all the detail on the forests - it takes me back to reading The Hobbit and LotR, wondering over the maps. Just what we wanted. The city of Metriciens is missing off the colour map, but that may be because I forgot to put it on the original. (Not all cities from the detailed colour maps will necessarily fit on to the large global map, of course.) 

Also, herewith are the first batch of Fabled Lands illustrations. Phone me to discuss once you've looked through them. I've established generic formats for the pictures: 

Widescreen: 186mm wide by 73mm high
Quarter Page: 88mm by 110mm 
Sixth Page: 88mm by 73mm 
Vignette: 88mm by 55mm or less 

The illustrations for Book Two are:

2 The city of Ringhorn (widescreen) 
A vista of the city, which is a typical medieval city located on a river. This could be done like a medieval map, or as a picture of the city with an inset map and city coat-of-arms, or whatever you like.

25 Castle Ravayne (widescreen)
"The white turrets rise above the treetops. White puffs of cloud float in the sky. From the topmost tower flutters the black lion banner of the Ravayne Clan."

48 The city of Metriciens (widescreen)
The main mercantile port, probably much like Venice at its height. How about a picture showing a palace built along a plaza like those old Canaletto pictures or whoever it was? (Like Ringhorn, you could have inset flag, coat-of-arms or little map if you want.)

71 The town of Wheatfields (quarter page)
"A market town of some size, in the very heart of the fertile farmlands of central Golnir." This can be a view as you approach, street scene, whatever...

94 The Monastery of Molhern (quarter page)
A monastery devoted to the god of learning and crafts. The monks combine hard physical labour with academic study - just like monks in the middle ages were meant to, I suppose. This is set at some remote spot in the countryside.

125 The Temple of Nagil (quarter page)
"Nagil, god of death, is often shown as a cowled figure. Paradoxically, his temple is no stately mausoleum, but a wide high-towered building from whose minaret the priests sing a haunting melody at dusk." This is in a city.

145 The shops of Conflass (widescreen)
"Conflass market consists of tiers of shops surrounding a pleasant square in the middle of the town. You reach the higher shops by means of stepped walkways." I was thinking of the shops in Chester, by the way.

185 Hermit's cottage (quarter page)
A sprawling single-storey cottage in the heart of dense black forest. In front is a man in a homespun tunic who is drawing water from a well.

208 Caught in a spider's web (sixth page)
Typical giant spider descending to gobble you up.

217 Wishport (widescreen)
"Wishport is a picturesque town set at the back of a bay rimmed by white cliffs." To make this a bit different from the other town/city pictures, it could be seen from out at sea. 

255 Ships in Ringhorn harbour (widescreen)
Ships moored, perhaps with bridge to show how wide the river is. I'm thinking of something like the Pool of London in olden times, in that this is a wide sheltered estuary so there is no need for a harbour wall or whatever.

282 In the mountains (sixth page)
"High jagged peaks... As you climb a steep trail, you see a small waterfall gushing from high above."

303 Enchanted waterfall (quarter page)
A wide pool below a large waterfall. Fine spray hangs in the air like mist (goodness knows how you'll show that!) and very faintly it seems that figures are outlined in the mist, but it's impossible to be certain.

330 Waterfront tavern (quarter page)
Typical tavern (whatever a "typical tavern" looks like in the world of Harkuna) where sailors drink and wait to be employed or press-ganged.

360 Smugglers on the beach (quarter page) 
At night, from a vantage point on the cliffs, you see smugglers coming ashore with barrels in a small boat.

386 Pirates at sea (quarter page)
Pirates sail towards you. These pirates are actually privateers of the Kingdom of the Reavers, identifiable by the jagged pennant they fly.

400 Sprites at the roadside (quarter page)
"You are on a lonely stretch of road. Suddenly a bunch of misshapen sprites with grotesque faces emerge from a hedge. They amble over and prod you with gnarled fingers."

428 Tricked by the devil (quarter page)
You are on a country lane. The devil (in the guise of a young bard) has challenged you to deliver a sermon good enough to convert all the local cats. Naturally the cats are milling about taking no notice, at which the young bard seems quite amused.

455 Castle dungeons (quarter page)
A jailer is looking in on you in the gloomy castle dungeons, straight out of Prince Valiant I guess!

473 Storyteller (sixth page)
A storyteller is sitting on a grassy hummock beside a leafy lane, regaling the local children with his tall tales.

514 Samurai in the fens (quarter page)
"On an island in the fens, you are startled to come across a swordsman in exotic armour sitting beside an empty chest. His curved sword is across his knees and he leaps up angrily as you approach."

540 Estragon the Wizard (quarter page)
A crazy old wizard in his laboratory, deep under Castle Ravayne. He's looking annoyed at the bad news you've just brought him. In fact, it looks like he's casting a spell at you!

573 Wraiths on the river (quarter page)
"Just after nightfall, a punt carrying ghostly figures drifts around the bend in the river. The wraiths beckon for you to come aboard and join them." This is out in the middle of nowhere.

599 Damsel in a high tower (sixth page) 
While travelling cross-country, you see a woman who calls down to you from a tower where she has been imprisoned by an evil knight.

621 An eerie inn (quarter page)
"At dusk you are forced to seek shelter from the rain. You go towards a light, finding an inn. An old peeling sign swings in the wind. As you approach, the door opens and the innkeeper invites you in." 

646 Three knights of the death-god (quarter page)
"Three mounted knights encounter you on the road. They wear white tabards and their shields bear the holy symbol of the death-god Nagil." 

677 Fools of Gotham village (quarter page)
Seven simpletons (not all need be shown in the picture!) are trying to convince a cow to climb up a ladder onto the roof of their thatched cottage.

704 A stranger at dusk (quarter page)
"A fellow in grey robes sits on the steps of a caravan by the side of the road. He is playing a flute with a bulb in its stem. As you draw near, he looks up and grins, teeth flashing like pearls in the light of the rising moon." I imagine the flute looking like a snake-charmer's pipe.

741 A charging bull (sixth page)
A bull charging angrily at you for having the temerity to take a short-cut through its field.

765 A country fair (quarter page)
Typical country fair with tents and stalls set out on the village green. Jugglers, pedlars, dancing bears, songbirds, acrobats, musicians, villagers and so forth.

You could also add a few vignettes that will be used as fillers, so can vary between 20mm and 55mm high and one column (88mm) wide. These can illustrate typical "travel" paragraphs in open country, stone road, woodland, riverside, fens, cliffs by sea, or whatever you like - or more usual fillers such as swords, wands, compass and sextant, etc, if you'd rather. We should only need four or five for each book. All for now.