Legend of Zagor, YOU ARE THE HERO artwork commissions and Derek the Troll

It may surprise you to hear that until this week, I had never owned or even played the Parker board game version of Legend of Zagor, written by Mr Ian Livingstone himself. But now, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, eBay and YOU ARE THE HERO, I have acquired a copy and even tried it out with my own little minions this weekend.

 The game in progress.

Salazar the Wizard prepares to enter the Halls of Fear.

Legend of Zagor came out in 1993, the same year that my first ever book (and Fighting Fantasy gamebook) Spellbreaker was published. I remember seeing it for sale at the time - just the once - but being a student, I wasn't in a position to splash out and celebrate my publishing success with a copy of the game. Now, of course - twenty years and forty-five books later - it's another matter entirely. This time I can justify the expense as I've had to buy the game 'for research purposes'. (At least that's what I've told my wife. ;-)

 The story intro to the game.

Anwar the Barbarian's Character Sheet, with artwork by Martin McKenna.

You can expect to find a chapter dedicated to the various non-gamebook versions of Fighting Fantasy adventures in YOU ARE THE HERO.

In other news, this week I also commissioned three artists to produce brand new artwork for the book. They include Martin McKenna, who's producing the cover, Russ Nicholson, who's producing some new internal art, and legendary UK comics artist and writer Lew Stringer, who will be writing a brand new Derek the Troll strip for YOU ARE THE HERO.

Mark Stoneham's Gamebook Companion App

When I was running the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter at the end of last year, Mark Stoneham got in touch and very generously offered codes for his Gamebook Companion iOS App for the COMPANION reward level.

This was very well-received and all the COMPANION rewards got snapped up very quickly. But if you missed out on one of these, you can still download the app (for a frankly embarrassingly cheap 69p) from here.

Happy gaming!

YOU ARE THE HERO Art Prints

If you pledged your support to the YOU ARE THE HERO Kickstarter at the GHOUL reward level or above, then you will be receiving one print - or maybe more, depending on how much you pledged - of a piece of artwork by one of these fabulous Fighting Fantasy artists.

Russ Nicholson

 

Iain McCaig

 

Martin McKenna

 

Tony Hough

Iain's print is of the Dwarf Trialmaster from Ian Livingstone's Deathtrap Dungeon.

Tony's print is of the still undead pirate captain Cinnabar from Bloobones.

However, Martin's and Russ's prints are going to of brand new artwork that is being commissioned for YOU ARE THE HERO, the definitive history of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. Martin's artwork will form the cover of the book, while Russ's illustration will be in his classic Fighting Fantasy style and will appear inside.

I realise that it's hard ordering a print you've never seen - even if you are a massive fan of Martin's or Russ's artwork - so the survey will give you the option of not deciding yet and once the artwork's done, you can make your choice then, at a later date.

So, backers, keep an eye on your email inboxes...