News
‘Dying Light’ Brings in the New Year With Another Look At ‘The Following’
The New Year is almost upon us. Corks will pop, balls will drop, and I’ll struggle for at least a week to train myself to write 2016 from now on. It won’t be easy, but I’ll manage. I always do. Some call me a hero, others call me a chronic complainer. Such is my burden.
The same cannot be said for those insatiable ghouls. They can’t enjoy a tasty beverage, and even if they could, they’re cursed with an unconquerable tolerance to alcohol. Such is their burden.
When Dying Light: The Following releases on Feb 9, it’s arrival will be worth celebrating — only not with champagne, but with bloodshed. When the dust clears, you and I will tower over a sea of corpses. Then we’ll rest our heroic bottoms against the hood of our dune buggy, careful not to get any of the still-wet blood on our fitted jeans, and say something cool. Yeah…
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.