FANTASY FLIGHT TO PUBLISH THE ART OF ICE AND FIRE

Some say that a picture is worth a thousand words.

If so, Fantasy Flight Games will soon be releasing the equivilent of half a million words about the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and their people and places: a deluxe hardcover collection of artwork and illustration called The Art of George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, edited by Brian Wood. The Starks and the Lannisters, Winterfell and the Wall, Dany and her dragons, the exotic cities of the east, the Iron Throne and the Seastone Chair, Dunk and Egg, the black brothers of the Night’s Watch, the white knights of the Kingsguard, the red priestess Melisandre of Asshai … all of them can be found here in full color, along with much much more.

The art book will be released in November, to coincide with the American relase of A FEAST FOR CROWS, and should be available at a bookstore near you, over the net, or directly from FFG via their website at http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/asongoficeandfireartbook.html.

Fantasy Flight is the publisher of the popular GAME OF THRONES board game and collectible card game, and The Art of George R.R. Martin’s A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE will include the very best of the thousands of paintings and drawings done for the CCG, by an all-star lineup of FFG’s best artists, including Michael Komarck, Thomas Denmark, Martina Pilcerova, Mark Evans, John Matson, Franz Miklis, Jason Engle, Chris Dien, Tim Truman, Xia Taptara, Roman (Amok) Papsuev, and many many more.

The collection will by no means be limited to the card art. Editor Brian Wood has also reprinting some gorgeous and memorable cover art from all around the world: imagery from the British covers by this year’s Hugo-winning artist Jim Burns, from the U.S. covers by Steve Youll, several of the gorgeous Croatian covers by Esad Ribic, Donato Giancola’s sensuous version of Melisandre from the cover of Dragon, some of John Howe’s paintings and sketches from the deluxe limited edition of A Clash of Kings (Meisha Merlin, 2005), and some of Charles Vess’s work from the forthcoming limited of A Storm of Swords (coming soon from Subterranean Press). Several of Jamie Sims’s concept drawings for the Testor’s range of miniatures will also be included, along with covers and interiors from The Hedge Knight graphic novel by Mike S. Miller, Ted Nasmith, and Anders Finer, and the delightful fan art of Jenny Dolfen and Maria Luisa Giliberti.

And to round out the collection, FFG has also commissioned some brand new artwork, never before seen anywhere: a breathtaking vision of the Wall by Martina, some fabulous new pieces by Mike S. Miller of Hedge Knight fame, a gallery of the Targaryen kings from Aegon the Conquerer to Daenerys Stormborn by Amok, a huge and stunning vision of Winterfell by Steve Stone, original paintings by Don Maitz, Mark Evans Michael Komarck, Anders Finer, Torstein Nordstrand, and last but not least a portrait of Aegon the Conquerer and his sisters by the legendary John Schoenherr, who has been sadly absent from the fantasy field for something like two decades.

Oh, and there’s also a short introduction by yours truly.

The Art of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire will be hardcover, with 192 glossy pages, all in full color. Also available, exclusively from Fantasy Flight’s online store, is the deluxe Collector’s Edition, with a gold-embossed faux-leather binding and sleeve, limited to 250 pages. The collector’s edition will sell for $99.95, the trade hardcover for $29.95.