Clint Langley - Team Player!

Behold yet another amazing Clint Langley cover, this time featuring players of Slane's oddball Murderball game! The image is a fantastic homage to Bob Peak's seminal Rollerball poster from 1975 and, as ever, features some of Clint's fantastic character designs. Here's the poster from the film, if you're unfamiliar with it....

Teamwork is very much the theme of this week's post as we take a peek at how Clint has collaborated with other professionals and indeed, other organisations.

Firstly, let's see how he worked with writer and artist Nick Percival. After I gushed about the Legends: The Enchanted novel in my recent Nick Percival post (available for a ridiculous £2.99 on the Comixology app), I mentioned to Clint how it's lush, digital artwork very much reminded me of his. He hold me "Yeah, I know the book well, I did some splash art for the film concepts for it."

And here they are; firstly, most of the principle cast astride their bikes looking all mean and moody. From left to right we have Bear and Goldilox, Jack the Giant Killer, Red (Riding) Hood, Hansel and Gretel.

Next is Jack the Giant Killer who, with the help of some narcotic-like magic beans, is no doubt off to slay another giant.
The next set of collaborative works are laden with great sadness. On several occasions, Clint was lucky enough to work with the late, great John Hicklenton who, after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis, bravely took his life in March this year with the help of the Dignitas group in Switzerland. The week of John's death, 2000AD carried this fantastic ABC Warriors cover by Clint, in which Rojaws pays tribute to one of the comic's most original and memorable contributors.
John Hicklenton will perhaps be remembered mostly for his outstanding work on Nemesis and his fine, super-violent work on Judge Dredd strips Black Widow, Heavy Metal Dredd and the controversial Blood of Satanus. His passionate art style was visceral, highly individual and never, ever predictable, resulting in raging debate among the 2000AD fan base.

It is perhaps because of John's ultra violent approach to his work and his love of music that he was chosen to follow Simon Bisley on the Heavy Metal Dredd stories. Below are several images from Rebellion's Heavy Metal Dredd Collection which Clint was able to digitally enhance...

In the final months of his life, Jonny wrote and illustrated the brilliant graphic novel, 100 Months (on sale for £12.99 this week only!) The novel, in which Clint gets a dedication, tells the story of Manu, the vengeful Earth Goddess who wages an angry, bloody war on all that is wrong with humanity.

"Fear me! All who obey the coin!"

Even without knowing the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding the book's creation, it is a difficult and very thought provoking read. It's gruesome, yet beautifully intricate illustrations trap you in the page for the longest time and, despite the abundance of violence and gore on show, it is often magnificent prose that has a more profound effect on the reader.

"The murdered carpenter..."

100 Months is an angry, yet ultimately uplifting look at mankind's fragile relationship with the earth and is, without doubt, a fine testament to a true visionary. You can order the book from Cutting Edge Press.

Simply stunning work...

Finally, this week saw Clint contribute to the Willow Foundation's 'Star on Canvas' online auction. The Willow Foundation is a charity formed by former Arsenal and Scotland goalkeeper Bob Wilson and his wife, with the aim of giving special days out to seriously ill people aged between 16 and 40. The auction saw many well known faces from the worlds of sport, art, design, fashion, music and entertainment paint a 20x20 cm canvas to raise money for this worthwhile cause. Big names such as Bob Hoskins, Ricky Gervais, Tracey Emin, Dave Gibbons, Mark Harrison, David Tennant and Stephen Fry all contributed paintings to the auction. Clint was asked and painted the beautiful 'Bowling Wool: Together', raising a very respectable £471 for the charity. Clint said "It was a privilege to be included and contribute to such a great cause!!!"

I'm sure you'll join me in congratulating him on such a worthwhile endeavour.

Bowling Wool: Together

My thanks, as ever, go to Clint for being so kind to share these images, especially as many were sent at obviously a very sad and difficult time. I think his eagerness not only to help this blog, but causes like the one above, speak volumes about this wonderfully talented man. Thank you sir!