The votes will celebrate the artists working in fantasy and sci-fi, showcasing those artists that have inspired us all and continue to do so through their creativity and timeless wonder.

ImagineFX is the world’s best-selling magazine for digital artists, and has been at the heart of the fantasy art community for seven years.

http://vote.imaginefx.com/

The badass hombre to the right is Stephen R. Cox, author of the Mutant Hunter books. The creepy bastard above is his chief antagonist No Blood, the psychotic leader of a band of mutants known as Hydrates. The illustration, of course, is the handiwork of our very own Michael Whelan.

Cox and Whelan have been collaborating on three books now (make that four this summer with publication of THE SKIN BAGS). Set in a post apocalyptic world, Mutant Hunter is dirty, gritty and violent—a chase on a grand scale through broken landscapes that test even the hardest of men.

FREE EBOOK GIVEAWAY

Get a taste of the series with a free download of THE SLICKS on Amazon this weekend Saturday June 8th through Monday June 10th.

For cheap summer reads, it doesn’t get better than that. THE SLICKS is a great jumping on point for the series. And LEGENDS OF THE FALLOUT and SPLINTERLAND are just $2.99 on Amazon as well.

Whelan is just beginning work on THE SKIN BAGS. Look for that cover soon, but in the meantime be sure to check out the gallery of Michael Whelan Mutant Hunter art on Cox’s website.

LEGENDS OF THE FALLOUT (Mutant Hunter #1)

Twenty-sixth century civilization teeters on the brink with Earth a radioactive ruin. The fragile world government has outlawed mutants – humans whose genes have gone wrong – and placed bounties on their heads.

Leon Miller, one of a handful of bounty hunters who makes a living tracking down mutants, hunts the last of the Ten Most Wanted, a mutant known simply as “Number Six.” Despite a record high bounty, Miller’s real motivation is to find the woman, a human who has taken up with Number Six.

From the decaying ruins of New York City, across the ambush-laden freak-filled outlands, and into the flesh-flaying storms of the Pacific Ditch, the dangerous pursuit unfolds.

Complicating matters, the government has hired Ben Trills – a cold-blooded mercenary – to kill Number Six and all of his entourage. His strategy is simple. Shadow Miller, let him do the dirty work of flushing Number Six, then take the clean shot. And if Miller gets in the way…

Available for the Kindle at Amazon.com – now $2.99

THE SLICKS (Mutant Hunter #2)

Enter a wormhole in Hell, come out in the Slicks.

It’s hard to imagine a worse place on Earth than the polluted swamp of sludge, crude oil, and radioactive waste that now covers a fifth of the planet. Fumes trigger psychotropic reactions in those who venture into this uncharted no-man’s land. Worse, bizarre creatures crawl out of that toxic slime – dangerous Outliers with ink black skin who walk on two legs, but are as fluid as the oil they eat.

Leon Miller pursues a mutant deep into this nightmare wasteland. Not just any mutant. Number Six is the last of the government’s Ten Most Wanted, the Holy Grail that every mutant hunter and glory-hunting wannabe aims to take down. Killing the mutant would make any soldier of fortune a legend. The record bounty isn’t bad either. But few have the intelligence, resources, and nerve to go after Number Six. Fewer still will risk tracking his spoor into the Slicks.

Going in is hard – getting out is damn near impossible.

Enter Ben Trills, the personal mercenary of the High Counsel of the New States. Trills wants Number Six dead. While he admires Miller’s mutant hunting skills, he also views the bounty hunter as a threat – one who could steal his glory or worse, bring Number Six back alive.

THE SLICKS picks up where LEGENDS OF THE FALLOUT left off. The woman, an integral part of Miller’s past, is still in play. The world is still a freak show. And now, the mutants have a nuclear weapon.

Available for the Kindle at Amazon.com – free for a limited time

SPLINTERLAND (Mutant Hunter #3)

Where fools go to die…

Splinterland lies in the heart of the Nuclear Dead Zone. The wind-scoured nightmare of flattened timber covers thousands of square kilometers. You’d have to be a fool to venture into that maze of uncharted trails and snow-covered deadfalls. You’d have to be desperate, lost or insane. You’d have to be a mutant hunter.

Leon Miller’s life is spiraling out of control. In Splinterland, it will only get worse. The pursuit is taking its toll. But what the hell did Miller expect?

Available for the Kindle at Amazon.com – now $2.99

http://www.kcur.org

Michael said the following about meeting fans and exhibiting art at such events:

The chief thing I like to get from people who see my work in person is a “wow”. It can be from the subject, the sense of realism, or whatever other qualities can exist in a work of creative endeavor; I’ll take it any way I can get it!

I find that knowing the story behind a painting will greatly enhance the appreciation of the piece, so I suppose what I most desire to express to fans is a heightened sense of what went into a particular painting and what it is all about. I want people to be aware that every part of a painting is in there for a reason.

Follow the link below for the full interview!

http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com

Don’t believe me? Seek us out at SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE this weekend in Kansas City!

THE SALUTE

THE SHATTERED PLAINS

In addition to stunning cover illustrations for THE WAY OF KINGS and A MEMORY OF LIGHT, there were several unique smaller works on display at JordanCon V last month. Preliminary concepts and studies for both paintings were inevitably snapped up by a few lucky souls.

Jason Denzel of Dragonmount recently wrote of his experience meeting Michael Whelan and taking home an alternative concept for A MEMORY OF LIGHT.

RAND IN SHAYOL GHUL 2

KALADIN STORMBLESSED

You have been recognized at some of the largest popular culture conventions in the country. What are your expectations of a smaller convention like JordanCon?

Can you describe your studio space?

You’ve said in the past that you created six different concept pieces for The Way of Kings. Can you tell us about the ones that weren’t selected? Were there themes or images you plan to revisit in future Stormlight Archive volumes?

Good question! For each of the hundreds of book cover illustrations I’ve done in the past 30-odd years, there have been from 2 to 22 alternate concepts done which were not selected. In rare cases the concepts were general enough, and finished enough, to allow them to work as artwork for another book or an album cover. Mostly, though, my illustrations are so tightly fitted to the story that they aren’t suitable for uses outside the one they were originally intended for.

In the case of a serial set of books, however, the opposite can be true. For example, I did the cover paintings for many of the YEAR’S BEST HORROR STORIES collections published by DAW Books from 1970s through the 1990s. It often happened that an idea not selected one year would be picked in a subsequent year, so it was well worth me hanging onto them and resubmitting them.

This may well be the case for Brandon Sanderson’s STORMLIGHT ARCHIVE books, though I doubt it. While it’s true I came up with several cover concepts for the first book, I suspect that each succeeding book will be so packed with interesting elements and image possibilities that I won’t be content to simply recycle something done for the first volume.

THE WAY OF KINGS CONCEPT

THE WAY OF KINGS (2010)

THE WAY OF KINGS was so vast in scope that it seemed almost impossible for me to try to encapsulate such a rich and complex story within a single image. I was torn between the different characters and story lines woven into the book, so i did sketches of different aspects of the story to try them out and help me decide.

After a short period of exploration, however, I found myself most drawn to the Shattered Plain and the storms which play such an important role in the story. Since i knew the Brandon would be writing other books in the series I decided to devote the cover image to an overall view of the setting, giving primacy to the environment itself rather than focus on one particular character or another. It was hard to do, for Brandon invests his characters and their attributes with a wealth of original detail that begs to be realized visually. But that can be done in illustrations on future volumes…if I can wait that long!

Are there any other pieces you’re working on that you’re particularly excited about?

Michael Whelan will also be returning to the series. Clearly, this is a special author / artist pairing. Whelan won the Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration (Hardcover) for The Way of Kings in 2010. His brilliant vision of Rand al’Thor adorned the cover of A Memory of Light, the last book of The Wheel of Time, earlier this year.

Recently, he had this to say of the assignment on TOR.com:

Special eBook Promotion

TOR.com will begin a re-read of The Way of Kings on March 28. If you haven’t read the book yet, now is your chance because TOR is discounting the eBook edition to $2.99. The promotional price is available through the usual online retailers (direct links provided below).

Goodreads will also be giving away 10 copies of the book. Enter by April 24, 2014 to win a copy of The Way of Kings here

http://www.tor.com (Michael Whelan Illustrates Stormlight Archive #2)

SPECTRUM FANTASTIC ART LIVE
May 17-19 2013
Kansas City, MO

• Michael Whelan

  His expertise is award-winning book cover art and his illuminating personal gallery work.

• Peter de Sève

  An Emmy Award-winning character designer for such films as “Finding Nemo,” “Mulan,” and “Ice Age.”

• Tara McPherson

  Rock and Roll Hall of Famer dubbed by Elle Magazine as “The Crown Princess of Poster Art.” Has done work for Beck and Modest Mouse, as well as comics and her own art books and serigraphs.

• Charles Vess

  Best known for his collaborations with writer Neil Gaiman, especially the enchanting “Stardust.”

• Terryl Whitlatch

  Best known for her creature work on STAR WARS.

• Jon Foster

  Illustrator with an extensive career in books and comics, but also known for his sculpture.

Along with the Special Guests, there will be 100 other fantastic artists in attendance. Coffee table books are wonderful, but there is nothing like seeing the original art in person!

There will also be workshops, panel discussions, and portfolio critiques hosted by some of the most notable artists and art directors in the fantastic art community.

For only $40 for a weekend membership, Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 is an unprecedented opportunity to have your eyes dazzled, hang out with artists you admire, and discover new ones. We hope to see you there!

http://www.spectrumfantasticart.com

OTHER SPECTRUM NEWS

Michael recently shared his experiences as a three-time judge with Muddy Colors. Videos of the judging and announcement of this year’s nominees follow: