I have a guilty pleasure, one that I don’t share with a lot of people, but I guess it’s as good a time as any to out myself – I sometimes really enjoy a good epic fantasy novel, one that has too much drama and a good amount of sex. So it goes without saying that I appreciate the art of Luis Royo, the Spanish fantasy artist behind countless book and magazine covers, comics and 10 published titles. He is perhaps best known for being one of Heavy Metal magazine’s most frequently used cover artists, and while mainstream tastes may have changed when it comes to their heroines, Royo’s 80s hair metal video vixens have remained the same throughout his lengthy career – hi-cut-g-string-clad and boobs aplenty. Both his men and his women grip massive swords and stand cold and strong, intensely staring down fantastic creatures with menace born of experience. Their totem creatures watch over them as they slaughter gremlins, gargoyles and robots – who are all stunned by the beauty of their destroyer as he or she poses for Royo’s brush, before I imagine they are decapitated or disemboweled. Check out some of Royo’s work after the jump, including all of the covers he did for Heavy Metal…
New Comments