With sorrow, I’ve just learned that John Blanche passed away earlier this week. People who know me will tell you that I’ve been a fan of Warhammer 40,000 since childhood. One of the biggest reasons for this is the way in which the world of that tabletop game and its accompanying literature and spin-off games is portraited — what is usually referred to as the “grimdark” setting. This is down as much to artwork as it is to storytelling. And nobody shaped the iconic look of 40K more than John Blanche. He started working for Games Workshop in 1977, including producing the cover for the first British edition of Dungeons & Dragons. He was heavily involved in the early art for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (the very first release of 40k) in 1987 and later editions, eventually becoming Games Workshop’s art director. By all accounts, John Blanche was almost single-handedly responsible for laying the groundwork of what 40K ended up looking like and therefore also to a very large extend of what it looks and feels like today. Warhammer 40,000 is grimdark because of John Blanche. He was a huge inspiration to many artists and the gaming world owes him a massive debt of gratitude.

Blanche was never a big fan of having his picture published, as far as I can tell, so instead I will leave you with my favourite artwork of his. This 1997 painting is titled Sister of Battle and was the cover for the first edition of the Sisters of Battle codex. Its striking palette is typical John Blanche and it manages, in essential 40K style, to blend ’80s punk with medieval gothic as well as retro-futuristic influences. This painting is as sexy as it is scary. In one word: stunning.

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