Illustrators #50 (magazine review).

Even editor Diego Cordoba is amazed that they’ve reached fifty issues. This edition has had a slight price rise but also offers a few more pages to enjoy.

This time, he starts off with an interview with artist David Palumbo, one of Julie Bell’s sons, who prefers to work with oils. His work on ‘Magic: The Gathering’ and ‘Marvel Masterpieces’ put him on the map. He’s a rare breed, considering that many publishers now prefer digital art, but as he explains, he simply scans and sends in his work. There’s little information on the size of his original paintings. I think some of his work can look a little raw in terms of detail, but the example shown here clearly demonstrates some beautiful craftsmanship.

In direct contrast, another interview features Welsh artist Angelo Rinaldi, who moved from oils to working solely digitally over a decade ago. Obviously, the demands of cover art differ from traditional painting. I’m particularly impressed with his paintings of dogs.

I do think Cordoba underestimates how many people know who artist Mike Noble (1930–2018) is. From his earliest work in ‘TV21’, the ‘M. Noble’ signature stuck firmly in our heads. I always thought his ‘Fireball XL5’ story ‘The Iceman Of Space’ was one of the finest, and that’s saying something given the quality of the others. He elevated the TV show to even greater heights. There is much to see here, especially as the samples come from the original artwork. Noble points out that he was a slow artist, but when he explains what went into each double-page spread—from drawing to inking and colouring within a limited palette to suit the printers—it’s clear just how much work was done over a week. Apart from ‘TV21’, much of his later work appeared in ‘Look-In’, and he was very prolific. When working in black and white, he invariably used washes to add extra tone. A review of his work in ‘Illustrators’ is long overdue and has to be the biggest selling point of this issue.

Cordoba also interviews Jean-Pierre Dionnet. No, I didn’t know who he was either. If I said he was the co-founder of ‘Metal Hurlant’, that joins the dots. He goes over his history, moving from magazine to magazine until it all came together. He already had Philippe Druillet and Moebius on board and brought in American artist Rich Corben, who was having difficulty placing some of his work in the USA. With that line-up, ‘Metal Hurlant’ quickly bloomed. An interesting read.

A new feature looks at movie posters. This first instalment asks why James Bond is holding an air pistol instead of a Walther PPK. It turns out it was the only gun available when David Hurn painted it, and he assumed it would be corrected later—but it wasn’t. Thinking objectively, it probably looked more dramatic with the longer barrel angled across his cheek, and with Roger Moore slightly set back from it.

Lastly, we see a selection of Ron Embleton’s work, with an emphasis on his humour. Visual gags are hard to pull off with groups because you have to be aware of what each character is doing in relation to the rest. Embleton was a master of this, and there’s a lot to learn from here.

Have I given you enough reasons to buy this edition? I can see it selling out.

GF Willmetts

April 2026

(pub: The Book Palace, 2026. 114-page illustrated squarebound magazine. Price: £25.00 (UK), $27.99 (US) via Bud Plant. ISBN: 978-1-913548-03-2. ISSN: 2052-6520)

Check out the websites: www.bookpalace.com and www.illustratorsquarterly.com