Writer/Artist: Tony DiTerlizzi
Release Date: June 10th, 2015
If you’ve ever rolled a 20-sided dice in the world of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons or tapped a land in the world of Magic: The Gathering, it’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that you’ve already seen the work of iconic fantasy artist Tony DiTerlizzi, even if you didn’t realise it at the time. Perhaps more than any other artist, DiTerlizzi’s work is indelibly etched into the fantasy gaming landscape, and in celebration of this fact, Dark Horse Comics have put together this expansive, beautifully recreated portfolio featuring some of his finest creations.
It should be clarified before we go any further that yes, this is an art book. No story, no plot, no characters (unless you count DiTerlizzi himself), just pages and pages of gorgeous artwork, punctuated by interviews and annotations from the man himself. While it’s not likely to appeal to everyone, those wanting to know more about DiTerlizzi’s methods are going to be in absolute heaven, as this book goes into great detail about his creative process and the inspiration behind some of his most iconic creations.
Flicking through this volume, it’s difficult not to feel a wonderful sense of nostalgia. While I’ve never been anything resembling a ‘hardcore’ gamer, I have dabbled on occasion, and there’s just something about the wide-eyed innocence of DiTerlizzi’s style that can’t help but give me the ‘warm fuzzies’. In fantasy art, it’s far too common for flash overtake any semblance of character, but thankfully the latter is perhaps the strongest aspect of DiTerlizzi’s work; the feeling that these bizarre creatures and monsters all have a story behind them, rather than merely serving as a slice of gaudy eye-candy.
The array of work on display here is also truly exhaustive, featuring a great many pieces scanned in from the artist’s personal collection. As with most art books however, there can be a sense of repetition if the reader peruses the contents for too long, and it has to be said that some of the notes and stories are definitely a lot less relevant and interesting than others. That said, the level of consistency here is impressively high throughout, and DiTerlizzi seems to have made a genuine effort to try and keep his annotations as varied and insightful as possible.
Overall, as a fantasy gaming time capsule featuring some of the most iconic visuals to ever grace a Monster Manual, you’re unlikely to find anything better on the shelves. Casual fans may struggle to get the full benefit of the content here, but I honestly can’t think of a single person who wouldn’t get at least something out of this collection. Featuring jaw-dropping Dragons, grin-raising Gnomes and everything in between, Realms serves as an affectionate, in-depth retrospective of one of the fantasy art world’s most iconic creators.
Rating: 4/5.
INTERIOR ARTWORK
[Click to Enlarge]
You can purchase Realms: The Roleplaying Game Art of Tony DiTerlizzi HC from Turnaround Publisher Services (who generously provided the review copy of this title) via their official website.
The writer of this piece was: 
Craig Neilson-Adams (aka Ceej)
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