Preview — ‘Cover Story: The 2000 AD Design Art Of Robin Smith’

by Richard Bruton

A fascinating glimpse into the creative process as 2000 AD artist and art editor Robin Smith‘s cover designs for some of 2000 AD‘s finest covers are laid bare in Cover Story: The 2000 AD Design Art of Robin Smith.

In the early 1980s, talented artist Robin Smith became art editor at 2000 AD. And unlike today, where cover artists work with the editor to produce the covers that impress, week in and week out, on 2000 AD, Smith’s vision guided these covers into life by giving each cover artist a layout to follow.

And that’s exactly what Cover Story: The 2000 AD Design Art of Robin Smith is all about, presenting both the final covers and Smith’s initial layouts alongside commentary from Smith in conversation with Karl Stock.

Here, to give you an idea of what to expect, an early double-page spread of an iconic Mick McMahon cover, with Robin’s commentary and original layouts as sent to Mick…

You need little more than that to see how good this will be for anyone interested in the artistic process, 2000 AD, or just great art.

It’s both a fascinating look into the thinking involved with putting together a cover and a showcase of the design talents of Smith in coming up with a series of absolute belters for cover ideas. The commentary alongside each cover is easy-going, entertaining, and informative in equal measure. And finally, there’s the chance to compare, side-by-side, the original idea and the finished covers from some of the comic medium’s finest artists at work for 2000 AD in the early ’80s.

Inside, you’ll find a host of covers across the book’s 178 pages, including Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Carlos Ezquerra, Kevin O’Neill, Mick McMahon, Ian Gibson, Alan Davis, Steve Dillon, Cam Kennedy, Massimo Belardinelli, Eric Bradbury, Brett Ewins, Glenn Fabry, Ian Kennedy, José Ortiz, Cliff Robinson, Kim Raymond, Ron Smith, Brendan McCarthy, and Bryan Talbot.

Here’s what 2000 AD say about this one…

“The early 80s saw 2000 AD hit its golden era. With Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Rogue Trooper, Sláine and more firing on all cylinders, it became the UK’s most exciting and innovative comic. Its covers played no small part in its appeal, and those covers were the brainchild of Robin Smith, whose job was to lay out a cover design to pass to an artist who would transform it into the finished product.

This collection of some of Smith’s cover layouts shows just how integral his ideas were to some of 2000 AD’s most famous and revered covers, and it’s a fascinating glimpse into the creative process.”

Just to give you more of an idea, here’s one of Robin Smith‘s own covers — not that he’s all that impressed by how it turned out…