‘Silent Pictures’ — The Final Comics Art Of The Creative Genius That Was Kevin O’Neill

by Richard Bruton

Available right now, two new books from the late Kevin O’Neill, one of the greatest comic artists we ever saw:

Sadly, O’Neill’s life in comics was cut way too short in November 2022. But across his many, many decades of making incediary, brilliant, iconic, boundary-pushing comics, including co-creating Nemesis The Warlock, Marshal Law, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, he put a mark down for those looking to see what a true original in the comics artform looks like.

Now, we have the final two books in his career, an extraordinary career, Feartreland and The Balaclava Kid, both silent works, all the better to let the art of this absolute master of the form to shine, one last time.

One of the finest and most original talents ever to emerge from the comic industry. — Alan Moore, from his introduction.

Here’s what the PR has to say — and I can’t argue with a single word of this:

“Silent Pictures by Kevin O’Neill is the capstone to an extraordinary career in comics — two ferocious new books that flicker through the very dreams of art and imagination. Without words, O’Neill conjures an astonishing pair of feverish stories, brimming with detail on every page, packed with some of the most exciting, twisted artwork ever put to paper. Gorgeously painted in luminous colour, no fan of his work can afford to miss out.”

“In Feartreland we tag along as the son of Dick Whittington flits through a series of pantomime tableaus, splash pages and tortuous punning images. Crocodiles gambol with giant apes, and genies promise adventures on the high seas. An explosive entertainment, bright and bold as the stage that it draws its inspiration from.”

“Meanwhile, The Balaclava Kid invites us into the dreams of the artist’s youth, as his imagination gives him escape from the bullies of a bombed-out London into a dreamscape built of Wild West iconography and Tex Avery action. Demonic cowboys and infernal machines populate shimmering mesas and haunted mines. An adventure like no other!”

Published by Knockabout, the two books are presented as a slipcased set of two hardback volumes, with introductions by O’Neill’s frequent collaborator and friend, Alan Moore. Limited to 800 copies, the books are available at Gosh! Comics, London, and from the Gosh! and Knockabout webshops.

It’s one last chance to see just how great O’Neill was, just how original, just how trailblazing, just how much of a loss to the artform he is. Two books, one guiding hand, a truly essential purchase.

Now, a little of what to expect inside … first from Feartreland…