Looking for information regarding the likelihood of United States Cavalry ever being published (or written for that matter), I came across this extensive article written by Stephen Baxter about the history of GW Books/The Black Library via the Official Kim Newman Website. The article in question appears to be slightly out of date, for example it only refers to the republishing of Newman/Yeovil’s Demon Download cycle as a possibility, not a fact, and it doesn’t refer to the Black Library’s expanding out to licensed work such as their 2000AD line at all.
Nonetheless, the article contains lots of little gems. As a spotty youth at the time that many of the events discussed in the article were going on, it is comforting to have confirmed that the transparent and short term greed of Games Workshop at the time was just as disliked by the “talent” as it was by the fans. Bryan Ansell in particular appears to have been a colourful character. A hate figure of my generation, yet it was only when he left the company that GW became the wholly commercialised monster it is now.
It also offers us a tantalising glimpse of GW Books that may have been, with Terry Pratchett ghost writing the finest hackwork money can buy: “I feel a bit like King Herod being invited to write the newsletter for the Bethlehem Playground Association.”
Oh, and it got me peeking at John Blanche’s website. I was obsessed by Blanche when I was doing my Art GCSE and looking back at his work now I can at least still appreciate his mad genius.