The 40K History of the Black Library: In the Year 2000- The Periodicals

Hello and welcome to the tenth installment in our series chronicling the history of the Black Library, as told from a Warhammer 40,000 perspective. Today we’re continuing our look at the year 2000, by which point the nascent Black Library (officially founded in 1997) had enabled Games Workshop to re-enter the world of book publishing after a bit of an absence. For convenience, here is the list of the History so far:

• Part One: The Beginning. 1990. Inquisitor and Deathwing.
• Part Two: A short pause. 1993. Space Marine.
• Part Three: 1994-95. Harlequin and Chaos Child.
• Part Four: 1997. Dawn of the Black Library and Inferno!
• Part Five: 1997. The first year of Inferno!
• Part Six: 1998. Gaunt’s Ghosts and Last Chancers debut.
• Part Seven: 1998. Warhammer Monthly’s first ten issues.
• Part Eight: 1999. The books are back!
• Part Nine: The books of the year 2000.

This brings us to today’s installment, where we’ll return to the year 2000 to see what was happening in the world of the Black Library’s twin periodicals, Inferno! and Warhammer Monthly.

March of that year saw some big changes arrive to Inferno!. Andy Jones, who had helmed the editor’s page since the magazine’s inception, had moved up within Games Workshop. That vacancy was filled by Marc Gascoigne, another of the Black Library’s “Big Three” founding members, and the tone shift was immediate.

Whereas the editorial notes penned by Jones were generally light and high on levity, Gascoigne brought a bit of gravitas to the role and often appeared to enjoy talking about the behind-the-scenes stuff. In just his next issue, for example, he wrote about the challenge of creating effective heroes in the 40K universe and the pitfalls that must be considered when doing so. In issue #22 he gets into the business side of things, disclosing that in its first year of business the Black Library had sold a very pleasing 300,000 novels- admirable candor!

It wasn’t an entirely seamless transition- Gascoigne’s editorial for Issue #18 was reprinted in its entirely in issue #19 (perhaps in case anyone might have missed it the first time)- but it marked a more nutrient-rich approach that was welcome to those curious about the operational side of things.

Issue #17 was also notable as it marked a format change for the magazine, expanding from the digest-sized 240mm x 166mm to the comic-book-sized 260mm x 170mm page that Warhammer Monthly had been employing.

Whether any of this had any bearing on the release schedule or it was simply coincidence, Issue #16 released at the end of December rather than in January (and its contents were covered in 1999’s roundup here).

Tales from the Inferno

Nearly a dozen 40K short stories would come to life in the pages of the bimonthly anthology magazine Inferno! in 2000. Without exception, each of them would be reused for further Black Library book publications, whether it be in anthologies or incorporated into a novel, Ghostmaker-style. They were as follows:

• Ancient History, by Andy Chambers. An echo of the nautical tales of the 18th and 19th century, Chambers weaves a gripping tale of a smuggler press-ganged into service in the Imperial Navy. This would be reprinted twice more, in 2001’s Dark Imperium and 2006’s Let the Galaxy Burn. (Inferno! #19)
• Battle of the Archaeosaurs, by Barrington J. Bayley. A Guard regiment and Warlord Titans are sent to take a primitive world, only to find it has dinosaurs of its own. Reprinted in 2001’s Dark Imperium and 2006’s Let the Galaxy Burn. (Inferno! #18)
• Deus ex Mechanicus, by Andy Chambers. Explorators from the Adeptus Mechanicus find themselves inside a Necron tomb, with predictably unfortunate results. This story had a unique trifecta, being the only one reprinted in 2001’s Dark Imperium, 2002’s Words of Blood, and 2006’s Let the Galaxy Burn anthologies. (Inferno! #20)
• Hive Fleet Horror, by Barrington J. Bayley. Another story of Adeptus Mechanicus misfortune, this time at the hands claws of Hive Fleet Kraken. This would be Bayley’s final original appearance in the Black Library. This was reprinted in 2001’s Dark Imperium but was cut from the reprint list for Let the Galaxy Burn. (Inferno! #20)
• Mama’s Boys, by Jonathan Green. A Nathan Creed story, this time he’s on the hunt for a cannibal outlaw. This would eventually be reprinted in 2012’s Necromunda Omnibus 2. (Inferno! #21)
• Mark of a Warrior, by Richard Williams. As noted above, this would also be included in the Status: Deadzone anthology for Necromunda, then go on to be included in 2011’s Necromunda Omnibus 1. (Inferno! #19)
• Matters of Honour, by Gordon Rennie. Here we have our first real archival oddity, something that existed only for a short while before being subsumed into something else. In this case, a Battlefleet Gothic short story. As he relates,₁ Rennie had been asked by GW to take a shot at the Battlefleet Gothic setting already having done some work for Inferno!. The resulting two shorts, Matters of Honour and Baptism of Fire, would eventually be reworked into 2001’s Execution Hour. Because Baptism was essentially the novel’s first chapter, you can still find reference to it here and there under that name. Matters appears to have just about vanished. (Inferno! #18)
• Red Rain, by Dan Abnett. While Abnett is better known for Gaunt’s Ghosts and his Inquisitors (Eisenhorn, Ravenor, and Bequin), he also turned in a solid body of work for the Iron Snakes Astartes. This story wouldn’t see reprinting on its own, but not unlike some of his Ghosts tales would be reworked into a future novel (in this case, 2007’s Brothers of the Snake). (Inferno! 21)
• Small Cogs, by Neil Rutledge. An Imperial Guard regiment dressed in their ceremonial uniforms is suddenly ordered to battle against an eldar scouting force. This would be the third and final short story for Rutledge in the Black Library, and it would see reprinting in both Dark Imperium and Let the Galaxy Burn. (Inferno! #17)
• White Heat, by Dan Abnett. Another Iron Snakes story that would go on to be incorporated into Brothers of the Snake, this story revolves around a campaign against the Dark Eldar. (Inferno! 18)
• Words of Blood, by Ben Counter. A squad of Black Templars, desperately low on ammo against a horde of heretics, comes up with a plan that might just deliver victory- if they can follow them right down to the letter. While this story wasn’t reprinted in Dark Imperium the following year, it was selected to be the titular inclusion for 2002’s short story anthology. (Inferno! #19)

Visions from the Inferno

If a picture is worth a thousand words, we ignore the contributions of the incredible visual artists to the Black Library only to our detriment. Note that titles in italics are original illustration works by the named title; otherwise, they are named after the story they accompany (the art itself is untitled).

• Ancient History, by Paul Dainton. Dainton was an in-house artist for Games Workshop for more than two decades. In 2023 he joined CMON, publisher of games like Zombicide and Cthulhu: Death May Die, as Senior Artist. This was his first illustration for Inferno!, accompanying the short story by Andy Chambers. (Inferno! #19)
• Battle of the Archaeosaurs, by Adrian Smith. Here’s another one of those absolutely-ridiculous-but-totally-true Games Workshop stories. As Smith relates in an interview,₂ he was 19 when his father, tired of him “moping around the house all the time,” called Games Workshop to see if they were hiring. That got him an initial interview, and his portfolio got him the job. This was Smith’s first illustration for Inferno! (Inferno! #18)
• Chaos Marine, by Adrian Smith. Smith’s lone Heretic Astartes was the cover star for Inferno! #18.
• Da Big Push, by Gordon Rennie (story) and Paul Staples Jeacock (art). The ork flyboys had been introduced in 1999’s 38 Seconds over Big Scrap Alley, and would feature in two more short stories in the year 2000. Here we find out what can happen when you take a pilot’s wings away. (Inferno #19)
• Deff Skwadron in: Sink da Grimlug!, by Gordon Rennie and Paul Staples Jeacock. When a warboss steps over the line, can the deff skwadron find a way to restore balance to the Waaagh? (Inferno #17)
• Matters of Honour, by Anthony Williams. We’d first seen Williams as a collaborator with Dan Abnett for the Titan series in Warhammer Monthly. Here he provides the title illustration for Rennie’s Battlefleet Gothic short story. (Inferno #18)
• Ogryn Ripper Gun, by Ralph Horsley. Tech specs and schematics. This sort of thing was more common in the early days of Inferno!, becoming less so once they had more prose stories to fill the pages. (Inferno #19)
• Small Cogs, by Chris Smart. Smart was a games and miniatures designer for Games Workshop, working on several books for Warhammer 40,000’s Third Edition as well as Battlefleet Gothic. In 2002 he made the jump into art for video games, and his credits there are no joke: Artist for Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto IV and V. Art Director for GTA Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories, and Call of Duty: Strike Team. Environmental Artist for Dead Island 2 and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. The art for the story Small Cogs was his first appearance in Inferno!. (Inferno! #17)
• Space Wolf, by Paul Dainton. Serving as the cover for issue #21, Dainton illustrated a Space Wolf in full assault mode. (Inferno! #21)
• Starships, by Kenson Low. Low’s first Inferno! cover, Warboss, was for issue #7. Instead of orks, this time around his depiction of an Imperial fleet served as the cover for issue #20.
• Such Horrors!, by Andy Jones (script) and Wayne England (art). A floating escape pod drifting in the void is picked up by the Ultramarines, but does it hold salvation- or damnation? (Inferno #17)
• Tyranid vs Marine, by John Gravato. Gravato, from Texas, was a frequent freelance artist for Games Workshop and the Black Library. He would go on to be a senior concept artist for Bethesda Studios working on Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. This piece graced the cover of Inferno! #17.
• White Heat, by Paul Dainton. Another illustration from Dainton, this time for Abnett’s Iron Snakes short story. (Inferno #18)
• Words of Blood, by John Gravato. Another piece from Gravato, this time it was story accompaniment for Ben Counter’s tale. (Inferno #19)

Meanwhile in Warhammer Monthly

Warhammer Monthly had a very straightforward year in 2000, with none of the bonus issues we’d seen the year previous. Nevertheless, readers enjoyed a dozen magazines filled with both standalone and serial content. Existing series like Bloodquest II and Titan: Vivaporious continued along, there was more Iron Snakes content from Abnett, and Kal Jerico fans were spoiled for choice. Here’s what the year held in store:

• Battlefleet Gothic, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Colin MacNeil (art). The Macharius, a Dictator-class cruiser, faces ambush in a battleship graveyard. As you’ll see, Rennie did a great deal of lifting for the magazine in 2000, with his name all over the credits. (Warhammer Monthly #34)
• Better da Warboss Ya Know, by Jim Alexander (script) and Wayne England (art). Grots scheme to keep their warboss in power after a battlefield injury threatens to see a challenger rise. Alexander’s debut, we introduced him in our previous installment. England also supplied the cover art for this issue, featuring a scene from the story.  (Warhammer Monthly #26)
• Bloodquest II, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Colin MacNeil (art). The long-running series continues with the team of Blood Angels in the Eye of Terror. Issue #26 also includes a special lore section on Nurgle, Lord of Stench and Decay. (Warhammer Monthly #26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33)
• The Chosen One, by Jim Alexander (script) and Jim Brady (art). The Inquisition investigates reports of a miracle-worker on a primitive world. Brady is an Irish fantasy and sci-fi illustrator who also lent his talents to 2005’s Starship Troopers: Blaze of Glory comic. As recently as 2023 he noted being around 80% complete with an epic fantasy/horror art book, Shrine.  (Warhammer Monthly #37)
• Daemonifuge: Lord of Damnation, by Jim Campbell (script) and Kev Walker (art). The second chapter of this series begins as the net draws tighter around Battle Sister Ephrael Stern. Who will get to her first, the Inquisition or the minions of Slaanesh? (Warhammer Monthly #32, 33, 35)
• Deathwing: The Tale of Two-Heads Talking, by Andy Jones (script) and David Pugh (art). A year before this had been released as a special, full-color adaption to help commemorate Black Library Week, and now it’s returned in black and white. (Warhammer Monthly #36)
• Ephrael, by Kev Walker. A portrait of Ephrael Stern decorated the cover, heralding the return of Daemonifuge within. (Warhammer Monthly #32)
• Kal Jerico, by Karl and Stefan Kopinski. Karl Kopinski’s name is a frequent mention in this serries, but his brother Stefan- a talented illustrator in his own right- helped contribute to this cover portrait. Stefan has a substantial body of work for Games Workshop and the Black Library, and other properties such as the Mutant Chronicles as well. (Warhammer Monthly #35).
• Kal Jerico, by Wayne Reynolds. Another portrait of Necromunda’s poster-boy bounty hunter, Reynolds included cover duties as well as drawing the strip itself. (Warhammer Monthly #29)
• Kal Jerico: Code of Honour, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Wayne Reynolds (art). The Necromundan bounty hunter takes on a scavvy gang in pursuit of one of his bounties. (Warhammer Monthly #31)
• Kal Jerico: Licensed to Kill, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Wayne Reynolds (art). It’s not easy to make Necromunda’s bounty hunters team up for common cause, but Jerico finds extortion might just be the ticket. (Warhammer Monthly #29)
• Kal Jerico: The Nemo Agenda by Gordon Rennie (script) and Wayne Reynolds (art). With most Jerico stories self-contained in a single issue, this was the second four-part miniseries the magazine had run following The Motherlode the year prior. (Warhammer Monthly #34, 35, 36, 37)
• Kal Jerico: Raintown, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Wayne Reynolds (art). Jerico’s quarry brings him to one of the least-habitable corners of Necromunda, the acid-drenched Raintown. (Warhammer Monthly #28)
• Leonatos, by Colin MacNeil. As the strip’s artist, MacNeil contributed the cover to this issue as well. (Warhammer Monthly #33)
• Leonatos, by Karl Richardson. This cover art featured another portrait of one of the Blood Angels of the Bloodquest series, Richardson’s background included work for 2000AD and Games Workshop. In 2023 he successfully crowdfunded Badd Luk: The God Axe, a comic about “disgusting orcs, daring barbarians and beer.” (Warhammer Monthly #27)
• Pariah: Daemon Heart by Kev Walker (script/art). A questing eldar warrior finds his fate tied up in a prophecy connecting him to Battle Sister Ephrael Stern. (Warhammer Monthly #27)
• Pax Imperiales, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Paul Staples Jeacock (art). The Adeptus Arbites get a story here featuring Marshall Byzantane coming face to face with a dark relic. (Warhammer Monthly #36)
• Sacrifice, by Gordon Rennie (script) and Jim Brady (art). When a space hulk enters Imperial space, it’s up to a squad of Ultramarines to deal with the threat it poses. (Warhammer Monthly #32).
• Space Wolf, by Karl Richardson. A more pensive portrait of a Space Wolves Astartes decorates the cover here, in contrast to the identically-titled piece previously noted in Inferno! #21 (Warhammer Monthly #36)
• Strategium, by Dan Abnett (script) and Paul Staples Jeacock (art). Not only were readers treated to a tale of the Iron Snakes, but there was a special breakout section here filled with lore about Abnett’s Astartes Chapter. (Warhammer Monthly #30).
• Titan, by Simon Davis. Davis, like many of the illustrators who plied their trade for Games Workshop also had an extensive background with 2000AD. There he collaborated with a number of familiar talents from Dan Abnett (on Sinister Dexter) to Gordon Rennie (on Missionary Man), and would later become a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. He also worked as a storyboard artist on videos for Tori Amos and Muse. (Warhammer Monthly #34).
• Titan: Vivaporius, by Dan Abnett (script) and Anthony Williams (art). The long-running serial about the Imperial Titan Imperius Dictatio continues as an alliance of convenience is explored with the eldar against a common foe, the tyranids. (Warhammer Monthly #26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34)

And that closes the book on the year 2000, a year of growth and change for the Black Library. And there was no slowing down, as we’ll see in the next installment of the history as we’re introduced to a certain Inquisitor who’s served as another of the Black Library’s most successful “gateway drugs.”

Footnotes

1. Rennie was interviewed for a Battlefleet Gothic fansite, Blackstone Six.
2. An interview with Jonathan Green in 2012, coincidentally enough.

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