2000 AD Covers Uncovered: The two sides of Tazio Bettin’s Azimuth cover for Prog 2409
20th November 2024
Every week, 2000 AD brings you the galaxy’s greatest artwork and 2000 AD Covers Uncovered takes you behind-the-scenes with the headline artists responsible for our top cover art – join bloggers Richard Bruton and Pete Wells as they uncover the greatest covers from 2000 AD!
This week’s 2000 AD cover by Tazio Bettin gives us the two sides to Dan Abnett and Tazio’s gloriously mysterious Azimuth.
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Azimuth began as this… ‘Welcome to the city of Azimuth, a data-driven metropolis, where anything is possible. Ruled by an aristocracy of the New Flesh, such concepts of life, death, and body forms are fluid. Anyone can take any shape, if it can be conceived by the imagination. Suzi Nine Millimetre, for example, is a cadavatar, whose existence is given purpose by the jobs she undertakes for her New Flesh masters.’
Since then, we’ve seen mystery layered on mystery, with the introduction of one Ramone Dexter into the world in series one, and now, in series two, The Fabled Basilisk, we’re taken on twin journeys, as Dexter, accompanied, somehow, by a very familiar Psi-Judge, faces down the Kray Twins, and cadavatar Suzi Nine, tries to get to sanctuary.
What will Abnett and Bettin bring us as this second series runs to its end? That’s the great unknown and the whole mystery and the stylish way Bettin brings us the action are all part of what’s made Azimuth such a hit.
Now, over to Tazio Bettin for this latest Azimuth cover, showing us the two sides to this particular tale… starting with his concept sketches sent to The Mighty One…
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TAZIO BETTIN: As per usual, I provided some concept sketches for cover ideas. The Fabled Basilisk follows the structure of a parallel storyline, and I wanted the cover to reflect that, but I thought of providing options with alternative cover ideas.
To my joy and satisfaction, the first idea was the one that eventually pleased our Lord Tharg.
And here’s that first idea worked up into the preliminary cover sketch…
Tazio’s initial sketch from his chosen cover concept
TAZIO BETTIN: I wanted to draw something a little playful, an image you need to flip around in order to appreciate it fully.
So, I did an initial sketch, checked that the layout worked (sometimes it is ok to cover part of the magazine title a little but one can never be careful enough with such a delicate thing as object placement in a cover piece) and proceeded with final pencils, inks, and colours.
Tazio’s pencils for Prog 2409’s Azimuth cover
Inks and layers to Tazio’s cover
During the story, Suzi finds herself in a desert, and the series colourist, the amazing Matt Soffe, chose such a wonderful palette for that desert that selecting the chroma for this cover was a no-brainer.
I like to make the characters pop with a chromatic contrast between character and background: if the background has saturated colours, I go with muted ones on the character and vice versa.
Naturally, the character pops out more if the saturated colours are on them, and the neutral ones are in the background, and that’s perfect because Dexter is at the centre of the main storyline in this chapter.
So, that is why I did Dexter with his signature red dress against a desaturated background, and Suzi and her typical cadavatar whites against a background with vibrant violets. And I have to say, violet’s not a colour I use nearly enough in my go-to palette, so I’m glad I had a chance to fix that.
It’s a gorgeous cover from Tazio, perfectly illustrating the twin threads running through Azimuth: The Fabled Basilisk. Thank you so much to Tazio for sending along his tale of how it all came together.
Azimuth: The Fabled Basilisk began in 2000 AD Prog 2406 and continues, brilliantly, the tale of this data-driven metropolis, thrown into chaos by the introduction of Ramone Dexter.
You can Tazio’s brilliant cover everywhere Thrill Power is is sold, including the 2000 AD web shop from 20 November.
We’ve talked to Dan Abnett and Tazio about the delights of Azimuth in an interview here, an interview where Tazio had so much to talk about that we split it into two, with the second part Tazio only, talking about Azimuth, creativity, collaboration, and art.
We’ve also talked with Tazio plenty here in Covers Uncovered, there’s Sinister Dexter covers for Prog 2259, and Prog 2283, including his unusual guest appearance in this Andy Clarke Covers Uncovered for Prog 2290, all to do with the worst car in history, the Austin Allegro! Then there was his cover for Hope… In The Shadows for Prog 2302. And finally, there’s his Azimuth covers for Prog 2337 and Prog 2342.