Realms of Fantasy has kicked the bucket now for the second time. I feel sad about this, but at the same time the past year has sort of slowly weaned me off the magazine due to the lackluster design and the so-so stories.

One day in 1994 (when I was 12) my dad came home with an issue of Realms, a fantasy short story magazine, and dazzled by the amazing illustrations and really cool fantasy stories I’ve been reading it ever since. I credit this magazine for introducing illustration to me as an art form and introducing me to some of my favourite contemporary illustrators (Alan Lee, Brian Froud, Kinuko Craft, John Howe, Yvonne Gilbert and so many more).

I became interested in folklore solely because of Terri Windling’s Folkroots column which was always so interesting and featured so many classic illustrations from the great Golden Age illustrators (Rackham, Dulac, Nielsen, etc.), and have incorporated folkloric themes into my own art since then.

Well Realms, it’s been a great 16 years and you’ve been a major player in my artistic development. I’m sad that I’ll never get to illustrate a story for you, but I will treasure every issue I’ve collected (or should I say that my dad has bought me) since 1994.

Here is a collection of my favourite covers:

My first ever issue

I copied this cover when I was 13 in pencil crayon.

Love this cover by Kinuko Craft