Courtesy of artist Tommy Patterson’s twitter account, we’ve got a first look at some of the artwork that will be appearing in the comic book adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

The most striking (and obvious) observation is that, in light of the recent HBO television adaptation of the series, is that the cartoony characters seem out-of-place in Martin’s grim universe. I like Drogo’s design, though he looks too much like a pirate, and the emphasis on his long braid shows that Patterson’s paying attention to the details. Jaime and Cersei I’m less keen on. I like Ned and Robert watching on in the background. I’m hesitant whether the graphic novel medium will be able to properly capture Martin’s world and characters, but art is only one half of the equation and Daniel Abraham’s (author of The Dragon’s Path) adaptation of the text should be top-notch.

If you were to ask me to name my favourite Fantasy artist, I’d probably hum over Raymond Swanland, haw over Michael Whelan, scratch my head about Dave McKean and have Todd Lockwood on the tip of my tongue… but the artist I’d eventually come out with would be Kekai Kotaki. I’ll let the art itself explain.

Kotaki is one of those involved in the Guild Wars franchise, a series a videogames that constantly blows me away with its concept art. I am overjoyed to see Kotaki gaining a wider and wider profile in the book market with every year.

What’s your favourite piece of Kotaki artwork?

The cover for the first volume in the series, The Magicians, is, in my opinion, one of the most iconic and alluring covers from the past several years. It’s simple, the tree reflected in water is memorable, a wonderful colour palette and strong typography.

The cover for The Magician King, also featuring art from Didier Massard (which, like the first volume, is a photography of a miniature model, giving it a very distinct look), hits on some of those same notes (strong typography, nice colour palette), but the lack of a central point of focus hurts the cover’s initial impact and puts it a few notches below its predecessor. Still, it’s lovely, mystical and calming and will look nice alongside The Magicians as a set on a bookshelf.

Via Pat’s Fantasy Hostlist:

Though George R.R. Martin first started exploring the Free Cities in A Game of Thrones, nearly fifteen years ago, there has never been an official map of the city states or the continent of Essos. Doubly odd given the lovingly detailed maps of Westeros that have been available for years. Now, thanks to the HBO television adaptation, we have one.

I suppose the most striking feature of the maps is how empty it all is. Pentos, Myr, Tyrosh, Lys and Braavos are all there, but otherwise, it’s completely empty land, devoid of cities like Qohor or Volantis. Perhaps they appear off the map, but then why cut it off mid-way through the continent? The map was created for the purposes of the television series, so it stands to reason that they would only include the cities that are featured prominently in the novel, but it would have been nice to see Martin, Bantam Spectra and HBO take this as an opportunity to produce a map as detailed as those of Westeros that appear in each volume of the series (The North and The South). Perhaps we will get one when A Dance with Dragons releases later this year.