John Picacio Unveils A Song of Ice and Fire – Game of Thrones – Calendar Art

Fantasy artist John Picacio couldn’t have picked a better time to release the 2012 A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE Calendar. With fans still revved up for HBO’s Game of Thrones series and Comic-Con going full-blast, the colorful depictions of George R. R. Martin’s popular characters will have everyone saying ‘Winter is coming’ as they flip the pages through 2012.

The power of Eddard Stark obviously radiates from the pages of Martin’s A Game of Thrones because you can definitely see the similarities between Picacio’s Stark and Sean Bean. Meanwhile, Melisandra weaves her spells as the ‘red priestess’ gets ready for her intro on Season 2 of Game of Thrones.

The calendar isn’t all about fighting and bloodshed though, as Picacio gives us a moment of peace with Bran Stark at the blind side of the First Keep, high above Winterfell.

And, of course, you can’t have fantasy art without the time-honored combination of a sexy woman with dragons, so we have Daenerys Targaryen, who Picacio admits was a challenge to draw because of the need to balance naivete and compassion with pride and strength. I’m not a professional artist but I think he conquered that challenge perfectly.

You can check out the rest of the images at John’s blog, or talk with the man himself if you happen to be around San Diego because he’ll be at Comic-Con all weekend, with calendars available at his booth (#4600), and also at Random House’s (#1515).