Joe Abercrombie's Before They Are Hanged - Antes de que los cuelguen, Spanish cover

Before They Are Hanged / Antes de que los Cuelguen

Cover artwork I made for the reedition of Joe Abercrombie’s “The First Law” trilogy in Spanish, in this case the seconf book Before They Are Hanged (Antes de que los cuelguen) with Runas / Alianza Editorial.

The scene shows the moment Glokta enters the council room of Dagoska and introduces himself to its members.

This scene is my favorite of all those chosen 3 for the covers, basically because I remember how interesting it was to read that contrast between characters and places. From the very first moment at the end of book 1 when I knew Glokta was going to travel to Dagoska I started to imagine it. The city is a southern, luminous and sunny place, with native tanned people and surrounded by the sea in a bay (I always imagine it as a Moroccan city). And then, Glokta and his crew, all pale (even with an albino in the group), fully dressed in black, with masks, sweating … like fish outside the water.

I wanted to represent that contrast and the way all things were going to change from their arrival, so the idea was to place Glokta as a sort of eclipse: he’s interrupting the light coming from the window and a long shadow is now on the map of Dagoska in the table. At the same time, some dark clouds are coming behind him to cover the whole city. I think this contrast, plus his attitude and teethless smile, puts the viewer in the same mood all council members are feeling.