John Coulthart
John Coulthart (born 15 March 1962) is a British graphic artist, illustrator, author and designer who has produced book covers and illustrations, CD covers and posters. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Lovecraft-inspired book The Haunter of the Dark: And Other Grotesque Visions which contains a collaboration with Alan Moore entitled The Great Old Ones that is unique to this book and also has an introduction by Alan Moore. He was nominated for a British Fantasy Award, for Best Artist, in 2005.
John Coulthart
- Birth Name
- John Coulthart
- Born
- 15 March 1962
- Birthplace
- England, UK
- Occupation
- Graphic artist, illustrator, author, designer
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Languages
- English
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
John Coulthart (born 15 March 1962) is a British graphic artist, illustrator, author and designer who has produced book covers and illustrations, CD covers and posters. He is also the author of the critically acclaimed Lovecraft-inspired book The Haunter of the Dark: And Other Grotesque Visions which contains a collaboration with Alan Moore entitled The Great Old Ones that is unique to this book and also has an introduction by Alan Moore. He was nominated for a British Fantasy Award, for Best Artist, in 2005.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for John Coulthart. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q15525335 · wikipedia · John Coulthart
In this article
Biography
Biography
In 2012 he won the Artist of the Year award at the World Fantasy Awards.
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — John Coulthart • Born — 15 March 1962 • Birthplace — England, UK • Occupation — Graphic artist, illustrator, author, designer • Genre — Science fiction, fiction, non-fiction, occult, horror, steampunk • Notable Works — The Haunter of the Dark: And Other Grotesque Visions, Lord Horror: Reverbstorm • Website — johncoulthart.com
Comics work and adaptation
Comics work and adaptation
He has done much work based upon the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, adapting "The Haunter of the Dark", "The Call of Cthulhu" and "The Dunwich Horror" to the page. His adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" done as 10 pages of collages appears as the last story in volume 2 of The Graphic Canon. He is also noted for illustrating the Lord Horror comic book written by David Britton, produced by Savoy Books and republished as a 344-page book entitled Lord Horror: Reverbstorm in February 2013.
Other work
Other work
Coulthart has also provided card art for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering. In 2006 he designed the film posters and the entire DVD packaging and menu interface for the documentary feature film The Mindscape of Alan Moore. Coulthart has also designed the cover art of the album "Steps of Descent", by the death metal band Cyaegha. The album is based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft. He contributed 30 film reviews and 4 essays to the book Horror: The Definitive Guide to the Cinema of Fear. He has done illustrations and the cover design for The Moon & Serpent Bumper Book of Magic by Alan Moore and Steve Moore. The book was published by Top Shelf Productions in 2024. Other future projects include a series of novels the first one of which is entitled Axiom.
Design and illustration
In the music field, he has designed promotional art and CD covers and packaging for the heavy metal group Cradle of Filth, Hawkwind and Steven Severin. He also created the poster and cover art for spoken-word albums by writer Alan Moore. Within the field of literature, he also worked with Colin Wilson and on a lavish Savoy Books edition of David Lindsay's A Voyage to Arcturus. He has designed the covers for many contemporary Steampunk novels. He designed (and contributed an entry to) the anthology work The Thackery T Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases and also its sequel The Thackery T Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities. He has also produced numerous cover illustrations for Arthur Magazine.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Illustration
5,224 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- John Caruthers LittleIllustrator
- John Cecil ClayIllustrator
- John CelardoIllustrator
- John Coleman BurroughsIllustrator
- John CurtisIllustrator
- John D. BattenIllustrator
- John Dawson WatsonIllustrator
- John DeVriesIllustrator
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by John Coulthart?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.