Norwegian artist Knut Westad has passed away this week after a long illness, at the age of 61.
Born July 16 1955, Knut is predominantly known as a cover artist for Scandanavian comics Fantomen and Fantomet through the 1970s and 1980s. Westad's distinctive style was memorable and unique.
On top of his cover art, he also painted or drew 10 stories that were published in Scandinavia.
Unfortunately for Frew readers, only a handful of these have ever been seen in Australia: Black Glove 1 & 2 (#898 & 899 in 1988); Revenge of the Drummer (#914A in 1988); and Deadly Cargo (#1763 in 2017). His short story The Environmental Avenger, created for the Royal Norwegian Ministry of the Environment, was also published in Frew #1763, the 80th Anniversary issue.
Scandinavian fans recognised his brilliance, with Knut Westad having no fewer than five of his covers voted as Best Cover of the Year for Fantomen or Fantomet in the decade from 1978-1988; these are shown in the Gallery below.
ChronicleChamber joins with all Phantom phans in offering our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
For more information about Knut Westad and his contributions to the Phantom world, see his entry on PhantomWiki here.
