Obituary: Oliver Frey, illustrator of iconic video game magazine covers, has passed away

Magazine artist Oliver Frey, known for illustrating numerous video game and computer magazines including Crash, Amtix, and Zzap!64, has passed away.

Frey had been creating illustrations for comics, magazines, and books since 1969, deftly flitting between genres including science-fiction, fantasy, history, romance, and gay erotica.

News of Frey's passing has been circulating on social media, with friends and colleagues praising the veteran artist for creating a string of iconic magazine covers.

"He's without doubt the all-time greatest video game magazine artist," said game writer Jaz Rignall, who worked alongside Frey earlier in his career. "We worked together at Newsfield for years, where he painted a myriad of legendary cover images that defined an era."

In celebrating his work, Rignall spotlighted a number of Frey's impressive Newsfield covers on Twitter, including a festive Christmas cover brimming with references to some of the most popular C64 titles of the era and another abstract effort showcasing the ZX Spectrum (shown in the collage below).

In more recent years, Frey's artwork also graced the cover of classic retro game magazine Retro Gamer, while some of his erotic pieces were featured in an exhibition at the British Library in August 2014.

Newsfield magazine covers by Oliver Frey