NEWS

Posted on 26 February, 2025

Thomas Gilbert, artist on two of the newest Ian Fleming Publications releases, talks to us about his work.

In 2024 we released a new paperback edition of Ian Fleming’s children’s classic adventure, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The team first came across Thomas through his striking fan covers for Fleming’s Bond novels, and fell for his bold style. Publishing Director Simon Ward says, “From the moment we saw Thomas’ work we knew he’d be perfect for this beloved book. His imagination and knowledge of Ian’s classic car is second to none.”

Thomas is a graphic artist and illustrator, based in Warwickshire, England. Working primarily in the field of poster illustration, he has a passion for modernising vintage styles through a combination of traditional and digital media. A lifelong car enthusiast, Thomas has a background in car design. He graduated with a Masters Degree from Coventry University in 2011, and has since enjoyed creating several high profile cars for iconic British marques.

“I am a lifelong fan of Ian Fleming, so to be asked to illustrate one of his most iconic books is an incredible honour. In book and film form, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a story which has always been close by. I grew up somewhat surrounded by vintage cars (one in particular is a lot like my family’s very own Chitty!) so the notion of a car being alive and a part of the family just naturally resonated with me from a very young age. Chitty is a wonderful story, imbued with all of Fleming’s characteristic warmth, adventure, inventiveness and authenticity – I’m very excited to be illustrating it for a new generation of young readers.”

Thomas brings a vibrant new look to this treasured story, with a dynamic cover design and 30+ original black and white illustrations for the interior. Take a look at the evolution of the cover below.

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was inspired by a real life speed trial car. As a young boy, Ian Fleming witnessed Count Louis Zborowski driving his monstrous Chitty Bang Bang special over 100mph at Brooklands – and that is the car and the scene that he describes in the book’s foreword. So when I was preparing to illustrate the book, there was zero question for me that this HAD to be the car I would draw. It’s a brutish car, a sort of sledgehammer on wheels! But with such astonishing proportions and simple honest lines, it was a pleasure to draw. I only had to simplify the design very slightly for the illustrations, cherry-picking and combining the best of Zborowski’s various design iterations like the tapered tail and blunt heptagonal grille.”

Thomas has also created the striking cover for over very first solo Felix Leiter novel, The Hook and the Eye, by Raymond Benson. This he describes as ‘a dream project’ and depicts Felix, now a private investigator in year 1952, as a mysterious figure with a noir styling.

‘When I read the manuscript of The Hook and the Eye I was struck by its lovingly hand-crafted, analogue feel. To do justice to the warmth and authenticity of Raymond’s words, I felt the cover could only be an original piece, sketched by hand. I explored some wide ranging ideas – the book was a gold mine of possibilities! Pencil on paper gives an energy and texture that can’t be replicated – most of the pencil strokes remain in the final cover art.’

Discover more about Thomas’ work and process here.

• Instagram