What story arcs did Black Library introduce?

[Zuvassin]

No, because the point is that through the first editions of 40k, GW wasn’t beholden to printed lore. They commonly changed, edited, dropped, and added details to suit whatever then-current tastes or needs dictated. 
 

When 3rd edition launched, Andy Chambers even openly discussed that the infamously minimal lore of the rulebook and (early) 3rd edition codexes was intentional as they felt 40k did better with more mystery as well as with less confusion over conflicting lore bits in the stories. 
 

King’s story is important, but in its day, it was just part of the churn of White Dwarf lore at the time. What made it important is more retroactive - in time as people began trying to scrape together a coherent and expanded narrative for what increasingly became the foundational story of 40k rather than the random bit of background it still was (and remained) when Assault on Holy Terra was written. 

I don’t think modern gamers appreciate that Chaos and Chaos Marines have always been popular in 40k, but it wasn’t until the 2nd Ed Codex Chaos introduced Abaddon as the faction’s big bad that the Horus Heresy became more central to 40k as the Imperium vs Chaos in a revenge war over unsettled business displaced Ghazghkull Thraka and the perfidious Eldar as the primary enemy tropes of 40k. 

[Sgt John Keel]

Sure, but in 2001 how does it make sense to say "we knew X", when X (Space Wolves at the Siege) is not generally accepted lore, and the Bill King story (reprinted in 2002), which is in broad strokes still coherent with current lore, was not "known" to be canon?

 

From the outside it seems like someone in the early 2000s decided AoHT was "it", could be expanded and elaborated upon, but not substantially contradicted. 

[b1soul]

Sounds like the question is whether AoHT was treated as a major reference point by those sorting out the Horus Heresy "outline" in the early 2000s...or did the early 2000s work independently converge with the main beats of AoHT?

[Sherrypie]

On 3/31/2023 at 12:08 PM, b1soul said:

Other than the Emperor facing Horus on the Vengeful Spirit with a freshly slain Angel on the floor...most of the major HH events were fleshed out more with Collected Visions (Oct. 2004 - Sept. 2006: Visions of War, Visions of Darkness, Visions of Treachery, and Visions of Death), no? 

 

I think this art was from 1990

 

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...and Adrian Smith was probably inspired by it when he crafted the most iconic piece of 40K art imo

 

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I believe the bare bones of Prospero, Signus, Isstvan III, and Isstvan V may have been introduced much earlier? Not so sure about Calth...but now that I think back, Index Astartes did cover the First Founding Chapters' Heresy-era legacies in very general terms iirc.

 

Adrian was probably inspired by it, yes, considering he drew it. Both of those images are made by the same man.

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Sherrypie

[b1soul]

On 4/4/2023 at 2:29 AM, Sherrypie said:

 

Adrian was probably inspired by it, yes, considering he drew it. Both of those images are made by the same man.

 

 

Very nice...Adrian is a master of different styles