XI Quarterly – Celtic’s Black Arrow

Open in Lightbox

Open in Lightbox

Open in Lightbox

Open in Lightbox

Last year I was commissioned to produce an illustrative spread for North American Soccer Quarterly – XI. This first issue was entitled “Coming to America”, focusing on how immigration has (and continues to) shape US soccer.

Each issue of XI investigates a single aspect of soccer culture in eleven eclectic and thoughtful ways.

My own contribution was an illustrative piece entitled ‘Celtic’s Black Arrow: A Portrait of Father and Son‘, highlighting the fascinating story of Gil Heron, which i’m proud to say went on to become the lead story of this inaugral issue.

Not only was he the first black player to play for Celtic’s first team but he was also the estranged father of proto-rapper Gil (Scott) Heron – who penned the seminal classic The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.

I had a lot of fun working with the guys over at XI and also took part in this audio interview in the build up to the magazines launch in which I discuss my own contribution to XI – http://www.xiquarterly.com/2012/07/04/issue-1-steve-welsh/