News
FEAR 3 Featurette: John Carpenter Plays Games?
Alright, so John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing, though really, did I need to say that here?) being a gamer isn’t really the news here, but I’m just having trouble picturing it. I mean, now all I can think about is how I might’ve unknowingly played against him online and beat him, or worse yet, maybe he beat me? Anyway, the video below has John Carpenter and Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) talking about how much fun they had with the FEAR series and how great FEAR 3 is, though I’m sure the latter is to help sell copies of the game, it’s still a fun watch.
My only issue is Steve’s comment on making characters we can empathize with. I agree with the statement, as it’s impossible to be scared for a character you don’t care about, but FEAR 3’s sibling protagonists might very well be two of the least interesting characters, right up there with the likes of Duke Nukem. I mean, come on, one of the guys is called Point Man for Christ’s sake. I might be able to find room in my black heart to care about a Jim or a Steve, but fucking Point Man? With that said, the game looks like more good fun.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
You must be logged in to post a comment.