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Watch John Carpenter Promote ‘The Thing’ On David Letterman
Nearly 33 years ago, director John Carpenter was one of the special guests featured on Late Night With David Letterman in order to promote his (at the time) upcoming film The Thing. It’s a really nifty interview with Carpenter being quite charming in his answers. It’s also great when Letterman asks if Carpenter would have had a child, would he allow them to watch The Thing. Carpenter’s answer is spot on and places the responsibility of such decisions with the parents, which is where it should lay.
One thing that made me cringe however was during the farewell when Letterman stated that he was sure the film was going to do very well. Alas, it wasn’t the box office sensation that it deserved to be. However, it lives on as one of the greatest horror films ever released.
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.
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