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Did You Know Vincent Price Inspired the Look of Doctor Strange?
Today, he dominates the box office. 53 years ago, he was born.
Sinister director Scott Derrickson has a massive hit on his hands with Doctor Strange, easily the most wonderfully weird movie that Marvel has released to date. Like Guardians of the Galaxy before it, Doctor Strange is so uniquely its own in the realm of comic book movies, and the tale of a surgeon-turned-heroic-sorcerer has been winning over audiences all across the world.
It’s also the first superhero movie to begin with a beheading, which seems perfect considering the titular character was inspired by a horror icon who rolled a few heads in his day.
Doctor Stephen Strange, who first appeared in July 1963’s Issue #110 of Strange Tales, was created by artist Steve Ditko, and among the principal inspirations for Marvel’s mystical superhero was Chandu the Magician. Another inspiration? Legendary horror icon Vincent Price, who played a powerful sorcerer in a film (The Raven) released the same year as Strange’s arrival!
Yes, the character was originally drawn up to look quite a bit like Price, and Strange’s middle name even paid tribute to the horror master. His full name? Stephen Vincent Strange, of course!
Vincent Price himself had a little fun with the Doctor Strange connection years later by voicing the character Vincent Van Ghoul in the animated series “The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo.” Like Strange, Van Ghoul has black hair with prominent streaks of grey on each side of his head, and in addition to dressing much like Strange, he even possesses magical abilities.
Gotta love it.
Oh by the way. Get out and see Doctor Strange if you haven’t yet. It’s one of Marvel’s best.
*Credit to Jagoba (header) and ImaginativeHobbyist (below) for the fun mash-up art.*
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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