News
Legendary Poster Artist Drew Struzan Has Passed Away
Legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan passed away yesterday, October 13, at the age of 78.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that Drew Struzan has moved on from this world as of yesterday,” noted a message on Struzan’s social media. “I feel it is important that you all know how many times he expressed to me the joy he felt knowing how much you appreciated his art.”
Struzan painted indelible posters for over 150 films, including Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Harry Potter, Blade Runner, E.T., The Goonies, First Blood, and The Shawshank Redemption.
He also created iconic artwork for several horror films, from The Thing to Hocus Pocus to Hellboy. I’ve highlight 15 of his genre works below.
For more on Struzan’s life, work, and impact, the 2013 documentary Drew: The Man Behind the Poster is currently streaming on Fandango at Home and Kanopy.
The Food of the Gods (1976)
Squirm (1976)
Empire of the Ants (1977)
Tentacles (1977)
The Evictors (1979)
The Thing (1982)
Incubus (1982)
Dreamscape (1984)
Return to Oz (1985)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
The Outing (1987)
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Hellboy (2004)
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Tales of Halloween (2015)
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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