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The Thing Artbook–More than 350 artists intrepret John Carpenter’s The Thing for the film’s 35th anniversary

Filed under: Comics & Books, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café — Leave a comment

March 10, 2018

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you were an artist and asked to create a modern, retro poster based on John Carpenter’s 1982 cult favorite sci-fi/horror movie The Thing, what would be your centerpiece? Kurt Russell’s arctic helicopter pilot MacReady? The mimicking monster in one of its many phases? Maybe just the secluded facility among the snow drifts? Incorporate the dogs? The sprawling logo? More than 350 artists were asked to do just that, and the result is publisher Printed in Blood’s The Thing Artbook, showcasing the many ways artists see the film, 35 years later.

Dedicated to legendary horror artist Bernie Wrightson, the book includes a foreword by Eli Roth (Death Wish), a few pages of storyboard concept art from comic book artist Mike Ploog and illustrator William Stout, and page after page of images based on the film, reflecting a first frame to last frame look at the movie. Some designs hint at the horror that awaits, others provide an in-your-face look at the gory creature transformations the film is known for. And several incorporate that marketing tagline, “Man is the Warmest Place to Hide.” All attempt to challenge the senses, visions created in styles of impressionism, avant garde, mod, art nouveau, psychedelic, abstract, art deco, travel, or other retro/vintage homage–something from the myriad designs will appeal to every fan of the film.

Poster interpretations of The Thing from artist Adam Cockerton (left) and Bryan Fyffe (right) in The Thing Artbook.

Artists providing work for The Thing Artbook include Dave Dorman, Bryan Fyffe, Bryan Timmins, Joe Corroney, Jeff Lemire, Ben Templesmith, Kate Kennedy, Francesco Francavilla, Dan Panosian, Tim Seeley, Adam Cockerton, Bill Sienkiewicz, Nicole Falk, Brian Rood, Peter Steigerwald, Tim Bradstreet, Sam Gilbey, Michael Godwin, Salvador Anguiano, Rio Burton, Neil Davies, Steve Thomas, Dave Acosta, Chris Sears, Cecil Porter, and hundreds more.

Take a look at some other images from the book:

Look for an afterword by The Thing director himself, John Carpenter.

Pick up The Thing Artbook now at Elite Comics!

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New documentary takes another look at the art of the movie poster

Filed under: Con Culture, Movies — Leave a comment

August 5, 2016

If you’ve watched any number of the documentaries or read about the artists that created classic movie posters in the 20th century, you can’t help but notice a subtext about the small circle of artists that became well known for their work. Ego and competition among artists is a recurring theme. In 2014 here at borg.com we looked at Drew Struzan via a documentary exclusively about him and his work. Three books discussed here are about Struzan’s contributions to movie poster art. A new book in 2014 chronicled works by John Alvin, reviewed here, and another book reviewed here documented the movie posters created for the Star Wars franchise alone. Originals of some lesser Bob Peak poster art are being offered at more than $6,000 here. In 2014 the greatest collection of movie posters ever assembled was offered at auction, discussed here. Movie posters are still popular and do not appear to be fading away anytime soon.

In most accounts and interviews, movie poster artists of the past 50 years lament the decline of the movie poster. But has that ever really been true? Isn’t every artist in every medium always faced with competition from new creators and new tools of the trade? Every year countless artists design movie posters that entice moviegoers. Should we really be discounting creators who aren’t using pencils or paints to create the final product? And is it enough for fans of movie posters that options like Mondo and new, up-and-coming poster artists are looking back and providing updated views of films via their poster releases?

Director Kevin Burke’s latest look at movie posters, called 24X36 to reflect the size of the standard marquee print, focuses on two classic poster artists, John Alvin and Roger Castel, Alvin known for countless posters for blockbusters and Castel for his often reproduced Jaws poster art. The documentary also steps forward with interviews and discussions with more recent artists in the craft, including William Stout, Jason Edmiston, Laurent Durieux, and Gary Pullin. We’ve looked at the works of Laurent Durieux here at borg.com previously.

Here’s a preview of the documentary 24X36:

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