All in all, I am happy with the end result. Currently I have the final image on posters, postcards and black tees and I will also have them available on Amazon early next week. The Red Knight is part of the "Go Ask Alice" series that I am currently working on. You can find the "Go Ask Alice" series here on Zazzle.
As I am writing this, it is now twenty one days to Halloween. My annual binge of horror movies has already begun and now I am revisiting some old classics. I am also remembering the art of Bernie Wrightson who passed away last March of brain cancer despite putting up a valiant fight. His work on the illustrated Frankenstein greatly inspired me with what one could do with the medium of pen and ink.
Bernie was inspired by 19th Century illustrator Franklin Booth. The flowing lines, the ability to pull contrasts and use dark shadows while filling the piece with incredible detail and energy, that was Bernie's forte. Currently IDW is reprinting Frankenstein Alive! Alive!
Bernie worked with Steve Niles to bring the story to fruition. Sadly Bernie passed away before he could complete the final issue of a three issue run. Kelly Jones, who is an admitted admirer as well as being deeply influenced by Bernie's style, stepped in to complete the final issue. The first two issues were an amazing swan song by Bernie. From the page above, which is from issue one I believe, you can see he still was at the height of his craft.
Bernie was also personally chosen by Stephen King to illustrate "The Stand" and "Cycle of the Werewolf". In fact their partnership goes back to the original "Creepshow" movie that King himself starred in. "Creepshow" was inspired by the EC Horror comics of the fifties, which in turn were an inspiration for both King and Bernie. Bernie did a lot of the promotional art for the film and later a comic adaptation.
Bernie will definitely continue to be remembered, like Frank Frazetta before him and other members of the Studio that included Bernie along with Michael Wm Kaluta, Jeffery Jones and Barry Windsor-Smith. All remarkable artists and craftsmen. Growing up they were my Fab Four. I still have a copy of "The Studio" that came out in the mid-seventies along with a copy of the "Illustrated Frankenstein", Barry Windsor-Smith's "Opus Two" and a collection of Michael Wm Kaluta's work on the Shadow.
Bernie, Jones, Kaluta and Windsor-Smith
These guys made my adolescent years tolerable and gave me the escape I was looking for as well as introducing me to a whole world of creative imagination.
Have a Happy Halloween...
