PopHorror Let's Get Scared
John Carpenter’s The Thing is my favorite horror film of all time. It may be my favorite movie, period. I said as much in the retrospective I wrote for The Thing‘s 35th anniversary. It goes without saying that when I heard they were doing an illustrated tribute to the film called The Thing Artbook, I was beyond excited! Of course, I pre-ordered a copy right away. It’s been a bit of a wait, but my copy arrived on my door step this week. What did I think? Was the wait worth it? Read on!
You’re probably wondering what this Artbook is all about. Well, here it is straight from the horse’s…er, publisher’s mouth! From the Printed In Blood product page:
AN ILLUSTRATED CELEBRATION OF THE JOHN CARPENTER MASTERPIECE!
Celebrating the 35th anniversary of John Carpenter’s sci-fi/horror classic film The Thing, this 400-page first volume hardcover of Printed In Blood’s ARTBOOK series features over 375 brand-new pieces of artwork created specifically for this collection. Bringing together artists from the worlds of comics, fine art, animation and illustration. Over 350 artists from all over the world have contributed art for this comprehensive collection.
Also included in the book, an all-new introduction by horror director/actor/producer Eli Roth and an afterword by the Master of Horror himself, John Carpenter.
The video below shows just one of the 300+ new designs from the book. It’s an alternative poster design from artist Cristiano Siqueira. Enjoy!
So what’s the verdict? This book is B-A-D-A-S-S! I love it. Totally worth the wait. It’s hefty – 400 pages, to be exact. Durably bound. Eli Roth’s foreword sums up my own feelings about the film: it’s an influential masterpiece and so ahead of its time. Carpenter himself pens the afterword as the icing on the cake. The pages are full of unbelievably cool pieces from some of the most talented artists in the business. You can tell with the turn of each new page just how important The Thing was to a generation of young, creative talent. This is a must have for fans of The Thing.
The Thing Artbook is a bargain, in my opinion, at just $39.99. Shipping to the U.S. is just $7.00, which is also ridiculously cheap because this thing weighs a ton. Great news! Printed In Blood was at San Diego Comic Con recently with a custom, slip-covered edition of the book and they are selling the overstocked copies of the SDCC edition on their website. There are only 20 copies left, so you’d better hurry up if you want one!
The limited edition is $80.00 and I think I may need to get one. My wife will kill me, but I can always give my original copy as a gift, right? Do yourself a favor and pick this bad boy up while supplies last. In the meantime, check out some of the artwork from the book in the gallery below.
Are you a fan of John Carpenter’s The Thing? Tell us all about it in the comments!
