When Bernie Wrightson passed away in 2017, he left a legacy of influence. Diverse and eclectic comics and film artists stood in his shadow and learned from the umbra to become their own thing. His absence was keener not because we would get no more Wrightson art, but because the industry lost a kind man who seemed to have befriended everyone he met. As if to prove the point, melding the influence of his art and his kindness, Monster Forge Productions teamed with Printed in Blood Publications to produce Bernie Wrightson Artbook: A Tribute.
Kickstarted last year and officially published and released in November, the glorious book contains remembrances from a variety of top creators including Monster Forge co-founders Steve Niles and Shannon Eric Denton. Those essays lie in wait among a multitude of art pieces done in tribute to the master. The most obviously influenced might be Kelly Jones, but when you see Hellboy creator Mike Mignola’s piece, it’s obvious that he owed a debt to Wrightson even though their artwork isn’t similar on the surface.
Then again, Wrightson’s art was more versatile than you might think. Former Bongo Comics and Mad Magazine editor Bill Morrison contributes drawings of Captain Sternn, an exaggerated humor character adapted into the first Heavy Metal film. Morrison points out that if you don’t see the Wrightson influence in his best-known work for The Simpsons comics, take a look at the poster he did for the initial release of the William Katt horror film House. Yes, in hindsight that looks like Wrightson.
Though the average comics reader knows Wrightson for co-creating Swamp Thing with Len Wein, the tribute pieces make it clear that his illustrations for Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein loom larger than the creature itself. Wrightson’s take on the tortured monster may have the most representation in the book, including concept art for an action figure from Monster Forge itself. We can hope that comes to fruition.
Marvel artist Al Milgrom gets close to the last word. Not only was he there in the early days, but he saved a lot of Wrightson’s sketches when the master wanted to clear out his files. So if a hundred or so pages of Wrightson tributes isn’t enough to convince you of why he is so revered, the last pages full of mostly unseen original work should do it.
We have no professional affiliation with Printed in Blood or Monster Forge Productions. We just love what they do. And if you pick up Bernie Wrightson Artbook: A Tribute, it’s likely you will, too.
