John Alvin 1948 - 2008

John Alvin, who created memorable images for movie posters, billboards and advertisements, including the two fingers touching above the Earth’s surface for “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” died on Wednesday at his home in Rhinebeck, N.Y. He was 59.

Mr. Alvin painted striking images for more than 135 films in a 35-year career, working on projects for directors like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Blake Edwards, Mel Brooks and Ridley Scott.


More recently Mr. Alvin painted posters for the “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.

Click here for the full story.

Link: JohnAlvin.com

Howie Schneider, 1930-2007

I have been of a fan of Howie Schneider's since I was a kid. I followed his "Eek & Meek" comic strip because it was one of the very few comics our local newspaper carried. I love, love, love the simplicity!

Within the last few years, I have become familiar with Howie's children's books, of which I'm a huge fan.
If you haven't come across some of his books, I urge you to go to your local library, bookstore, etc. and check them out.
Absolutely brilliant work!

The sad news has come that Howie passed away on Thursday from complications following heart surgery. He was 77 years old.

Howie was a comic stripper, an editorial cartoonist, a sculptor, a painter and a children's book author/illustrator.
He obviously loved creating art.

Condolences go to his family.


LINKS:
The Provincetown Banner story on Howie Schneider.
Journalista
Mike Lynch's blog
A remembrance on Paul Giambarba's blog

Images from "Chewy Louie" by Howie Schneider.