Profile: Gary Pullin

Ghoulish Gary Pullin is Rue Morgue Magazine's art director and one of the most successful artists in horror culture today. You may not know him by name but I'm sure that you have come across his work. Whether it's the latest cover of Rue Morgue or your favorite bands new artwork, it's always awe-inspiring.

I asked Gary a few questions about his artwork and how this all came to be. Check it out in the first installment of Kdaver's Movie Morgue artist profiles!

KMM: How did you come to work for Rue Morgue?

GP: Around 98, I was at a Fantasia Film Fest screening for Lucio Fulci's The Beyond here in Toronto. It was a sold out screening and founder Rodrigo Gudino was there selling the first few issues of the magazine. I had seen a copy once before and was really impressed with it. I gave him my card expressing how I'd love to do some artwork for the magazine. Rod called the following week and we arranged a meeting. I showed him my portfolio and we talked at length about horror and the vision for the magazine. Before I knew it, I became fast friends with everyone there and worked on everything and anything they could send my way. I was holding down a full time job at a commercial design firm and moonlighting for RM on evenings and weekends. By this time, I had already designed the Rue Morgue logo, illustrated covers, columns and was contributing on every issue. Knowing I was ready for something new, Rod asked that I hold off on any other job offers and the next year, he hired me officially full time in 2001. It was a pretty exciting time for me. I was that young kid who used to hunt for horror magazine's and now I had the opportunity to help make one.



KMM: Your illustrations have a very distinct look to them. Are there any artists that have influenced your unique style?

GP: I have a lot of art heroes and am inspired by a new one on a monthly basis. Charles Burns, Basil Gogos, Bernie Wrightson, Todd Schorr, Robert Crumb and Joe Coleman have all had an impact on me. I love the Tales from the Crypt artists like Ghastly Graham Ingles and Jack Davis. I love the classic movie poster artists like Saul Bass, Reynold Brown and Norman Sanders… the list goes on and on and on…



Artwork © Gary Pullin 2011. Pictures posted with permission.


KMM: What does the future hold for Gary Pullin?

GP: I'm not really sure. I'm always pushing and doing different things to see where my art will take me. I have a bucket list. I'd love to publish a coffee table art book. I'd love to do an animated short one day. Right now I'm having a great time working with the talented kids at the magazine and with industry folks in the genre I love.

KMM: What is your all-time favorite horror film? If you can pick one!

GP: You had to ask! It's too hard to pick one. Even if you try to narrow it down to a top five, it's almost impossible. I love classic horror. The Creature from the Black Lagoon remains' the most wonderfully shot and designed "guy in a suit" monster flick. I love the music score, the time of day when I first saw it... I mean, there's so many reason's why we love a certain film. But if I had to say one, Creature could be it. Tobe Hooper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre is also one of my favourite films because how utterly terrified I was after I had seen it. It was the first movie I watched that had that documentary feel to it, no goofy music or elaborate, theatrical set pieces. It felt as though I was watching something in real time and it blew me away. I also love The Thing, Fulci's The Beyond, The Changeling, Day of the Dead...

KMM: Lastly, is there anything you want to plug going on right now?

People can follow me on twitter: @ghoulishgary. Please check out all things horror at: http://www.rue-morgue.com/, ghoulishgary.com, talesfrombeyondthepale.com and in my Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/GhoulishGary



Artwork © Gary Pullin 2011. Pictures posted with permission.

Update: February

Sorry it's been a while... I've been busy setting up some exciting new ventures for the blog.

I am starting a new segment called profiles. In the next couple weeks I will be catching up with some of my favorite artists in the horror genre. We'll take a look at a little bit of their artwork and find out what is behind the madness.

In addition to the profiles, I will be producing some upcoming video posts. The weather is getting nicer and that means horror conventions and traveling!

So stay tuned fellow horror fans!

The Unnamable

It's a difficult feat to translate an H.P. Lovecraft story to film. I still think Stuart Gordon is the best we've seen thus far with Re-Animator and the far less acclaimed From Beyond. Although, The Unnamable (1988) was quite enjoyable despite the previous statement.

This movie follows two groups of delinquent Miskatonic University students following up on a local legend of a monster who was born and hidden away in the attic of an old house in the woods. It has you're typical teen slasher set up with two groups of guys, the nerds and the jocks, trying to impress the unlikely female companions and getting picked off one by one.

The performances were all kind of campy except for Katrin Alexandre, who played the abandoned monster Alyda. Her movements in costume looked incredibly inhuman and extremely creepy. You have to give her credit for how they pulled the monster off, considering the description given in the short story was "a thousand shapes of horror." That's Lovecraft for you. Mark Kinsey Stephonson also put forth a valiant effort playing the knowledgeable Randolph Carter but ended up looking like he was unsuccessfully channeling Jeffrey Combs.

The Unnamable is a lost classic of the 1980's in it's own right. You may remember seeing this title gracing the shelves of your grimiest video store. If you happened to get your greasy hands on a copy of the VHS or the recent and short lived Anchor Bay release consider yourself lucky... sort of.

P.S. Read Lovecraft.