Ghoulish Gary

Tribute to Paul Naschy

gary — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 06:25:22 +0000

Here’s a pic of a recent illustration I did for the cover of Rue Morgue, issue 98. Paul Naschy, otherwise known as the Spanish Lon Chaney, passed away November 30, 2009.
This is my tribute to him. R.I.P. The issue hits stands March 1.

Paul Naschy Tribute illustration

Rondo Hatton Award Nomination!

gary — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:31:34 +0000

I’m proud to announce yours truly has been nominated for a Rondo Hatton Award for best magazine cover!
The cover illustration was created for Rue Morgue Issue 90,
a tribute to the legendary stop motion animator, Ray Harryhausen.
Please, cast your votes here!

Also, be sure to vote and show support for the hardworking fiends at Rue Morgue Magazine and Rue Morgue Radio!

Thank you from the bottom of my… well, heart!

Ghoulishly,
Gary

A Curious Collection art show

gary — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:02:41 +0000

Long time friend Vincent Marcone asked me to be a part of the upcoming art show “A Curious Collection of Monstrous Tinies”, an art, fashion and music collective showcasing an eclectic group of artists from all over North America. The show takes place from Tuesday, February 9 to February 20th at The Arts Project, 203 Dundas Street in London Ontario. Artists were asked to submit 3.75 x 3.75 miniature illustrations to be matted and sold during the duration of the show. Here’s a preview of a couple of my contributions.

More info here.

R.I.P. Chas. Balun

gary — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:24:00 +0000

I was very heartbroken to hear the news of genre writer and artist Chas. Balun’s recent passing. He succumbed to a long battle with cancer on December 18, 2009. The man needs little introduction to most horror fans but for those who don’t know, Balun’s unique, from-the-gut, often hysterical brand of editorial and film critique helped define the way many horror fans viewed our beloved genre. His articles in Fangoria were always a great read but it was his column for GoreZone magazine, “Piece O’ Mind”, that really stood out to me. I eagerly read each word, learning about all the unknown horrors that awaited me. But I think Chas. will mostly be known for his influential publication Deep Red, which officially hit shelves with a bloody splat in December 1987. A big-brother alternative to Fangoria, Deep Red turned many fans onto low budget and foreign films that would have otherwise remained in obscurity. The cover of issue one proudly depicts a little girl with her face blown off, a glorious moment of showering gore from Lucio Fulci’s zombie epic, The Beyond. It’s black, white and red colour scheme was a bold statement in graphic simplicity. I knew upon first glance that this was the mag for me. To say he was an inspiration is a grave understatement. His was the voice I followed during the 1980s, a time when my young inner horror child was finding its legs. Deep Red was my bible. I yearned for each new issue, traveling downtown to the only comic book shop that dared to carry it. Within it’s pages, he introduced a hilarious double rating system that consisted of the “Gore Score” and “Skull”. The “Gore Score” measured the amount of carnage in the film (0 – Marry Poppins to 10 – Reanimator). The “Skulls” system rated the over all quality of the film with four skulls being excellent, down to a “Bow Wow” which landed the movie in the “Video Dog House”!
His uncompromising, no bull-shit approach was honest and always from the heart. He was also a very talented graphic artist handling layout duties on Deep Red, coming up with horror t-shirt designs for RottenCotton.com and the black metal band Necrophagia. He illustrated book cover designs for his own publications Ninth and Hell Street, The Gore Score and contributed demented stories to FantaCo’s short lived GoreShriek, a comic aimed straight at the hearts of gore hounds.
Chas. emailed me a couple of times a few years back, totally out of the blue, just to let me know he loved the artwork I was doing at Rue Morgue, proving his finger was always on the pulse of an evolving genre. It was a major high that I’ve never come down from. I sent him an excited letter back, thanking him for the kind words. It’s a shame I never got to meet him in person, if only to shake his hand and thank him for the endless inspiration and delivering the “gore groceries” all of these years.
His voice spoke to a generation of horror fans and rest assured it has been heard. Thank you for sharing it Chas., it’s truly your own and will be sorely missed by many.

Gary Pullin
New Years Eve 2009

Street Trash Poster now available

gary — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:40:17 +0000

Click Mondotees, where you can purchase the Street Trash poster I mentioned in my update below. Lurk around their site too. There are numerous amazing posters available from numerous amazing artists. The quality of work is really great. Thanks to Mitch at the Alamo for asking me to do one. Hope everyone had a haunting halloween.

Keep the lights on,
GG Pullin

Little dead are soon in graves…

gary — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:02:45 +0000

Head over to the Rue Morgue Abattoir where I posted a little interview I did with London’s Radio hosts Bid D, Mindy and Gord on 103.1 Fresh FM. Every Halloween they call me at an ungodly hour and ask for some movie picks. This year I chose Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity and Michael Dougherty’s amazing halloween film, Trick ‘r Treat as definite must see’s.

And below is a new poster design commissioned by the good dudes at the Alamo Draft House for their screening of Street Trash next week. The poster is a massive 24″ x 36″, five colour silk screen. I’ll update on how to order a print when I have all the info.

Street Trash Poster

Until then… three more days until Halloween… Silver Shamrock!

GG Pullin

At Midnight I’ll Take Your Picture

gary — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:42:24 +0000

On July 24, Coffin Joe, a.k.a. José Mojica Marins, Brazil’s most notorious filmmaker, possessed Toronto for a couple of days. Rue Morgue and Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival brought him in for a special screening of At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul. He spoke very little English, drank red wine, and graciously signed some of our posters. I was lucky enough to get a pic with him and issue #85, Rue Morgue’s tribute to the evil undertaker himself.

Coffin Joe and I with Issue #85

R.I.P. Festival of Fear 2009

gary — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 04:20:31 +0000

The terrifying fog of the fest has almost receded so I wanted to thank everyone who dropped by my booth at the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear this past weekend. We had another great year. The crowds had doubled and the place on Saturday was an absolute mad house, but I just so happen to think that’s a good thing. I also want to thank my lovely lady Nicole who went above and beyond to help make things go smoothly, our good bud Aaron Beam (who took first place in the contest that night for his deadly Leatherface costume) and my brother Jay of the Dead for all their help. Hope you’re all fully recovered. I know I’m not!
I enjoyed talking with fellow exhibitors, like My Ghoul Friday, who is now in the know of the “Billy Connelly moment”. I met a few new artists like this guy here: Jason Edmiston. Check out his Creature taking a bubble bath and Monster Cereals meet “the real deal” prints. Amazing stuff. Another artist I’ve always dug is Emily Thomas. Fans of old-school tattoo flash, dangerous dames and vintage monsters will appreciate her work. I like her use of vibrant colours and simple compositions. My buddy at Rue Morgue, Justin Erickson, was also there selling his ghastly gallery to monster lovers all weekend. It was really great meeting and hearing feedback from Rue Morgue readers, talking shop and monster movies, my favourite subject if you didn’t know. But the big highlight just may have been when Udo Kier stopped by for a few minutes. Definitely one of the most surprisingly nice guests of the event and certainly the most entertaining. He really liked the poster I did for the Sunday night event at the Bloor, which I regret missing, and he even grabbed a Coffin Joe print to take home!

Rue Morgue also had the September issue available (#93) before it hit stands, which features an illustration I did of An American Werewolf in London. Upon seeing the sneak peek, director John Landis said “The cover is creepy and good. I called this the ‘opera’ make-up’.” Not exactly sure why they dubbed it the “opera make-up” but regardless, it’s a cool little fact. For me, those dream sequences (along with the horribly evil Nazi Were-Zombies) are the most startling and disturbing images from the film. The issue celebrates the reissue of A.W.I.L. which includes Beware the Moon, a killer doc which will be included as a bonus on the Full Moon edition. American Werewolf is one of the all time great monster movies and remains a true horror classic.

Well, have a good night fiends and don’t forget – stay clear of the Moors!

Ghoulishly,
Gary

Visit My BOO-th at this years Festival of Fear!

gary — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 04:10:55 +0000

Greetings!

The Rue Morgue Festival of Fear is approaching faster than a silver bullet and I’ve been busier than a grave robber getting things in order for this year. My booth is located right in the heart of Rue Morgue alley and I’ll be there all weekend with some t-shirts, art prints and originals.

My good buddy Leatherface will be there too, handing out free stickers and some other surprises. So drop by and say hi!

Ghoulishly yours,

Gary

On a personal note…

gary — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:57:13 +0000

I usually reserve this space for quick updates on my recent work but this year is a very special one for me. I’m getting married to my lovely lady Nicole in September. Our friends from The Creepshow and Ashlea at Revolver Photography, along with our families put together a surprise stag and doe concert this past July and to say we were shocked and surprised is an understatement. It was one of the best nights of our life.

This year has shaped up to be a very busy one and I’ve purposely been taking some time away from freelance and traveling so we can plan and save dough for the big event. To those who have emailed me about your projects, thank you for understanding. Things will be back on track next year.

And of course an update is never complete without showing something new. Here are three prints I created for Justin Erickson’s El Lucha Monstruo art show at the Gladstone. It was a great night with some great new works from Justin.

The framed prints sold that night but I did a run of 13 each and still have a few available. These 5 x 7 unknown monsters are only $20 each, signed and numbered and on quality card stock, so if your interested email me at gary@ghoulishgary.com. I’ll also have them available at my booth at this summer’s Festival of Fear.