Celebrating the Unpopular Arts
 

Drew Struzan Makes Any Movie Better

Drew Struzan began his career as an advertising illustrator before finally becoming the most distinctive and acclaimed illustrator of movie posters, best known for his work on the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter franchises. Long before he got to those iconic images, he made a whole lot of other movies look great, including some pretty terrible ones. Let’s take a look at a half-dozen:

In Defense of Fun

In recent years, there’s been a lot of press about comics starring girls and women; Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Squirrel Girl, plus less superhero-oriented fare like Gotham Academy and Lumberjanes. While much has been made about the emphasis on diversity, I think one of the reasons why these books are popular is that they are fun.

Postmodern Jukebox and Genre-Bending

I have terrible taste in music. At least that’s what I’ve been told. If I put my iTunes library on shuffle, it won’t be too long before somebody asks “What the hell is that?” Most of my favorite bands are on the weird side, as I have a perverse fondness for genre-bending, combining two or more styles of music into one ill-conceived creature that should not be.

The Lucky 10,000

It’s been sort of hinted at that Atomic Junk Shop is a little different from other comics sites; we may have accidentally conveyed the impression that we’re a bunch of grumpy old guys (except Spencer), and that we’re going to sit around grouching about new fans, new characters, and change in general. This is the point where I object to that characterization.