The Late Great Greg Hildebrandt

Illustrator and artist Greg Hildebrandt, who worked both with his late twin Tim and on his own, died on October 31 2024 at the age of 85. The Brothers Hildebrandt were known for their iconic Star Wars (1977) and Clash of the Titans (1981) posters. Both with is brother and on his own, Greg Hildebrandt was also known for his work on The Lord of the Ring calendars, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics.

Greg and Tim Hildebrandt were born on January 23 1939 in Detroit. They were only six years old when they started drawing their own comic books. They were heavily influenced the style of classic Disney animated movies such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), and Fantasia (1940). Comic books, paperback covers, and the work of Maxfield Parrish and Norman Rockwell were also influences.

The Brothers Hildebrandt took a six-month class at the Meinzinger Art School in Detroit. By 1959 they were painting professionally. They did some work for the Detroit-based Jam Handy Organization, who created industrial films and sales films. It was in 1963 that they moved to New York City where they went to work for Fulton J. Sheen providing art for his TV series Life is Worth Living.

The Brothers Hildebrandt created the art work for the Lord of the Rings calendars that Ballantine Books published from 1976 to 1978. It was in 1977 20th Century Fox approached the twins about creating poster art for the release of the Star Wars (1977) in the United Kingdom. While a poster had already been created by artist Tom Jung, the studio considered it too dark. The Brothers Hildebrandt then created the famous Style"B" poster for Star Wars (1977). The Brothers Hildebrandt developed thier own idea for a fantasy movie called Urshurak. Failing to ever sell it as a film, Urshurak was published as a graphic novel in 1979. They later created the poster for Clash of the Titans (1981).

It was following their work on the Clash of the Titans poster that Greg and Time began to work separately. He did covers for the magazines Omni and Heavy Metal. He also illustrated covers for books from Dracula to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to The Phantom of the Opera. He created covers for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's albums, as well as their merchandise. He also did work for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Wizards of the Coast. He also illustrated his own book, Greg Hildebrandt’s Favorite Fairy Tales (1984) and in 1999 began work on a series of 1940s-1950s style pinups called "American Beauties."

The Brothers Hildebrandt were very much a part of my childhood and teen years given their work with The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. And I always appreciated their art more so than many other artists of time. They had a realistic style with a richness of colour rarely seen in the work of other fantasy illustrators. Indeed, even after Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies had come out, it is still their illustrations that come to my mind when I think of the novel. Of course, Greg Hildebrandt worked separately from his brother, and he did a lot of great work. From the over of the Black Sabbath album The Mob Rules to his "American Beauties" pinup series, he created a wide variety of artwork. It has been nearly fifty years since I first saw Greg Hildebrandt's work, and he still remains one of my favourite artists.