The popular artist chats with 'ToyFare' about his new Joe two-pack comic covers
By Justin Aclin
Posted 12/17/2008
TOYFARE: How did you get involved with G.I. Joe originally? Wasn't ToyFare involved?
HORN: You bet. The illustration that first caught Hasbro's attention was the painting I did for a ToyFare feature called "G.I. Joe: The Movie." It was an interview with the Joe producer, and we wanted to show what the characters might look like if portrayed by real actors. Viggo Mortenson was Duke, Monica Bellucci was Baroness, and Jennifer Garner was Scarlett...I like to tell people Cobra Commander will be played by Gilbert Gottfried! Anyway, Hasbro really liked this piece and decided to give me a shot at some of their stuff.
These covers are homages to classic Joe issues. Did that ever make things tricky?
HORN: The compositions for most of these covers were pretty intricate. The cover for #115 with the Rattler bearing down on Capt. Ace while the fortress fires on his plane from below was one of the most challenging pieces I've done this year.
Were there any Joe covers you really like that you didn't get to tackle?
HORN: Anything with Baroness or Scarlett would have pleased me to no end! That is my specialty you know? At one point, we started on G.I. Joe #4, which featured Scarlett prominently, but it was cancelled halfway through. Drat! I could run off a list of about 20 great G.I. Joe covers. I've been thinking about this for a while now.
Would you like to continue doing this sort of thing in the future?
HORN: Definitely. I was fascinated by the package art as a kid and now I'm continuing the tradition. I walked into Target and all my 2-packs were there on the shelves together. That was a great feeling—I felt like a kid again!
Anything else coming up?
HORN: Yes! Due out in 2009 from Image Comics, I've got an art book called The Art of Greg Horn: Refreshed.
