Whereas the infamous Dr. Frankenstein created a solitary monster in his own image, Ghoulish Gary Pullin has redefined what an entire world’s worth of monsters would look like for a new generation of monster kids, his imagination more bold and beastly than the bottomless pit of colourful creatures that flow out of his gnarled fingers and cursed pencil.
Ever since an old, unscrupulous priest gifted young Gary with his first set of markers at the tender age of six, he’s been developing his unique style – equal parts Robert Crumb, Charles Burns and Basil Gogos – that has bled into scads of mediums in and out of the genre. Despite being weaned on the mock horror of Saturday morning TV’s Hilarious House of Frightenstein, the glorious and garish gore of ’80s slasher films and the theatrical films of Vincent Price, it was at a commercial design firm where Gary first put an edge on his scythe, though the staid restrictions of the straight world eventually proved unfit for the graveness he was truly seeking. He soon found what he was looking for at Rue Morgue, the world’s best-selling horror magazine, where he acted as Art Director for the past thirteen years. He was the creative force behind virtually all design aspects of the respected publication, including the masthead logo, covers, event posters, merchandise and websites. Gary helped shape the ever-evolving face of horror, leading him to work with many notable contemporaries such as musician/filmmaker Rob Zombie and artist Mike Mignola (Hellboy), as well as the influences that inspired him to create in the first place, such as horror icons Clive Barker and Basil Gogos.
