Heads Up: Laurent Durieux's Universal Monsters Movie Posters

If you've kept up with the comings and goings of the movie poster community, you will have no doubt heard about one of the coolest shows to ever be exhibited. And wouldn't you know it, the cracker jacks in Austin who kick started this whole poster movement thing are behind it. I'm talking about Mondo's Universal Monsters show, and boy have I got some great news for you. Laurent Durieux's classic monster movie prints will be available through Mondo at a random time later today. Say, what? Yes, yes, you heard me correctly! (Just an FYI, that was the "great news" I teased earlier.) Check these beautiful prints below.

The Wolf Man Movie Poster
Laurent Durieux
24" x 36" (Screen Print) - Numbered
$50 - Limited to 380

The Mummy Movie Poster
Laurent Durieux
24" x 36" (Screen Print) - Numbered
$50 - Limited to 400

Frankenstein Movie Poster
Laurent Durieux
21" x 36" (Screen Print) - Numbered
$50 - Limited to 375

Dracula Movie Poster
Laurent Durieux
24" x 36" (Screen Print) - Numbered
$50 - Limited to 350

Creature from the Black Lagoon Movie Poster
Laurent Durieux
24" x 36" (Screen Print) - Numbered
$50 - Limited to 475

I'm torn between Laurent's Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Mummy, and The Wolf Man, but I'm ultimately leaning towards Karloff's Imhotep. To see more of the artist's work, be sure to visit his Flickr page. And for all drop related info, follow @mondonews on Twitter. One more thing: the Universal Classic Monsters Blu-ray collection is awesome! Go buy it!

Martin Ansin's "Dracula" Movie Posters

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Martin Ansin is, hands down, my favorite artist. His aesthetic choices are usually perfectly in line with my tastes and he always manages to make bridging the gap between the fantastical and the photorealistic look easy. Much to my (and probably your) relief, Ansin's previous entry in Mondo's Universal Horror series, the jaw-dropping Mummy posters, were not to be his last, as Justin revealed Martin's beautiful Dracula prints earlier today.

Dracula Movie Poster (Regular)
Martin Ansin
24" x 36" - Numbered
$45 - Limited to 350

Dracula Movie Poster (Metallic Variant)
Martin Ansin
24" x 36" - Numbered
$85 - Limited to 100

Martin Ansin is stupefyingly great at taking a character's countenance and creating intricate, organic, complicated roadmaps. Take, for example, the mysterious visage of Bela Lugosi's Dracula. Look at the way Martin creates depth and texture with thick, wavy strokes, and carefully injects shadow to flesh out the Count's stronger facial features. I'm reminded of how Tyler Stout is able to place blocks within shaded blocks and create amazingly realistic figures, but with Ansin's art, the subjects appear even more lifelike, almost to the point where motion is discernable. I guess what I'm trying to say, albeit not very eloquently, is that on top of his already gorgeous designs, there's something lively (and clearly somewhat undefinable) about the work of Martin Ansin. With that said, you'll probably be shocked to hear that this isn't my favorite Ansin piece - that honor belongs to his Mummy posters. Still, this is another knockout print, that's both a wonderful tribute to and reflection on (insert vampire pun) a Hollywood classic. And holy crap, how about that wood coffin variant? Perfection.

Dracula Movie Poster (Wood Coffin Variant)
Martin Ansin
21" x 36" - Numbered
$135 - Limited to 75

Martin Ansin's Dracula movie posters will be available on Friday (12/30) through Mondo at a random time. Both posters measure 24" x 36" and are hand numbered. The regular red version of the print will cost $45 and is limited to 350, while the metallic ink variant is limited to 100 and will cost $85. The uber limited wood coffin variant measures 21" x 36", costs $135 and is limited to an edition of 75. To get the exact drop time be sure to follow @MondoNews on Twitter. To learn more about the talented Mr. Ansin be sure to visit his website at martinansin.com and follow him @martinansin. Good luck everyone!

"Dracula" Movie Poster by Aaron Horkey and Vania Zouravliov

Alright, I may have been a little hard on Aaron Horkey with my review of his True Grit poster. I admit it. But I can say without any doubt that his and Vania Zouravliov's Dracula poster is downright horrifying! In a good way, a very, very good way! I'm not really familiar with Vania's work, but the combination of his illustrations and Horkey's lettering work amazingly well together. This is seriously one of the creepiest, most beautiful things I've ever seen.

Dracula - Regular Edition

Dracula - Variant Edition

On my first viewing, the thing that immediately struck me was the crazy amount of detail poured into Helen Chandler's (is that Helen Chandler?) face. That crazy-meets-weary grimace is so photo realistic I had to do a double take (and I'm still not entirely sure). Add to that, the billowing plumes of fog, lively flora and Bela Lugosi's vampire bat (AKA Dracula) in the upper right corner and you've got an image that absolutely bursts off the page. These posters seem so authentically vintage, you could easily imagine them printed as illustrations in the original 1897 novel.

The coloring is another beast entirely. While the blacks, whites and reds of the regular version are stunning to take in, it's the browns, golds and grays of the variant that are truly sublime. The brassy sepia-toned palette completely fits with what I would imagine a repressed Victorian culture would secretly adore. It's spot on!

Finally, I've really got to hand it to Horkey. Not that he did anything wrong with the True Grit poster (he didn't, really), but in my opinion he has totally redeemed himself. The Dracula title and cast credits really complete what would have been a beautiful art print and transform it into a kick-ass and frightening movie poster. Well done sirs.

Both of these posters will be available at a random time tomorrow (1/12) through Mondo's online store. The regular version measures 23.75" x 34", comes in an edition of 330 and will cost $60. While the variant comes in an edition of 65 for $110. It's also interesting to note that these posters were printed by Burlesque, not by Mondo's usual printing partner, D&L Screen Printing. I wonder what that's about? To check out Vania Zouravliov's other work you can visit his portfolio or his online store.