Thanks to his excellent Substack, Michael Whelan reminded me that today is his seventy-fifth birthday. Despite the fact that I almost died this past Thursday, was I going to let this anniversary pass without proper respects? I say thee, “Nay!” Respects will be paid to one of the greatest SFF/Horror artists who has ever brushed paint upon canvas. The DMR Books blog has honored Mr. Whelan numerous times and that tradition will continue here and now, come Hell or moronic truck drivers.

Thanks to the fact that I can't type very fast (due to stitches) and that I have to look for a new vehicle, I will keep this short. I lament that I can't give Whelan his full due. Suffice it to say that he has been a superstar/mainstay in the art world since about 1975, thanks to the eagle eye of Donald A. Wollheim at DAW Books.

That is a fifty-year run. Other than N.C. Wyeth, no American artist/illustrator has pulled that off. Even the immortal Frazetta was considered passé by about 1985. Whelan rolled with the punches and kept on selling paintings to various art directors. Even today, his artworks grace the covers of major fantasy series and he is, at this moment, finishing up a glorious illustrated version of Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness for Centipede Press.

Below, I provide a severely curated gallery of Michael's genius over the past six decades. Do yourself a favor and check it out. His official website can be found here.

Happy birthday, Michael!