“The Extraterrestrials are here. One man has seen them. Wayne Barlowe’s brilliant portraits of science fiction creatures are the result of exacting studies made during a lifetime in the field. He now presents anatomical drawings, cutaway and locomotive studies, and at-hand observations of each entity’s habits, behavioral patterns, environment, and culture. Wayne Douglas Barlowe has been that close.”
– Back cover of Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials
We know what aliens look like from reading Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials. Published in 1979, the guide to extraterrestrial life features images by Wayne Barlowe, an American science fiction and fantasy writer, painter, concept artist and creature designer – you can see his work in the movies Avatar. Harry Potter and Hellboy.
Created when he was “a hungry youth with something to prove”, Barlowe guide was published amidst a fad for grimoires of imaginary realities. Notable other books in the trend include Wil Huygen’s Gnomes (1976), Stewart Cowley’s Spacecraft 2000-2100 AD (1978), The Science Fiction Encyclopedia by Peter Nicholls, Cowley’s Aliens in Space: An Illustrated Guide to the Inhabited Galaxy, David Day’s Tolkien Bestiary and Alan Frank’s Galactic Aliens.
Created with no little skill and biological details , Guide To Extraterrestrials was delivered in the tone of a natural history book, albeit for beings from other worlds. Each creature comes with details about their culture, habitat and physical characteristics.
An art student at Cooper Union in New York, Barlowe had started by providing cover art for sci-fi novels. It was through this job that he met the art director of Ballantine Books, Ian Summers. Encouraged by his parents, both natural history artists, Barlowe pitched the idea of the Guide To Extraterrestrials to Summers, who accepted and offered him a contract. The book won Best Book For Young People by The American Library Association.
In 1982, Barlowe’s aliens formed the basis for a series of collectable toys by Revell, in the manner of Zeroids by Ideal, Colorforms’ Outer Space Men, Mattel’s Major Matt Mason and the mega-popular Masters of the Universe. Launched in 1983 as Power Lords, the toys failed to catch on and ceased production the following year.
Via: We Are The Mutants, Power Lords Return,
Would you like to support Flashbak?
Please consider making a donation to our site. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For great art and culture delivered to your door, visit our shop.
