You may not know the name Glen Orbik, but if you enjoy the books of Hard Case Crime, you certainly know his work. Glen was responsible for over two dozen HCC covers, including Stephen King (JOYLAND, THE COLORADO KID), Christa Faust (MONEY SHOT, CHOKE HOLD) and Lawrence Block (THE GIRL WITH THE DEEP BLUE EYES). On Monday, Glen passed away after a long battle with cancer.
Glen studied the California Art Institute under the renowned Fred Fixler and eventually taking over some of his classes as he got older. Glen first wanted to draw superheros and ultimately did do some of that, drawing for Marvel, DC and Vertigo. He also did art for DVDs such as the reissue of Burt Lancaster’s THE SWIMMER. He also played in the fantasy realm with Random House’s Del Ray imprint (Including a number of STAR WARS covers) and TSR’s Dungeons and Dragons.
When asked about his influences, he said “Robert McGinnis, Gil Elvgren, Dean Cornwell, Mead Schaeffer,Andrew Loomis, John Buscema… and a healthy dose of Norman Rockwell.”
Before I ever knew his name, I had seen dozens of examples of his work. Sadly, it was not until his passing that I sat down and spent some time getting to know him and his work. A lot of time was spent saying “Oh, I know that cover!”
He is survived by his partner, and fellow Dred Fixler disciple, Laurel Blechma. He was 52.
