Doom cover artist dies at 73
by Justin McElroy 
{ Nov 2nd 2009 at 12:28PM } 
Doom is one of the most influential games in history, and at least some of that credit has to go to the iconic cover, which features an aesthetic that's still pervasive in the industry a decade-and-a-half later. The man responsible for that image, artist Don Ivan Punchatz, has passed away. He was 73.Though Punchatz created cover art for numerous books and magazines, ranging from Playboy and National Geographic to Boys Life and Newsweek, what we'll always remember is the lone space marine with the curiously exposed abdomen facing off against the legions of Hell. Our best wishes to his family and friends.
[Via BigDownload]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
RKN @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:30PM
Doom was one of the first games me and my brother ever played, at the ages of 8 and 5 respectively. ; )
R.I.P.
Smoke_me_a_Kipper @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:47PM
Doom is the first game I ever saw make someone physically sick. Motion sickness from a game? Well at least his head didn't spin around, it only probably felt that way.
Dafrety @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:57PM
The blur in Need for Speed Carbon makes me sick. Of course, the game it self makes me sick too, but for an entirely different reason.
DamonTheMoney @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:33PM
He's created some beautiful art (as well as some badass pictures like the Doom cover). I'm sorry to hear this news.
Rest in Peace Don Ivan Punchatz.
Ver7ig0 @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:36PM
Good night sweet prince
PR0F3TA (PSN - PROPHETA) @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:41PM
i want that tattooed on my back!
FNG @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:54PM
you would need to remove the "enter ↓ here" first
PedoJokerBear [Planeteer | Power of Gall Bladder] @ Nov 2nd 2009 3:11PM
hahahahaha
THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Nov 2nd 2009 5:47PM
Fucking BURNED! God speed sweet painter of radical demons and gnarly space marines. Your art is forever burned into my mind as a joy from my youth!
Torque_AOD @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:43PM
WOW. My condolences to the artist. DOOM was the first game my dad played, and he was hooked. I guess that's why I play games MW and GoW2 so much.
Shimrra @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:44PM
That cover still kicks ass.
Don Ivan Punchatz will always be remembered in the eyes of gamers everyone as creating that first box art that truly captured what you will expect from the game.
snowleopard233 @ Nov 2nd 2009 2:19PM
I remember seeing that cover as a kid and just being so absolutely terrified. Video games had been, to me, Sonic and Mario running around and jumping on people’s heads, light-hearted fare where the good guy was never in great peril. To see a cover where the player character was so obviously “doom”ed just shattered my idea of what danger in a game really meant.
Mr. Brown @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:44PM
The article is quite interesting - being unfamiliar with the market for computer games, he opted to take a reduced fee for DOOM instead of his normal cut -- a percentage of product sales.
Oops.
Babel @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:45PM
RIP.
Doom was the first videogame I played with any sort of violence whatsoever. I had a go at my holiday playscheme when I was six - what responsible times they were!
Still, the game has given this guy a damn fine legacy, so well done to him!
DarthDavid @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:50PM
R.I.P., to a great artist, and just to think the iphone version was just released a few days ago. Hopefully it will be enjoyed by many people who never had a chance to play this one of a kind FPS.
opifex @ Nov 2nd 2009 12:53PM
That Doom game is actually still a very well used game. In my Computer Games Development course, the very first game we start coding is a DOOM level, and then go onto modding the gameplay itself. Because its such a simple and well open-minded game, its perfect for beginners.
It may be an old game, but this game recently taught me ALOT about how games development goes on and i've improved my programming skills alot.
/RIP, you legend.
Maulok @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:03PM
This cover art alone made me upgrade from my Leading Edge Fortiva 4000 to a newer Compaq just so I could play Doom.
Godspeed, Mr. Punchatz
Avada Kadavra 9 @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:09PM
RIP - 666
Wardo @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:10PM
I still play doom to this day, due in no small part to that cover art.
R.I.P.
Ryan @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:20PM
iddqd, forever.
Arturo @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:22PM
Loved that cover when I first got DOOM, R.I.P
OMGOMG @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:26PM
That guy taught at my school, TCU in Fort Worth. One of my best friends had him for an art class last year.
Said he was fucking awesome. Sad story.
Enosoma @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:32PM
The space marine isn't exactly alone. There's another one in the background desperately reaching out to the protagonist.
RIP old dude.
Duke @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:39PM
Wow, my church still uses that image for the stain glass windows above our alter!
zanmushi @ Nov 2nd 2009 1:46PM
Great cover, great game. Best of wishes.
Dave @ Nov 2nd 2009 2:04PM
He's drawing demons with Jesus now.
Marty @ Nov 2nd 2009 3:12PM
Too bad - but at least he had the pleasure of creating one of the most iconic cover art of all time.
DomoBraden @ Nov 2nd 2009 4:39PM
That's sad. Everyone's time comes sooner or later. Rest in peace guy, rest in peace.
Also, as a quick aside, please let us know when the artist that created the original Mega Man's cover art die. That shall be a joyous and festive day the world around.
Stevetrop @ Nov 2nd 2009 7:48PM
Farewell. You made a cover that was as beautiful as the game was.
Juan @ Nov 2nd 2009 9:41PM
Rest in peace dude who created one of the best boxarts in the history of gaming.
uncaringbear @ Nov 3rd 2009 2:33AM
/SALUTE to an artist who made one of the most iconic box art covers ever.
ignfan69 @ Nov 3rd 2009 11:26AM
Damn the guy that created master chief died
RIP
Mr.ESC @ Nov 3rd 2009 12:31PM
RIP my friend,you will be missed.
Kherr @ Nov 11th 2009 5:28AM
I never thought I'd find this article about my favourite game in the history of games whilst searching google for a mass effect mod for Doom (to see if there is even one made). At the age of 6 I played DOOM the very first day it launched on the university server as a shareware game (Dec. 10th, 1993). To hear of his death is numbing, to say the least. R.I.P, you will be missed.