Legendary Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Marvel artist Greg Hildebrandt has passed away at 85.

Per ComicBook.com, Hildebrandt passed away on October 31, 2024 after suffering ongoing, serious side effects from medication. Born in Detroit in 1939 and the twin brother of fellow acclaimed artist Tim Hildebrandt, who passed away at 67 in June 2006. Greg worked alongside Tim as the other half of the iconic Brothers Hildebrandt, who produced some of the most memorable pop art ever. Among these famous works is their “Style B” painting produced as poster art in 1977 for Star Wars: A New Hope, which depicts Luke Skywalker holding a lightsaber high above his head alongside various other characters, including Princess Leia, beneath a starry space scene featuring the visage of Darth Vader.

The news of Hildebrandt’s passing was confirmed by his wife and fellow artist, Jean Scrocco, on social media. In the original Facebook post, Jean wrote, “The light has gone out in my life. At 12:36 p.m. this afternoon the love of my life, my best friend and soulmate passed away. Greg was 85 years young. He was the sweetest man I ever knew. We worked together for 45 years. We lived together for 33 of those years. We had a beautiful life we were blessed. Greg has been fighting for 5 months to regain his ability to breathe after a serious side effect of a heart medication. He fought very hard to win this battle but in the end he was just too weak. He passed away peacefully in my arms. He knew he was safe and he was loved and he will be missed terribly. I cannot imagine my life without him. He was my guy, yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. You are my heart and it is broken!”

On top of his work as part of the Brothers Hildebrandt, Greg Hildebrandt was a prolific solo artist, with works ranging from various classical novels to cover art for bands ranging from Black Sabbath to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In more recent years, Hildebrandt provided cover art for IDW Publishing’s Star Trek comic books and contributed to the 2022 anthology Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds, a benefit book published to raise money for refugees of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These projects came after a veritable lifetime of works that have become some of the most iconic images of their respective properties, including classic Brothers Hildebrandt pieces produced for The Lord of the Rings that have been given new life courtesy of tie-ins with Magic: The Gathering.

Source: ComicBook.com