N.J.’s Greg Hildebrandt, ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Lord of the Rings’ and Marvel/DC artist, dead at 85

His richly imagined wizards, hobbits, dragons, Jedis and web-slinging superheroes became some of the most iconic images of comics, books, calendars and films.
New Jersey artist Greg Hildebrandt, known for his work in fantasy and science fiction illustration alongside his twin brother Tim Hildebrandt, has died.
Hildebrandt, whose art could be found in images associated with “Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings,” Marvel and DC comics and more, was 85.
His wife and agent, Jean Scrocco, announced his death on X (formerly Twitter) Friday.
“The light has gone out in my life. At 12:36 pm yesterday afternoon the love of my life, my best friend and soulmate passed away,” she said.
“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!”
Hildebrandt died Thursday in Denville, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Greg’s fraternal twin brother, Tim Hildebrandt, his first partner in art, died in 2006, at 67.
The pair of illustrators, Detroit natives known as the Brothers Hildebrandt, had a studio in Morris Plains. Some of their most high-profile fans included celebrities like Michael Jackson and Robin Williams.
They worked together starting in 1959 on art for comic books, children’s books and textbooks, film production design, movie posters, collectibles, trading cards and advertising.
But they first teamed up as artists when they were 2 years old — Greg Hildebrandt once shared that the brothers loved color so much they would try to eat their crayons.
As working artists, they’d start from different ends of a canvas and meet in the middle.
They created one of the original “Star Wars” movie posters and a series of popular calendars for J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” published in the ’70s.
In the poster they made for the United Kingdom release of the first “Star Wars” movie (1977), an image known as “Style B,” Luke Skywalker holds a gleaming lightsaber above his head as the huge shadowy head of Darth Vader emerges from the darkness of the background. The poster’s blaster-toting Princess Leia, who stands next to Luke, was modeled after Greg Hildebrandt’s first wife, Diana Stankowski, since the artists were not given reference photos of the cast.
Greg, who owned the Spiderwebart Gallery in Hopatcong, used his son, Greg Hildebrandt Jr., as a model for the hobbits in the Tolkien calendars.
The Hildebrandt brothers also collaborated on a film poster for the 1981 movie “Clash of the Titans.” They parted ways that year, when Tim moved to Texas.
After a decade living and working separately, they reunited, with work including comics posters for Marvel and DC.
They illustrated a 1995 revival of the newspaper comic strip “Terry and the Pirates” written by “Batman” movie producer and lifelong comic book fan Michael Uslan, a Jersey City native who grew up in Bayonne and Ocean Township.
Greg Hildebrandt also painted a series of ’40s and ‘50s-style pinup images called “American Beauties,” which he launched in 1999.
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, the Hildebrandts painted tributes to benefit the families of firefighters and EMS workers.
The brothers painted more than 100 illustrations for the card game Magic: The Gathering in the 2000s.
Since 2003, Greg Hildebrandt designed the yearly tour programs for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, including the upcoming 2024 program. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, he also designed album covers for the Illinois band as well as the Black Sabbath album “Mob Rules,” released in 1981.
His book illustrations included art for “Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy” in 1984 as well as classics of literature like “The Wizard of Oz” and “Dracula.”
Greg Hildebrandt’s book illustrations included his own book, “Greg Hildebrandt’s Favorite Fairy Tales,” also published in 1984.
Hildebrandt received the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists’ Chesley Award for lifetime artistic achievement in 2010, and the Brothers Hildebrandt were honored with Comic-Con’s Inkpot Award in 1995.
Greg Hildebrandt is survived by Scrocco, his wife of 15 years; his son Greg Hildebrandt Jr.; his daughter Mary; his sister Jane; his daughter-in-law Jane and son-in-law David.
Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup.