Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015 9:12AM CDT

Category: Comic Book News
Posted by: william-james88 Views: 28,333

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It is with great pain that I share with you that Earl Norem passed away on June 19, 2015. Born on April 17, 1924, he was 91 years old. Those who know him are well aware of his work and what he has accomplished in the wealth of art he leaves behind, such as his work on the Transformers Storybooks and Masters of the Universe covers(it was He-Man world which first reported this news). His classic painted style is easily recognizable and even those who don't know him by name will probably have fond memories of his work (some examples below).

He was a very humble man and a friend of the Seibertron community and the site was even able to interview him back in 2005. You can read the interview here if you want to know more about Earl and his work.

We wish his family our deepest sympathies.

Credit(s): hemanworld

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Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702222)
Posted by D-BagTron on June 23rd, 2015 @ 9:35am CDT

I remember so many of these storybooks from my childhood.
Rest in Peace and thank you for your great work.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702239)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on June 23rd, 2015 @ 10:07am CDT

Shame but he lived long and produced quality work much of which inspired us young kids of the 80's. His gorgeous artwork with Transformers and He-Man had so much more atmosphere than their animated series.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702286)
Posted by Bumblevivisector on June 23rd, 2015 @ 12:57pm CDT

Just stumbled across this sad news last night when I happened to check his Wikipedia page amid some silly argument I was having with a MOTU fan, and wondered if it had been reported days ago but lost in the deluge of BotCon coverage.

If you had to pick one artist whose work encapsulated how '80s kids remember their childhoods, it'd probably be Earl. Wheelie the Wild Boy of Quintesson especially influenced how I remembered the TF:TM era, and considering how awesome the movie was, that's saying something.

My condolences to his family, and may he know eternal peace.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702300)
Posted by Optimum Supreme on June 23rd, 2015 @ 1:46pm CDT

Unless I'm mistaken, he was the first to ever give Prime a mouth.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702301)
Posted by WiseMan on June 23rd, 2015 @ 1:48pm CDT

I have Battle for Cybertron and I've read it to my 5 year old a few times. I think I'll read it to him again tonight.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702316)
Posted by Cobotron on June 23rd, 2015 @ 2:32pm CDT

I still have two of his TF books from my childhood on my shelf. I look at them often, not just because of the nostalgia, or that they are TF books, but because the are great illustration reference and a reminder of what can be accomplished by the human hand.

Thanks for years of inspiration Earl.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702337)
Posted by Demonology7789 on June 23rd, 2015 @ 3:36pm CDT

Rest in piece, my childhood wouldn't of been the same without you

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702362)
Posted by Amelie on June 23rd, 2015 @ 4:50pm CDT

The quality of work this guy always produced was incredible. Its little gems like his art that still draw me back into my vintage G1 collection

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702374)
Posted by Alpha Dominus on June 23rd, 2015 @ 5:18pm CDT

Along with Hector Garrido, the master artist responsible for the vivid card art for the 80's GIJoe line, Norem was one of my favorite commercial artists. At least for He-Man, his bold painting style created an ominous atmosphere that not even the Funimation cartoon or movie could capture. He left an indelible impression on the memories of thousands.

Rest peacefully and condolences for those closest to him.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702455)
Posted by morphobots on June 24th, 2015 @ 12:38am CDT

We all must go sometime, but this is still sad to read. I never had any of the storybooks, but I do recall seeing them in a local department store, and I also remember some of his MOTU art.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702460)
Posted by thestealthmc on June 24th, 2015 @ 2:06am CDT

I too have The Battle for Cybertron and The Great Car Rally, and read them over and over and over as a kid. I remember learning to read the word "thousand" from The Great Car Rally (I pronounced it "THU-sand"!). In fact I also just recently found the books again, having taken my old stuff out of my parents' basement for a move. Just beautiful work. Rest in peace, Mr. Norem!

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1702550)
Posted by Towline on June 24th, 2015 @ 10:32am CDT

I can see Earl Norem's influence on the "Combiner Wars" artwork on the toyline boxes.

Re: Legendary Artist Earl Norem Passes Away (1704401)
Posted by LegendaryAntiHero on June 29th, 2015 @ 7:41pm CDT

He did great work. Rest in peace, my friend