Editor’s Note: Freeze Frame features a selection of pop culture focused art, because there are new and classy ways to show off your cinematic love.
This October will mark the 55th anniversary of the first airing of The Twilight Zone. While the series creeps closer to AARP qualification, it is far from set to retire. There have been multiple attempts to bring back the anthology series, with a mediocre 1983 film, television revivals in 1985 and 2002 (of diminishing quality), as well as continued chatter of a new film or television series. Nevertheless, they all pale in comparison to the original. Thanks to legions of fans who continue the series’ legacy by ceremoniously scarring their children with televised marathons of the classic, it lives on with continued relevancy. The great series helped to redefine television and set a new standard for creative storytelling, one that a plethora of writers and directors continue to emulate. The series also went on to inspire comic books, board games, and a suitably terror inducing theme park attraction.
Thanks to Dark Hall Mansion and Tom Whalen, now you have the chance to show off your love for The Twilight Zone. The officially licensed subscription series will feature 10 prints focused on classic episodes of the original program. With 156 episodes to choose from, it will certainly be tough to narrow that down to ten, but Dark Hall Mansion is certainly showing real promise already announcing the inclusion of “Eye of the Beholder,” “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” “Living Doll,” and “Nick of Time.” If that weren’t enough they are offering a glimpse at the first in the series, “Eye of the Beholder.”
The series will be released in standard (limited to 230) and variant editions (limited to 70 and featuring metallic inks). All of the prints will measure 18” x 24”. As you can only pick up these prints as a limited edition series, the price tag is a bit hefty, with a standard subscription at $450 and a variant at $650. But if you do the math, that’s only $45 or $65 per print and for something from the incomparable Tom Whalen (a personal favorite of mine), you really can’t beat that. The series will go on sale August 19th, and the rest of the prints will be released throughout the year, with the next release planned to be “Talky Tina.”
Dark Hall Mansion has featured previous work from Tom Whalen in addition to artists like Laurent Durieux, Jayson Weidel, Tyler Stout, Dave Perillo, as well as many others. Based out of Los Angeles, California, the studio is a self-confessed “labor of love,” and they go on to announce themselves as a producer of “the most beautiful of prints, folios and originals, all from top artists or the mad studio hermit ferreting away his creations on the other side of the globe, work dedicated to cinema, music or topics a bit skewed.” Visit their site and follow them on Twitter, @DarkHallMansion, for more.
Tom Whalen is a designer and illustrator. His unique, yet somehow familiar, style has made his prints a hot commodity in this age of the poster and print renaissance. His work includes pieces for Nickelodeon, Disney, Hasbro, Jack White, The Black Keys, Mondo, and many more. Visit Tom’s site and follow him on Twitter, @strongstufftom, for more.
