After just a few weeks in theaters, It has become the highest grossing R-rated horror film of all-time (not accounting for inflation), passing The Exorcist and making its mark as the premier adaptation of Stephen King‘s killer clown story. Fans of the 1990 miniseries, starring Tim Curry as an unforgettable incarnation of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, may have been skeptical to believe that a new movie could hit home so hard, but Andy Muschietti‘s vision proved that It was indeed wanting for a new spin. And it could well go for another sometime in the future–as one artist has recently demonstrated, Pennywise’s terrifying visage also translates pretty well into anime!
Drawn and colored by Mike Anderson, this pinup perfectly captures a moment from the beginning of the story when poor Georgie Denbrough has the misfortune of getting a little too close to Pennywise. Anderson’s depiction of Pennywise’s face is quite striking, as it gets his malevolent grin and menacing eyes just right. Would you take a paper boat from this clown? It’s more than likely that we’ll all float down there!
Anderson also drew a second pinup of his anime-style Pennywise, which features a more complete look at his body and costume as well as his signature red balloons.
Seeing these pinups makes us believe that It could work really well as an anime film or a manga adaptation. It’s also given us an appreciation of Anderson’s work, which you can find here and here.
Update, September 30:
Anderson’s cool imagery has been updated with a little animation and some voiceover. Via CBR, Kev Chelios was inspired by Anderson’s drawing and went to town:
What if "IT" was an anime?🎈 pic.twitter.com/EAKTbvUjF2
— kev (@KevChelios) September 28, 2017
What did you think about Anderson’s Pennywise pinups? Scare up some thoughts in the comment section below!
Images: Mike Anderson
Want more It?
- Dancing Pennywise is a lot funnier when set to the right music.
- Finn Wolfhard couldn’t stop swearing after It.
- Batman takes on Pennywise in this fan trailer.
