BATMAN FOREVER (1995) Concept Art By Sean Hargreaves, Matt Codd, And Others.

Concept art and design of Sil, from SPECIES (1995).

Concept art by Harley Jessup for RETURN TO OZ (1985). Dare I use the word—“underrated”?

It wasn’t until today that I realized that two of my all-time favorite movies are Oz adaptations: THE WIZ (1978), and this unusually dark film, a sequel of sorts to THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).

Vintage publicity images for TWIN PEAKS.

Three things define the early 90s for me: The Simpsons, grunge music, and Twin Peaks.

I was 13: not a kid anymore, not really a teen yet; I mean not the kind of teen you are when you’re 16. I used to ride to school on my bike thinking about Twin Peaks: the music, characters, scenes, the warm visuals, the whispering trees, just the strange, otherworldly sense around it. The suspense was murder. Everything seemed charged with mystery, even traffic lights and ceiling fans. Twin Peaks is the shadow version of America’s can-do optimism.

That’s where my head was for about a year, I was constantly thinking about Twin Peaks. None of the other kids in my class watched the show, so it felt like my own dream world. Nobody knew but me. But then it has been like that for most of my life.

Ghost world: photographer, Christopher McKenney.

Something off about these houses...

“Laura!”

The Starchild from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), a page from Jack Kirby’s 1977 adaptation, and the original prop on display.

First editions (and publications) of stories that became Stanley Kubrick films: Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey (based on Sentinel of Eternity in 10 Story Fantasy, 1951), A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon (The Luck of Barry Lyndon, Fraser’s magazine, 1844), The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, Eyes Wide Shut.

The art of outer space: nebulae photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. It sure is brimming with activity up there.

Some dinosaur art. Concept art of a sleeping T-Rex for a cut scene from JURASSIC PARK; designs by William Stout for what became Disney’s DINOSAUR (2000); and storyboard art from JURASSIC PARK.

illustrator john kenn mortenson