Limerick comic book artist Gary O’Donnell recently had his artwork printed in the official 50th anniversary artbook for the film JAWS. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick
Limerick sci-fi, horror, and comic book artist, Gary O’Donnell, is celebrating having his work featured in a special edition JAWS 50th anniversary official art book
Gary O’Donnell is celebrating the achievement of having a piece of his art featured in the special edition JAWS 50th Anniversary picture book, marking a “dream come true” for the Limerick sci-fi, art, and comic book artist.
Gary, from Limerick City, is a superfan of the Steven Spielberg classic and joins a collection of artists from across the globe to feature in the book. Gary spoke with I Love Limerick about the achievement, saying, “It’s incredible! It’s a dream come true, to be honest with you. JAWS, as you know, has been in our lives forever; we grew up with it, and we’ve always loved it.”
Based on Peter Benchley’s bestselling novel, JAWS has played an important role in cinema history, featuring a cast including Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw. The success of the movie led to the coining of the term ‘blockbuster’, and it has now celebrated 50 years since its release.
Speaking about how important the achievement is to him, Gary said, “It was, because I knew that fans of the movie like us, the people who felt about it the way we do, who kind of talk about it and notice things and still watch it again, even to this very day, I knew that fans like that all over the world would be looking at it. Then the project is for the fans by the fans, and that was the most important thing for me.”
For his piece included in the book, Gary chose a scene which stands out to him in particular from the 1975 thriller, which he says “gives you a breather”, as a “calm before the storm”.
He said, “Every scene in Jaw’s is perfect, as far as I’m concerned. Every single one. It’s a perfect film for me. Quint is the heart of the film. He’s the absolute soul of the movie – Robert Shaw’s character. And there’s that one scene where he’s standing on the prow, the very prow of his boat, and he’s got his rifle.
“That one scene, its inclusion, just always resonated with me. Quint is just standing there in his element. It’s that one moment of clarity in the film where there’s some stillness and silence before all hell breaks loose.”
The talented Limerick artist has seen his work appear in other sci-fi and horror books, including a special production book celebrating John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’, as well as another important milestone for Gary, seeing his work appear in a picture book commemorating Jim Cameron’s ‘Aliens’.
Gary said, “ When I heard that we’re doing a special art book for The Thing John Carpenter’s movie from the eighties. That’s when I jumped on board because The Thing is a really important film for me. It’s absolutely tremendous, and I love horror and sci-fi or the mix of horror and sci-fi, like The Thing.
“I did get My Art into the Celebration of Aliens, the Jim Cameron movie. I got a piece in that as well, so that was my, really, my top three. I was delighted about The Thing, JAWS, and Aliens. They’re three of my favourite movies of all time!”
Born and raised in Limerick City, Ireland, Gary has been creating art since he was a young child. His love for all things film is apparent in his work with obvious nods to the science fiction and horror genres.