When we first received these gorgeous, propaganda-style posters for this week’s Captain America: The First Avenger, commissioned by the Alamo Drafthouse and Mondo, we hesitated to share them — merely out of the fear that a post dedicated to them would amount to little more than a commercial for a big new release. Then we got a look at the movie itself, and figured what the hell, we’ll shill for it — since it’s a work of pure pop bubblegum pleasure, one of the most unabashedly enjoyable pictures in many a moon. (If it is outgrossed by Transformers 3-D, then Americans have lost their will to be entertained.)
One of the many ways that the film sets itself apart from its lesser comic-book movie brethren is in its unique period setting and distinctive production design; as you’ve probably gathered from the trailers, the bulk of the narrative is set in 1942, with Captain America taking on Hitler (specifically, a rogue wing of the Nazi army). That’s why these promotional posters in WWII propaganda art style, as devised by artists Olly Moss, Tyler Stout, and Eric Tan, are so ingenious — they not only promote the picture, but encompass its jazzy aesthetic. Check them out after the jump.
Our first poster is designed by Olly Moss, the UK-born artist who created last year’s wonderful “Rolling Roadshow” posters for the Alama Drafthouse. Moss worked up two posters — one for America, one for HYDRA, the “Nazi deep science division” that is the film’s primary source of evil.
Here’s Moss’s HYDRA poster. 375 sets of his 8″ x 24″ screenprints will be made available for $85/set.
San Diego designer Eric Tan created the next pair — again, one for the US, one for HYDRA.
220 sets of Tan’s 18″ x 24″ screenprints will be made available for $80/set.
This design by Tyler Stout is more of a traditional movie poster, albeit in a distinctively retro style. Stout also created a more monochromatic “variant” version (below), which we like even better.
