Breaking Bad will release limited edition Steelbook Blu-rays designed by Ralph Steadman.
The 78-year-old artist is well-known for his collaborations with Hunter S. Thompson, and was brought on by series creator Vince Gilligan to create covers for the cases. Steadman illustrated characters Walter White (Bryan Cranston), Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) for seasons one through six, respectively.
Ralph Steadman's series of covers for the UK Breaking Bad bluray steelbooks (out early 2015). #IWantToGoToThere pic.twitter.com/niWtoXbY3y— Sam Toy (@Samjuro) October 13, 2014
"At first, I thought, 'This series is going to be all about death and desecration,' but instead became a more complex landscape of human relationships," Steadman told Pissed Off Geek. "I hope I put something of these feelings into the portraits that I made of the characters, which were landscapes in themselves. An irony in the subject of crystal meth is how beautifully it resembles the desert sky."
"I can barely describe the combination of disbelief and giddy joy I felt when I heard [Steadman] was on board to do it!" Gilligan shared. "Ralph is the Walter White of artists. He's a dark genius whose output is disturbing, yet habit-forming. I am thrilled by his arrestingly bleak, visceral imaginings of our Breaking Bad characters."
The Breaking Bad limited edition Steelbook Blu-rays go on sale February 2 in the U.K.