80s cover art legend Bob Wakelin has passed away

We were sad to hear this morning that Bob Wakelin passed away yesterday. Not everyone will recognise the name, but Wakelin was responsible for some of the most famous game cover art of the Eighties and early Nineties.

That art included Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, Wizball, Batman, Operation Wolf, Head over Heels, New Zealand Story and many, many more. From a UK perspective he was among the most prolific and arguably the most important artist working on the medium – with untold numbers of cassette boxes emblazoned with his works.

Bob worked at Liverpool-based publisher Ocean during the Eighties and it was there he produced his most famous works. His striking style, packed with colour and action, was perfect for making games leap off the shelf – as well as engaging players in a world which, let’s admit it, was not rendered nearly as richly on the screen itself.

Thank you Bob for enriching those games with your art and condolences to his family and friends. You can read more about Bob’s career over on Den of Geek.