I never knew his name until I saw the news that he had passed away, but the work of artist Hector Garrido had a major impact on my childhood, because it was his artwork that was featured on the packaging of the G.I. Joe toys in the '80s. When looking over a store's selection of G.I. Joe figures, you could see how cool the toy itself looked, but it was Garrido's accompanying artwork that really conveyed how awesome these characters were.
It's sad to hear that a person whose work wowed so many kids back in the day has passed away, but thankfully Garrido did live a good, long life, making it to 92 years old, and A Real American Book! author Tim Finn has let his fans know that he passed away peacefully in his sleep on April 19th.
Garrido posted his own biography online:
I am Argentinian by birth; I studied art in Buenos Aires.
As a young artist I immigrated to the United States. I was professionally active here beginning in the 1950s. Beginning around 2000, I went into semi-retirement, painting devotional subjects. I am now retired.
I am best known to fans of GI Joe and for such book series such as The Three Investigators (I painted all the Crimebusters covers), Danny Dunn, the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, The Destroyer (Remo Williams), and the Baroness.
My original artwork for GI Joe was featured on the 1980s-era merchandise packaging. For book publishers, I painted the covers of numerous sci-fi, (gothic) romance, and thriller/horror books. Perhaps most notably in the horror genre, I painted the iconic covers for TM Wright's "Strange Seed"/"Children" series. I was also a Time Magazine cover artist, and my 1969 cover, "Astronauts" is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
For much of my career, I created collector plates for the Bradford Exchange. My plate "Our Lady of Lourdes" sold over 1 million copies.
Our condolences go out to Garrido's family, friends, and fans, and we thank him for sharing his incredible work with the world.
Some of Garrido's artwork can be purchased through his Flickr page, which is maintained by a friend, and all proceeds will be going to Garrido's family.