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Man Behind Star Wars-Themed New York Post Cover Isn’t Even A Star Wars Fan

Earlier today, we lavished well-deserved praise on a New York Post pullout cover previewing Sunday’s Jets-Patriots playoff game…that also happened to fantastically pay homage to Star Wars. One thing we wondered, though: why wasn’t Tom Brady made to look like any character, when everyone else on the cover was? Apparently, Jon Bois of SB Nation wondered the same thing…and what he found out from Peter LaVigna, the artist behind the excellent design, surprised us a bit.

They want to know why Brady Isn’t a Star Wars character like the others… I’m actually not a Star Wars geek at all, and I got a little mixed up with how Anakin Skywalker fits into everything; I know now that he’s actually the young Darth Vader, but That’s Belichick in the artwork.

It’s probably for the best that Brady wasn’t portrayed as Anakin; the implication that he would one day become Belichick would have looked like a deep philosophical statement when of course none was meant. The part that really got us, though, is that LaVigna apparently isn’t even a Star Wars fan.

Sure, we questioned what Brady was doing, and would have preferred actual Star Wars aircraft to the jets circling the Death Star (though again, that was understandable), but to us, the cover – and the cultural reach of Star Wars just got even more remarkable. Here’s someone who apparently didn’t even know that Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker, and he still produced something that not only we, but our friends at Geekosystem felt was worthy of glowing compliments.

It speaks to the resonance of the characters but also to the talents of LaVigna, who, minor quibbles aside, created something that in our opinion sets the standard for all Post covers (pullout or otherwise) to come. This cover is clever, elaborately-designed, over-the-top…it’s a New York Post cover on a grand scale, and we can only hope the Jets and Patriots produce a game worthy of it.