Doom cover artist Don Ivan Punchatz dies at 73

The man behind one of the most well-known game covers in history died October 22, 2009.

Don Ivan Punchatz created art for National Lampoon, Playboy and National Geographic during his decades-long career. He suffered a heart attack October 11, 2009, and never regained consciousness.

When hired by then startup iD Software to do the cover art for Doom, Punchatz had the option of taking his fee or a percentage of the game’s profits. Not knowing how much profit there would be, he went for his straight fee.