Maurice Sendak Meets ‘The Avengers’ in This Beautiful Mash-Up

See what happens when the late, great Maurice Sendak's art style meets the epic superhero team of 'The Avengers' in this loving and timely tribute.

Pop culture mash-ups are a big thing these days, with entire websites devoted to selling t-shirts marrying Doctor Who with 'Back to the Future' and 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' with... 'Star Wars' or whatever. Most of the art is cheap, pandering, and gimmicky, and rarely (if ever) does anything look as though it was crafted with genuine artistic passion.

Not so with this mash-up, courtesy of artist Hannah Friederichs. In honor of the recently deceased children's book author Maurice Sendak, Friederichs implemented his signature artistic style in this beautiful, playful illustration of 'The Avengers.' It's a whimsical piece of art that's precious in just the right way, and obviously created with nothing but love and respect.

You can check out a high-res version of the art by clicking the image below, or by visiting Friederichs' DeviantART page, where you can download wallpapers for your desktop. On her Tumblr blog, Friederichs has concept sketches and more views of the drawing.