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What do you get when you combine artful fandom with sci-fi and fantasy legend? Graphic designer Christian Petersen’s cool retro prints, which bow down to Doctor Who, Harry Potter and others.

Petersen peddles his meditative homages on Etsy as The Modern Stylographer, where his posters stand out like silent sensations. That’s because he emphasizes stealth iconography over obvious quotation.

“I’m a child of the ’80s and have a great love for all things sci-fi and fantasy, and that nerd fandom comes through in my work,” Petersen, 29, told Wired.com in an e-mail. “I create artwork that winks at the original inspiration and shares experiences with others in the know. I like it when someone says that I managed to sum up an episode or whole movie with a single iconic element, something that was really surprising but somehow very appropriate.”

Based in South Carolina, Petersen has worked hard the last five years as a freelance graphic designer by day, night and weekend. But that could change after the image industry gets wind of these worthy postmodern pastiches. In fact, he’s already retired cool poster lines for Star Wars, Star Trek and The X-Men from his Etsy offerings because he recently began “work with a company that holds a few of the licenses.”

It’s the usual occupational hazard of fanboys with talent.

“My store grew out of a need to expand my design vocabulary for my day job,” said Petersen, whose stark, textured minimalism is influenced by Art Nouveau, Cubism, Art Deco and Pop Art. “I had no idea that it would become a success and receive so much attention.”

That’s hard to believe, given how much fandom territory The Modern Stylographer collection covers, always with compelling, understated designs that lift vivid iconography and evocative quotes. Most are 11-inch-by-17-inch prints hovering in the $18 range, although Petersen also features clever Harry Potter and Star Trek 4-inch-by-6-inch card collections that could stuff holiday stockings quite nicely.

Even The Beatles’ madcap spy-fi film Help! gets into the act (appropriate, considering that the Fab Four get shot with a relativity condenser by a mad scientist named Foot in that underrated romp).

Scroll through some of Petersen’s best posters in our gallery above and let us know in the comments section below if he missed an iconic franchise, or if he’s right on the money.

Images courtesy The Modern Stylographer