WELCOME TO THE HALLOWEEN CREEPSHOW EDITION #2
check out these works by fantasy master,
Illustrator
b.1928-2010
Brooklyn, ny
Brooklyn, ny
Molly Hatchet’s 1979 cover “Flirtin’ With Disaster”
ABOUT
Frank Frazetta is the world's
best-known fantasy artist, inspiring generations with his paintings. His
work covers many themes, from classic horror monsters to fantasy battles and
heroes. Born in Brooklyn, New York, Frazetta's parents enrolled him
in the Brooklyn Academy of Fine Arts at a very young age studying under
Italian painter Michele Falanga. At 16, Frazetta started drawing for
comic books that varied in themes: westerns, fantasy, mysteries, histories and
other contemporary themes. During this period he turned down a full-time job from Walt Disney Studios. Also an amazing athlete, Frazetta received an offer to play with the New York Giants in 1948 which he also turned down to pursue his freelance career.
Frazetta
became a very versatile and prolific comic book artist who, in the 1940s and
’50s, drew for comic strips like Al Capp’s “Lil’ Abner” and comic books like
“Famous Funnies,” for which he contributed a series of covers depicting the
futuristic adventurer Buck Rogers. A satirical advertisement Frazetta
drew for Mad earned him his first Hollywood job, the movie poster for “What’s
New Pussycat?” (1965), written by Woody Allen that starred peter Sellers.
In 1966, his
cover of “Conan the Adventurer,” a collection of four fantasy short stories
written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp, depicted a brawny
long-haired warrior standing in repose on top of a pile of skeletons and other
detritus, his sword thrust downward into the mound, an apparently naked young
woman lying at his feet, hugging his ankle. The cover created a new look
for fantasy adventure novels and established Frazetta as an artist who could
sell thousands of books.
Frazetta’s work coincided with the
rise of heavy metal in the early 1970s, and his otherworldly imagery showed up
on a number of album covers, including 1979’s Molly Hatchet’s “Flirtin’ With
Disaster” and Nazareth’s “Expect No Mercy.” In 1983 he
collaborated with the director Ralph Bakshi to produce the animated film
“Fire and Ice.” His most prominent work, however, was on the cover of book
jackets, where his signature images were of strikingly fierce, hard-bodied
heroes and damsels in distress.
F. F.
In 2003, a feature film documenting
the life and career of Frazetta was released entitled, Frazetta: Painting With Fire.
If you ever want to see an original Frazetta, just stop by The Society of Illustrators in NYC. This beauty (ABOVE) is hanging on the second floor just outside the bar.
I studied it for a while, It's SWEET!
THE END.
