With tributes, remembrances, and recaps of the life and art of Frank Frazetta lying spread across the internet like blue mantles beneath the stars, I found myself struggling to come up with anything fresh or meaningful to say on the subject that hasn’t already been said. But I love Frazetta’s artwork, and wanted to add something to the discussion, so I asked myself, What is it about Frazetta’s style that keeps me coming back to his images?

The more I thought about it, it’s his ability to depict strength. Frazetta understood raw power and human musculature like no other artist I’ve encountered. He was a master at portraying rippling, powerful heroes in scenes of sweeping action, bursting with dynamic motion and power barely contained by the canvas.

This characteristic permeates all his work, even his J.R.R. Tolkien sketches. Here’s one of my favorites, a Thor-like Witch King ready to bash a curvaceous, full-figured Eowyn with a hammer of the gods:

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Many, many things have been said about Frank Frazetta’s work over the past five decades. Some of those quotes can be accessed here. What I want to write about is how Frank’s work and his life affected me over the past thirty-plus years. The influence of both was profound.

Unlike some, I did not come upon Frazetta’s work via the covers of Robert E. Howard paperbacks (or vice versa). The Lancers were out of print and Ace had not started republishing those volumes. I discovered Frank Frazetta’s art on the side of a van. A big, groovy 1970s van sitting in a K-Mart parking lot. Frazetta’s Silver Warrior was airbrushed on the side. While not a perfect reproduction, it was plenty close enough to the original to blow my young mind.

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Frazetta Memorial by Dave Curbis

Following our own “Black Indy’s” footsteps, many artists across the internet have paid tribute to Frank Frazetta in an expression that mere words couldn’t convey. Here is a selection. This will be an image-intensive post, and as is common with Frazetta’s work, some of the images may not be appropriate for viewing in certain environments: follow the links with this in mind.

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The passing of one of the greatest illustrators of the twentieth century is huge news, and people throughout the world have shared their feelings on the loss of Frank Frazetta. Here are some excerpts, with links to the full stories.

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The news is spreading through the internet that Frank Frazetta has passed away at the age of 82.

I cannot formulate the words to express my sadness, save that I would like to pass my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Frank. Just as the tumultuous events of the past year appear to have finally settled, the man at the centre of it all is gone. I can only hope that he’s at peace, and reunited with his beloved once again.

Requiescat in pace.

The news is out. The four children of Frank Frazetta, Sr. have agreed to settle their differences beyond the legal confines of a Pennsylvania county courtroom.

As regular readers of The Cimmerian already know, the past nine months have been traumatic for Mr. Frazetta. In July 2009, Ellie Frazetta, Frank’s wife, business partner and number-one fan, passed away after a battle with cancer. Things seemed to unravel after that.

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Heritage Auction Galleries is handling the consignment of a Frazetta painting that is probably well-known to most Sword-and-Sorcery art devotees. Here’s the description from the website:

Warrior with Ball and Chain, Flashing Swords #1, paperback cover, 1973

Oil on board

23 x 19 in.

Signed lower right

This stirring, savage, and superb Frazetta masterwork, sometimes titled Warrior with Ball and Chain, first appeared on the cover of the sword and sorcery anthology edited by Lin Carter, Flashing Swords #1, Dell Books #2640, 1973.

One of the top Frazetta paintings in private hands, Warrior with Ball and Chain was purchased in the February 1993 Guernsey’s auction, and according to its listing there, is one of the largest Frazetta covers ever painted. Some aficionados feel his piece may have been originally created for the Lancer Conan series of the late sixties, but not used there, since the Conan figures of two of the Lancer covers are so similar to the Warrior.

A copy of the Flashing Swords #1 paperback is included with this lot.

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"Swords of Mars" by Frank Frazetta

The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Florida is currently hosting “Maidens and Monsters: The Art of Science Fiction, Adventure, and Fantasy,” an exhibit of original illustrations from pulp magazines and book covers by some of the most renowned artists of the 20th century. Around fifty works by over twenty different illustrators are on display, including pieces by Frank Frazetta, N.C. Wyeth, John Allen St. John, Margaret Brundage, Hannes Bok, Virgil Finlay, Frank R. Paul, Alex Schomburg, Michael Whelan, Kelly Freas, and Roy Krenkel. All of the artwork in the exhibit is from the famous collection of Stephen D. Korshak, an Orlando-based attorney and the author of A Hannes Bok Treasury (1993), Grandmaster of Fantasy: The Paintings of John Allen St. John (2008), and From the Pen of Paul: The Fantastic Images of Frank R. Paul (2009).

Last weekend, I had the privilege of seeing the exhibit while I was in Orlando attending MegaCon and for a science fiction fan and pulp enthusiast like me it was an amazing experience. I was joined on the Saturday afternoon excursion by my wife and a few of my fellow REH fans and comic book and pulp collectors. The museum is located near downtown Winter Park, about twenty or thirty minutes north of Orlando, depending on traffic. The grounds are beautifully landscaped gardens accented by original sculpture and the staff was very friendly and enthusiastic about the exhibit.

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Despite all of the recent controversy, there is some bright news on the Frazetta front. Here’s the word straight from Vanguard…

Legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta and acclaimed publisher Vanguard Productions announce a new publishing relationship. Frank Frazetta said, “We’ve known Vanguard publisher J. David Spurlock for many years. Vanguard publishes the very best! I’ve enjoyed their books on Hal Foster, Al Williamson, Jeffrey Jones, Neal Adams, Jim Steranko, Basil Gogos, Carmine Infantino and more. David helped on our Painting with Fire documentary and we helped him on Vanguard’s Roy G. Krenkel, Wally Wood, and J. Allen St.John books. It’s a natural that we should work together. I’m looking forward to seeing the quality job they do on the new books.”

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First editions of The Lord of the Rings published in 1954 and 1955 by George Allen & Unwin.

On this weekend that we are honoring what would have been The Professor’s eleventy-eighth birthday I’m going to discuss Tolkien collectibles –a subject so vast that I will only be able explore it in the most general terms. From books to action figures to replica movie props to artwork, there are countless items of Tolkien-related memorabilia on the market. With such a vast array of choices there are interesting items available for collectors on any budget, from first editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that run tens of thousands of dollars to “Frodo Lives” buttons from the 1970’s that cost a few bucks.

There are a number of online references and resources for Tolkien collectors. One of the most useful is TolkienCollector.com which has page after page of useful information in numerous different categories, including a detailed description of the differences between the various editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit-Movie.com site has a page dedicated specifically to collecting books and has a basic listing of prices.

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