Wow! The passing of a legend...

[Gerry]

I was not aware that Frank Frazetta died yesterday until now when reading Wired Magazine online. This guy was so influential on the world of Illustration, especially fantasy novels and comic books - even the popular series (book and movie) Heavy Metal and the Conan The Barbarian novels and movie posters (starring Governor Arnold).

I think there is not a comic book illustrator (or artist, for that matter) alive today that has not emulated his style and his often times exaggerations of anatomy (at least that's what they used to be in the early 70's but today - thanks to cosmetic surgery and steroids - it is not too far from what we see in the WWF and other wrestling/tough man types).

I used to have customized 1972 Ford Van with one of his illustrations on the side. I know he influenced me and a whole generation of illustrators, designers, and modelers to not only sneak a peak at the pirates, barbarians, and bad guys but also the futuristic and interplanetary travel and beings.

Remembering Frank Frazetta

GeekDad Parents, Kids and the Stuff We Obsess About
Remembering Frank Frazetta

Yesterday, iconic fantasy illustrator Frank Frazetta died at the age of 82 as the result of stroke-related complications. It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Frazetta’s work within geek circles, where his images of muscle-bound warriors and scantily clad maidens graced innumerable sci-fi/fantasy book jackets, but it’s his contribution to the whole of popular culture that truly exemplifies Frank’s significance.

Brooklyn-born Frazetta’s unlikely career began at the tender age of 16 as a simple comic book artist for the various genre books of the day. From there he rose to prominence thanks to his work in American touchstones like Mad Magazine and Playboy, where the inherent adolescent sexuality of his illustrations certainly struck a chord.

Frank Frazetta gained further renown as a commercial illustrator not only as the cover artist for the popular works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and poster designer for feature films like Woody Allen’s What’s New Pussycat?, but as the creator of the Death Dealer, the heavily-armored warrior that graced the cover of Molly Hatchet’s 1978 self-titled debut album. This bleed-over between menacing imagery and the burgeoning heavy metal scene helped to shape the very face of genre, and late last year Metallica’s own Kirk Hammett purchased the original cover artwork for Conan the Conqueror for a cool $1 million.

Fantasy art newbies interested in learning more about Frank’s creative legacy are encouraged to check out the 2003 documentary Frazetta: Painting With Fire (not to be confused with the lackluster Frazetta-helmed 1983 animated feature Fire and Ice.) We oldsters, on the other hand, will instead commemorate his passing by simply cranking up some “Flirtin’ With Disaster.”

Read More http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/05/frank-frazetta/#ixzz0neDOkOmo

 

[Theo]

Damn. As a Heavy Metal reader I appreciate his work immensely. His epic illustrations were some of the first to be scanned and exchanged on the Internet by his fans in the early 90s.

 

[Gerry]

Damn. As a Heavy Metal reader I appreciate his work immensely. His epic illustrations were some of the first to be scanned and exchanged on the Internet by his fans in the early 90s.

He was so influential on my painting style early in college.

I couldn't wait for Heavy Metal to come out.

And when I was in the military, any book that had his cover on them I read.

 

[whitebark]

Conan - enough said.

 

[hugegrowth]

I was a comic book collector in my teens, that's sad news to hear, he was a great artist.