by Chris Eaton-
A titan has died this day..
Editor’s note: This is my original post from TheRealmcast.com
The news of the passing of Frank Frazetta is some what surreal in a little way. Just 2 nights ago, as my dad and I walked through the parking lot to my car after viewing Iron Man, he asked me about Frazetta. He doesn’t have the Internet, and I had kept him in touch with the shenanigans between Frazetta’s kids over his paintings and estate. An apropos of nothing he simply asked, “Is Frazetta still alive?”. I told him yeah, if he died I’d tell him. I just talked to my dad five minutes ago, and informed him. He’ was a little weired out. I bring up little scene as for all my life, I’ve stared at the work of Frank Frazetta in my house. My dad idolized the man. At the age of 20. my dad met Frank Frazetta at a comic convention up in San Francisco. Not only did he get to meet his hero, but he got to chat with him for almost an hour. He went through my dad’s sketch book, gave his critique, and gave small praise to my dad’s work. He told him, “Stay on track, you’re doing fine”. That translated, years later, to spending countless hours in my dad’s studio as a kid, as he painted. A studio filled with all sorts of art and books and nick knacks. It was in this garage that I was taught about Spider-Man, Captain America, Werewolves and monster. It was here that I was exposed to many things that would define my perspective of life. It was also the place were my dad had this print hanging up.
This pic of Conan, chained, facing some demon king’s tyrannical pet snake. This, for me, defined art.
Though, I ramble. I know Frank Frazetta. I was raised on Frazetta, and in a way, we all were. Frazetta’s art has been admired by many people who went on to create our favorite stories. George Lucas took inspiration of the Rancor from Frazetta. Spielberg was a massive admirer of Frazetta. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and King Kong has Frazetta influences in them. John Milius tried to recreate Frazetta’s iconic Conan pieces in his classic film. Even Yusuke Nakano, the man who redefined the Legend of Zelda, was greatly influenced by Frazetta. Hell, ask any fantasy or comic artist. Hell, as any artist worth his salt, they’ll all tell you, Frazetta was either their influence, or just the greatest.
What was so grand about Frank’s art was that he had the gift to capture “that moment”. The moment that many artist struggle to portray. That split second when things would come to a head. Filmmakers try, artist try. Some succeed. Frank succeeded every time. Each painting told a story with one picture. You saw one moment in something greater. His paintings were constantly in motion, yet, they never moved. Man and beast locked in battle. Shapely women taming savages, Savagery. Lust. Battle. Conflict. Peace. Fun. All caught in a single piece. Every work had it’s own soul. And if your mind didn’t swirl with wonderment and possibilities after gazing at his work, then, I pity you.
Possibly, one of the most defining points of his work were his women. He drew women as women. Not the anorexic, waif thin, prepubescent boy looking women of today that look like if they stand in front of a bass amp, they’ll shatter. No, his women had curves, a slight thickness to them. In a sense, they were far more realistic than the superheroines of their day. Women that were lust, and women you wouldn’t want to fuck with. He defined the Valkyrie. But that wasnt’ the only thing he defined.
His work on the fantasy and sci fi novels of Robert E Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs would define the worlds and characters in ways that their creators could never imagine.
This will always be Conan
This will always be John Carter of Mars.
Both are being produced into movies at the moment. It’s almost sadly poetic that those first images of the new Conan movie were released today. I only hope that Marcus Nispel and Andrew Stanton studied these works before going forward with their films.
Some of this other classic works include The Death-dealer. An image that would be used by bands and in some way, define Metal music. He also helped create Vampirella, a sexy space vampire vixen for Warren publishing. His art has been published in hundreds of books, used in countless films (Fire and Ice being the most dubious), and his works hang in the homes of Sylvester Stallone, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez, Guillermo Del Toro, Ralph Bakshi, and countless others. His style is passed on in the works of Ken Kelly, Jeff Jones, Gerald Brom, and Boris Vallejo.
Frank Frazetta died on May 10th, 2010. He was 82 years old. This titan was felled by complications from a stoak, one in a series he’s had since his 60’s. He joins his wife Ellie, who died last year in the great beyond. Frank lived a full life, of which I wont go to much into. Just check out this, for a better description of his life than what I could explain. I’ll leave with this. With his passing, a truly unique voice is now lost to the ages. A great man that influenced more people than paintings he painted. He was a rare breed that is all but gone from today’s society, and there will never be another anyone like him again.
Rest in Peace, Frank Frazetta, you’ve earned it.