Legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta passes away at 82
According to Comic Book Resources, fantasy artist Frank Frazetta has passed away at the age of 82. Frazetta’s artwork has graced album covers (including three Molly Hatchet covers), comics, movie posters and book covers over a decades long career. His single most recognizable work is probably that of The Death Dealer, a grim dark figure perched on an equally foreboding horse, which was used for Molly Hatchet’s eponymous debut album.
What I personally found appealing about Frazetta’s work is that he eschewed the conventional fantasy/science fiction wisdom of hyper-realism, ornate baubles and superfluous intricacies to focus on powerful yet simple compositions. His action pieces have a sinewy fluidity and poetry to them that many of his contemporaries just never captured for me, and always stood above the genre.
On a more personal level, the one piece that I remember the most is that of the ancient warrior standing with his back to the viewer while a triceratops and tyrannosaurus rex squared of in a marsh. This one always stood out to me because it was the picture I was copying/drawing back in middle school when the teacher took it off my desk during history class. I was worried I was going to get into trouble, but instead of chastising me for not working on my history work, he used it as a jumping off point to talk to the class about knowing what you wanted to do and working towards it. Of course, after the class, I was asked to try and save the drawing time for after class, but that speech has always stuck with me. Just like Frazetta’s art has.
Frank Frazetta, 1928 – 2010. Rest in peace.
