May 10 2010Fantasy Artist Frank Frazetta Has Died
Iconic fantasy painter and comic book artist Frank Frazetta died after suffering a stroke today. He was 82.
Frank Frazetta was born February 9, 1928. His early artistic career consisted of years of exquisitely drawn comics work, including contributions to the EC line of comics, assisting Al Capp on L'il Abner and later drawing several years of the strip, and working with Harvey Kurtzman on Little Annie Fanny.
In the 60s Frazetta turned to cover paintings for the thriving pulp paperback industry and created one of the most recognizable illustration styles of all times. His covers for Conan, Tarzan and other rough hewn heroes created a visceral, violent, erotic yet somehow still nuanced visual style that has been endlessly imitated but never surpassed -- Frazetta's imagery of brawny, relentless swordsmen, seductive, fleshy sirens and hellfire breathing monsters had a gut level impact because it came from the gut
Frank also served as the inspiration for Legend of Zelda illustrator Yusuke Nakano.
Yusuke Nakano named Frazetta as his inspiration behind "muscular, expressionistic art," which he clearly brought with him to Ocarina of Time.
"It felt great to draw characters like Ganondorf, exaggerating his fearsome, powerful presence," he said in a column published on Zelda Universe. "But my favorite Ocarina illustration was of Impa, Zelda's royal protector: It was extremely rare that Nintendo had such a muscular woman in one of its games. She was a natural fit for my preferred art style."
Rest in peace, Frank.
Hit the jump for a couple more shots of Frank's iconic work.
Frank Frazetta 1928-2010 [comicsbeat]
and
Frank Frazetta, inspiration behind Zelda artist, dead at 82 [gamepro]
Reader Comments
1. ALWAYS 1ST AT GEEKOLO - May 10, 2010 4:33 PM
1ST
2. Wafle - May 10, 2010 4:35 PM
The man was a beast. A legend. A barbarian!
3. loki - May 10, 2010 4:35 PM
God Rest his soul....He was one of the finest artists...:+(
4. your mom is my whore - May 10, 2010 4:37 PM
the snake pic reminds me of the Midgar Zolum that Cloud fights right after your get the Chocobo in FF7
5. androo - May 10, 2010 4:39 PM
he also heavily influenced sam keith....creator of "THE MAXX"...arguably the best comic of the 90s
6. Steve-o - May 10, 2010 4:41 PM
Reminds me of Boris Valejo... very similair style.
7. GTO - May 10, 2010 4:46 PM
:(
8. Jynx - May 10, 2010 4:51 PM
Rest in Peace, a man of incredible talent.
9. Ross DC - May 10, 2010 4:52 PM
THE greatest modern/comic/fantasy artist ever.. So inspirational! RIP Frank!
10. Evan - May 10, 2010 4:58 PM
Geekologie writer mispelled his name.
Frank Fr(a)zetta.
11. Amy - May 10, 2010 5:21 PM
TONS of cover artists today try and mimic his style. I've always been in love with his exaggerated anatomy, loose yet detailed line work and strong expressions. Frankie, you'll be missed...
12. dparks - May 10, 2010 5:37 PM
Damn.. The guy was an inspiration - and could paint a woman's ass like nobody's business.
13. nye - May 10, 2010 5:42 PM
The Maxx! I forgot bout him! That shit was the shit!
14. Rosalie - May 10, 2010 5:48 PM
@12 The superficial posted 12 pics... with an example for your post. just sayin'
15. millertime - May 10, 2010 6:09 PM
wow...i live right up the street from the frazetta store here in east stroudsburg Pa. i know his son frank who runs the store, i never got to meet frank Sr. though :(
16. Jesus DeSaad - May 10, 2010 6:18 PM
Rest In Peace Frank.
17. meister - May 10, 2010 6:54 PM
He goes to answer the Riddle of Steel.
18. Gail - May 10, 2010 7:13 PM
@17 Perfect comment.
Love you Frank. Great artist, great husband, great father, great man.
19. emptyaddy - May 10, 2010 7:38 PM
I have all his works.... Rest in peace, Frank.
And may the trite troll who posted "first" on your forum posting burn in hell with the rest of the six other 20-nothings who auto-refresh like zombies to keep that tired, pseudo-lulz shit alive on here.
20. ConantheBarbarian - May 10, 2010 7:42 PM
Rest in Peace Frank
Crom
21. Subotai - May 10, 2010 8:09 PM
He is Conan, Cimmerian, he won't cry, so I cry for him.
22. Gir - May 10, 2010 10:30 PM
Wasn't "The Maxx" Sam Keith's?
Rest in piece Frank. We artists owe a lot to the legacy you left behind.
23. DegeneratioN - May 10, 2010 10:32 PM
This is terrible news, such an amazing artist who inspires an entire culture of heavy metal art.
theres a great doco on him called painting with fire, its up on pirate bay.
24. KatTheHippie - May 10, 2010 10:39 PM
This is such a sad day. Frank was an amazing artist, if you couldn't tell by his pictures.. the fantasy arts world will suffer his loss. The man was so dedicated. Back when he had his first stroke he learned to paint with his left hand to keep his paintings coming.. he influenced me so much in chasing my dreams of working in the comic book industry. Rest in Peace Frank.
25. PassiveResistance - May 11, 2010 12:12 AM
@ #6 - Frazzetta had an immense influence over Vallejo's career, as with a multitude of other illustrators. He was a pioneer in the commercial arts industry.
A sad sad day. I read this at work and my jaw drop. He was the da Vinci for the fantasy art world, and he will be dearly missed.
RIP, man.
26. cmblake6 - May 11, 2010 1:19 AM
Rest in peace, great artist. You will be missed.
27. Migo - May 11, 2010 5:26 AM
And never forget he used to draw REAL women.. sexy and curvy, like belly dancers, not the plastic things artist do today...
28. Tourblor - May 11, 2010 5:32 AM
Frank Frazetta Museum and Bookstore
2481 Milford Road (across the street)
East Stroudsburg, PA 18301
29. Yep - May 11, 2010 6:24 AM
@27
All the women he drew were modeled by his wife.
Frank was the definition of an epic artist.
30. Migo - May 11, 2010 7:41 AM
@29...Epic? I would rather say Eropiclorious..he was to fine arts what Jack Kirby was to comics..
31. Jaded Icon - May 11, 2010 8:26 AM
A great man and a great artist. I remember growing up with his illustrations (I read a lot of fantasy as a kid, go figure) and a few years back I saw his documentary. It was great and I highly recommend everyone watch it.
32. Dingleater - May 11, 2010 8:40 AM
The word "epic" is over-used to epic proportions.
33. Catalyste - May 11, 2010 11:47 AM
A true brutal legend!
RIP Frank! Epic doesn't even begin to describe your works.
34. TheMilkMan - May 12, 2010 9:26 AM
gotta be honest, never heard of the guy til now, and regretting it also. i can tell just by looking at those that the rest of his work is amazing.
35. GrandSpear - March 30, 2011 10:45 PM
He's gone and the world is now a dimmer place.