One of the first artists that comes to mind when I think of all the wild fantasy comics I grew up on as a kid, is Frank Frazetta. As a child, you don’t really think about artists as people, but tend to be more fixated on the characters they depict. For me, as I grew older, I started to remember stuff I had seen, and begun to be haunted by the question of “who drew that?!”
Traveling a bunch, I had to rely on information from friends, and it was difficult to ask older folks about stuff because I was literally looking for an artist who drew big round butts, and barbarians brutally smashing monsters. Totally inappropriate, right?
In the early 90s, in most of the less developed world, the comics we all got were black and white bootlegs of colored originals. Conan was my favorite, and finding color copies was a fucking luxury. So in a way, I grew up appreciating line-work more than anything else. And then I discovered Heavy Metal, in full color splendor.
My brain exploded. Enki Bilal, Moebius, and Frank Frazetta were my firsts. The full color spreads of epic fantasy and science fiction characters and scenes were killer. Frank’s fantasy landscapes were not just a layer above the worlds I had imagined reading stuff like Lord of the Rings, but a thick departure from the tame Marvel and DC comics I had thought were the shit. Jim Lee may know how to draw a really nice butt, but Frazetta is the king of immaculate derrières.
Aside from being a horny kid like everybody else, I was also into the bad-assery of fantasy characters. I mean come on, who isn’t into warriors and wizards and monsters and shit when they’re a kid? Hardcore Christians maybe? Bah, even they are into it; Saint George kills a fucking dragon for fucks sake. The beauty of Frazetta, is not just all the bare butts, but his unapologetic approach to his subject matter.
While most mainstream comics had turned towards ultra slick styles by the early 90s, looking back at earlier generations of comics yields a whole ton of dope D&D comics styles. In fact, there are so many classics that aren’t around like they used to be. In the 70s, DC came out with Warlord, and the original Dungeons & Dragons comics. Marvel had Red Sonja and Conan, but the truth of the matter is, Conan predates the 70s. In fact Robert E. Howard created the OG of barbarians, Kull, as well as Conan in the 1930s! Wild huh.
My point is that the raw shit started way earlier, and was way cooler. Especially when Frazetta started drawing Tales from the Crypt in 60s, I think folks probably were both terrified and full of wonder that such things existed. His style is so iconic, whether you love or hate his subject matter, you can’t deny that it leaves an impression.
I could ramble about Frazetta for hours. It’s insane how much he has single handedly contributed to the history of illustration. They call him the father of fantasy, but really, I think he’s one of the fathers of dark art in many ways. Not because he did horror comics and fantasy, but because he depicted scenes in a way that made people face discomfort.
This Instagram account (I’m unsure who it is managed by), posts his work regularly, and shares a lot of quotes by him. I strongly recommend anybody into his art to follow it as it’s always a treat. It’s been over a decade since Frazetta passed away, but like other greats like Moebius who have passed on, his work continues to inspire generations to come.
Podcast with Gael Corboz drops this week. I hope you’re into hyper realistic 3D art, because he’s really good at it. Check him out on Twitter:
The Frazetta IG account is managed by his granddaughter! :)