RIP, Frank Frazetta

This post is for the geeks among us, for anyone who remembers the covers to the classic Tarzan novels, and especially for my sister and that book of great sci-fi and fantasy art I used to sneak into her room to read.

Frank Frazzetta, the man who created those Tarzan covers and left his mark all over the world of fantasy and science fiction illustration, died two days ago, May 10th.

Looking for an image to accompany this post was a little difficult. I try to keep my blog pretty well family friendly, and much of Frazetti’s work was filled with scantily clad, well-muscled women in more or less provocative positions. I’ll stress that this is not the aspect I admire him for.

But I admire the ability to capture and transmit a sense of the exotic, the unknown, the dangerous…his most futuristic landscapes are some of the most primitive, his lighting is always foreboding and dramatic, the very land is rugged, the spaceships irregular and jagged. He influenced several generations of artists whose drawings and paintings formed my mental images of beloved characters and worlds.

I’ll let you read more from someone who knows something more about art than I do.