Legendary artist Frank Frazetta dies at 82

The sad news that has been buzzing around the Internet today was confirmed earlier — legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta has died at the age of 82.

The cause of death has been given as a stroke.

Frazetta's iconic work is instantly recognizable to anyone who has read fantasy novels, browsed through yearly calendars or picked up a metal album. Known mostly for his commercial work, Frazetta essentially invented the look of modern fantasy art with his lush paintings of fantastic and fearsome beasts, rough-hewn men, and women seemingly coaxed from the smoothest and deadliest alabaster. Even you didn't know the name, you knew the work; Tarzan, John Carter from Mars, Conan the Barbarian and his own creation, the Death Dealer, were all given the Frazetta stamp, cementing the image of these and other characters for generations.

I distinctly remember my first the time I felt the impact of Frazetta's work — it was the cover to Molly Hatchet's self-title debut album, featuring the Death Dealer himself.


I was fascinated by the cover, with the obscured warrior who seemed to be made of black and gray, of shadow and steel, and who seemed to drain all the color, all the life, out of the world itself. I would study this cover with more attention than I probably ever gave the music inside, imagining what kind of world this demon-soldier haunted, wondering what damnation stoked his eyes to a glowing red, amazed at the sheer muscularity of the enormous, night-black warhorse.

With that one cover Frazetta, as much as anyone or anything, came to symbolize rock 'n' roll to me. Soon enough, his work became shorthand for fantasy, adventure, sex, heroism and an entire pop culture era for me, as I'm sure it is for a lot of other people out there.

There have been plenty of other artists who are maybe just as good, but they all owe a debt to Frazetta. With work that is erotic, powerful and otherworldly, Frazetta was one of those rare artists who defined a style, and with it an entire genre.

In Memoriam: Dick Giordano, 1932-2010

Today brought the sad news that comic book artist, inker, editor and legend Dick Giordano has died at the age of 77.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Giordano was one of the godfathers of the Bronze Age style of art. His style, and later his role as mentor to an upcoming wave of artists, helped define a generation of comics. Giordano's influence was felt again when as an editor he paved the way for books including Watchmen, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the beginning of the Vertigo imprint. Giordano's name was — and still is — perhaps one of the most recognized in the field, and it's with good reason.

On his Web site, Giordano began an introduction to himself and his work with this:

Welcome to my world ...

... a world I entered enthusiastically more years ago than I care to remember. It has served as the means to earn my keep as well as allowing me to leave the real world behind and explore the realm of my fantasies. In my world, I am always the wide-eyed child!

My world is The World of Comics.

Thank you, Mr. Giordano, for giving us all a glimpse at that realm of fantasies, and for letting us — for a while, at least — remember what it's like to be the wide-eyed child.


Memorials for Dick Giordano have been pouring in, including from:

Blog@Newsarama

Forces of Geek

Mark Evanier

The Beat

and one of the most comprehensive from Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter

Godspeed, Captain

I was saddened by the news this morning that Dom DeLuise died last night at the age of 75.

DeLuise was a fantastic comedic actor, especially when he was paired with longtime pal Burt Reynolds, and no where was this more apparent than in the road-race classic, The Cannonball Run. Playing a character with a split personality, DeLuise would go from spineless sidekick to Captain Chaos, a courageous superhero who appeared whenever the need arose. Chaos would often taking on whole gangs singlehandedly while crying out "Daan dan DANNNN!!", swooping down like happy-go-lucky vengeance itself.

It was just one hilarious bit in a fun and funny movie, but it was memorable and I'd be lying if I said it didn't inspire me to randomly leap on people shouting out the Captain's battle-cry.

Here's a clip from Cannonball Run, but I'd really recommend just renting the movie to truly soak in the glory:




- Thanks to Johnny Bacardi for being one of the first to mention the news.

Is this thing on?

Well ... hello, there.

As you may have noticed (or not), things have been pretty quiet around these parts. The one-two punch of the holidays and a two-week vacation gave me the chance to take a nice little bit of time off. Now I'm rested and ready to reacquaint myself with this electronic addiction. In other words, I missed you guys and I missed talking comics, so let's get going.

So where was I for the past two weeks? I was lucky enough to spend the time in New York City, and let me tell ya, that's a happening little town. My wife and I saw nearly every museum, landmark and tourist destination while we there, and discovered 14 days is just enough time to realize it's not enough time. Still, we saw almost everything on our list and had a great time. And in case you're wondering, yes, a certain store was on the list:

Sorry about the photo quality — I was a half-block away, for God's sake! Anyway, I'm happy to report that Midtown Comics is pretty much everything you'd feverishly imagine. Friendly staff, plenty of floppies and books in stock, a ton of back issues, toys and statues ... all in all, fairly high on the awesome scale.

Fortunately for me, my wife was patient enough to let me drag her to both Manhattan locations. If you don't live in the New York area and have to choose only one during a trip, I'd recommend the Times Square store. It's bigger (two floors!) and it felt like there was more to gawk at and geek out over. On the other hand, the cozier Lexington location was hiring at the time and it's easy to fantasize about working there.

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Another stop on my NYC geek tour was the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, which is hosting exhibits of Harvey Comics art and the work of Ryan Dunlavey (who's probably best known as the co-creator and artist of Action Philosophers). It's really more a gallery than a museum at this point, but it's nice to see someone giving unfiltered attention to comic art and MoCCA does a good job of it. Both of the current exhibits are great, and the Harvey art is particularly fascinating. Both the process and craftsmanship that went into these comics are on display, and it's a treat to see it up close. If you have the chance, you should go check it out and give your support to an organization that's supporting an art form we all love.

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And this has nothing to do with vacationing, but I was sorry to see veteran character actor Pat Hingle died Saturday due to a type of blood cancer. Hingle played Commissioner Gordon in the first four Batman movies, and had a long career that spanned film, television and the stage. He was 84.

Huh. Well, nothing like ending on a depressing note to alienate whatever readers are still here, right? Again, thanks for your patience, and thanks for reading! As always, I appreciate your comments, and thanks for the e-mails asking just where the hell I was. Things will be getting back into the usual rhythm soon — I swear!

Artist Michael Turner, 37, passes away

Michael Turner, the well-known artist whose distinctive style could be found on a host of comic book covers and which drew readers to titles including Witchblade, Superman/Batman and his creator-owned Fathom and Soulfire, died Friday (June 27, 2008) after an eight-year fight with cancer.

Turner was only 37, making his sudden death even sadder when you consider he likely had a long and productive career ahead of him. My condolences and best wishes go to his family, friends and fans.

For more details on Turner, his career and some nice remembrances from those who knew him, there are articles at Newsarama and Comic Book Resources. The publishing company he founded, Aspen Comics, is also asking people to consider making a donation to the American Cancer Society or the Make-A-Wish Foundation; the two charities were chosen by Turner, and contributions can be made in his name.

So long, Steve

The groundbreaking Steve Gerber, creator of Howard the Duck, Omega the Unknown and so much more, died Sunday due to complications stemming from pulmonary fibrosis. Personally, I thought his work on Hard Time, the longest lasting title from DC's fleeting Focus imprint, was one of the more interesting and intelligent things the company had put out for a long time.

Gerber's influence will be missed, but I'd like to think his work will endure and continue to inspire.

Mark Evanier and Tom Spurgeon have excellent write-ups on the life and often irreverent times of Steve Gerber, so give them a read, and then find some back-issues and treat yourself to some of Gerber's work itself. You — and I think Gerber — will be glad you did.

Heath Ledger, 'Dark Knight's' Joker, dies unexpectedly

There was bad news tonight when it was reported that Heath Ledger, the Oscar-nominated actor who will be playing the Joker in the upcoming Batman movie The Dark Knight, was found dead in a New York City apartment.

Making it especially sad was his young age — he was only 28 — and the family he's left behind, including a 2-year-old daughter. At the moment there hasn't been any cause of death given, but pills were allegedly found near Ledger so there has of course been speculation that he committed suicide. It's still early in this sad event, so there are a lot of theories and stupidity flying around; someone on CNN just commented that Ledger had said playing the role of the Joker "really got into his head, and he was having trouble letting it go," and needed Ambien to go to sleep — apparently making a half-assed attempt at connecting it to his death. We'll have to wait and see how the whole thing washes out.

In spite of his youth, Ledger had plenty to brag about: He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Brokeback Mountain, and was also known for his roles in popular popcorn movies like 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot and A Knight's Tale (one of my mom's favorite movies).

Like a lot of people, I was a little surprised when Ledger was announced as the Joker for The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins. I thought there was no way this pretty boy could pull it off. But as more news and movie stills started coming out I started to think he might not only be able to pull it off, but he could actually be a great Joker. I reached a point where I was excited to see Dark Knight, and especially Ledger's Joker.

I'll still be looking forward to seeing it, but it will be sad to think that the movie was the actor's last. I think when I see The Dark Knight, I'll be rooting for the bad guy.