Forbidden Worlds #1: "Demon of Destruction" (Frank Frazetta and Al Williamson art)

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Another boy wonder, Frank Frazetta entered comics while in his teens. After working as an assistant to John Giunta, he joined the Bernard Baily shop in 1945. The next year he was appearing in such Ned Pine titles as Startling Comics and Thrilling Comics. He was doing mostly light stuff at this point, teenage characters, funny animals, and a hillbilly strip called Looie Lazybones. By the time he went to work for Vincent Sullivan's Magazine Enterprises in 1949, Frazetta had perfected his straight illustration style, which owed a good deal to his idol Hal Foster. For ME he drew Dan Brand in the Durango Kid and produced some striking covers for Ghost Rider. His most ambitious work for ME was the first issue of Thun'da. Next at DC Frazetta drew some episodes of Tomahawk and The Shining Knight. Over at Famous Funnies, he did a series of memorable covers featuring Buck Rogers and also drew some true stories for Heroic Comics. Frazetta did a few jobs for EC before taking on the newspaper racing-car strip Johnny Comet in the early 1950s. He also began a several-year run ghosting Li'l Abner for Al Capp, who was later outraged that many fans could tell Frazetta's work from his.

By the 1960s he had pretty much left comic books, except for the black-and-white Creepy. He painted covers for Vampirella and for the Ace reprints of the Conan novels. He went on to become a highly successful and much collected painter and illustrator and even set up his own museum.


Credits:

Cover: Ken Bald
Script: Unkonwn
Pencils: Frank Frazetta
Inks: Al Williamson

Creepy #32: "Rock God" (Frank Frazetta and Neal Adams)

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Another boy wonder, Frank Frazetta entered comics while in his teens. After working as an assistant to John Giunta, he joined the Bernard Baily shop in 1945. The next year he was appearing in such Ned Pine titles as Startling Comics and Thrilling Comics. He was doing mostly light stuff at this point, teenage characters, funny animals, and a hillbilly strip called Looie Lazybones. By the time he went to work for Vincent Sullivan's Magazine Enterprises in 1949, Frazetta had perfected his straight illustration style, which owed a good deal to his idol Hal Foster. For ME he drew Dan Brand in the Durango Kid and produced some striking covers for Ghost Rider. His most ambitious work for ME was the first issue of Thun'da. Next at DC Frazetta drew some episodes of Tomahawk and The Shining Knight. Over at Famous Funnies, he did a series of memorable covers featuring Buck Rogers and also drew some true stories for Heroic Comics. Frazetta did a few jobs for EC before taking on the newspaper racing-car strip Johnny Comet in the early 1950s. He also began a several-year run ghosting Li'l Abner for Al Capp, who was later outraged that many fans could tell Frazetta's work from his.

By the 1960s he had pretty much left comic books, except for the black-and-white Creepy. He painted covers for Vampirella and for the Ace reprints of the Conan novels. He went on to become a highly successful and much collected painter and illustrator and even set up his own museum.

Cover: Frank Frazetta
Script: (Redacted) (based on the Frazetta cover painting).
Pencils and inks: Neal Adams.

Note: "Rock God" won the 1970 Best Illustrated Story Award. Cover story.

Reprinted:

• in Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor Quarterly (Dark Horse, 1996 series) #1.

Creepy #9: "Terror in the Dark Kingdom!" (Frazetta and Gray Morrow!)

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Once I get started on a sword and sorcery track, it's tough for me to get derailed. However, let's look at Creepy #9's assets: "Winged Terror" cover painting by Frank Frazetta! "Dark Kingdom" cover story by Archie Goodwin and drawn by the artistic genius Gray Morrow! Can you say, "this is Sparta!" Ayep! They're in here, too. The ending is a bit gimmicky, but the art more than makes up for it in this classic tale featured in Creepy #9. The rest of the issue is nicely rounded out with Reed Crandall and Joe Orlando art. Steve Ditko is on board, too.