Frank Frazetta Dead at 82?

I have no idea if this is true, but it appears that the godfather of fantasy art, Frank Frazetta, died today.

If you are not familiar with Frazetta's art, it is only because you don't know the name. There is no fantasy art that does not owe him some credit. He was a fantastic painter, and creator of some of fantasy's most iconic images. I dare say, without checking, that the image we have of Conan and Tarzan are all derived from his work.

I always loved Frazetta's paintings. There was a great deal of energy to them, and while his figures were idealized, they were also achievable human forms. Artists like Ken Kelly, Mike Hoffman and Frank Cho owe him a real debt, as do fantasy publishers since we all know that covers sell books just as well as authors and stories, particularly in the pulp realm.

Here are a few favorites of mine.