We first became aware of Frank Frazetta’s work back in 1978 when his art, titled “The Death Dealer” graced the cover of Molly Hatchet’s self titled album.  Again we marveled at his work in 1982 for the legendary “Conan The Barbarian” film.  Flash forward to 2005 we INSTANTLY recognized his signature style, this time on the cover of Wolfmother’s album.

Now, imagine how excited we were reading that Taschen was releasing a new art book by one of our favorite artists, “The Fantastic Worlds Of Frank Frazetta.” This oversized, hardcover, clothbound , 468 page book is a must have for fans of Frazetta’s incredible work and is also available in a sensational, limited edition collector’s edition.  Here is what Taschen has to say about these incredible books.

Frank Frazetta has reigned as the undisputed lord of fantasy art for 50 years, his fame only growing in the 12 years since his death. His high energy oils of Tarzan, Conan, Vampirella and his signature Death Dealer define not just fantasy worlds, but the bodies that occupy them: fleshy, muscular, tactile and sensual.

Born to a Sicilian immigrant family in Brooklyn, 1928, Frazetta was a minor league athlete, petty criminal and serial seducer with movie star looks and phenomenal talent. He claimed to only make art when there was nothing better to

do – he preferred playing baseball – yet began his professional career in comics at age 16. Strip work led him to the infamous EC Comics, then to oils for Tarzan and Conan pulp covers. Both characters were interpreted by many before him, but as he explained in the 1970s, “I’m very physical minded. In Brooklyn, I knew Conan, I knew guys just like him,” and he used this first-hand knowledge of muscle and macho to redefine fantasy heroes as more massive, more menacing, more testosterone-fueled than anything seen before. As counterbalance he created a new breed of women, nude as censorship allowed, with pixie faces and multiparous bodies: thick thighed, heavy buttocked, breasts cantilevered out to there, yet still, with their soft bellies and hints of cellulite, believably real. Add in the action, the creatures, the twilit worlds of haunting shadow and Frazetta’s art is addictive as potato chips.

This monograph is the biggest and most complete ever produced on the artist, done in collaboration with the Frazetta family and with top collectors.

Order:

“The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta” HERE

“The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta” – Aluminum print cover tipped into a vegan leather-bound spine, foil embossing, and housed in a velvet slipcase, limited collector’s edition,  HERE