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Frank Frazetta enters Valhalla

Frank Frazetta enters Valhalla

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death-dealer2Frank Frazetta, the greatest fantasy artist of his generation, died today at age 82.

Frazetta got his start in comics in the early 1950s, working with legendary artists such as Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, Al Capp, and Harvey Kurtzman on Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and Li’l Abner, as well as many titles at EC Comics.

In 1964 Frazetta did his first movie poster for (of all things) Woody Allen’s first film, What’s New Pussycat?  This eventually led to cover paintings for some of the most popular paperbacks of the 60s and 70s, most notably the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, including Tarzan and John Carter of Mars.

For fantasy fans Frazetta is best remembered for his groundbreaking Sword & Sorcery images — such as “Death Dealer” (right), the cover to Lin Carter’s 1973 anthology Flashing Swords 2 — and most especially his colorful and visceral depictions of Conan, which revolutionized fantasy art.

Until Frazetta, Conan was primarily depicted as a white, clean-cut warrior in pseudo-roman garb, straight off the set of a Cecil B. DeMille film (see the covers of Robert E. Howard’s first Gnome Press editions from the 1950s, such as Conan the Barbarian).

But Frazetta swept away all who had come before, re-envisioning Conan as a muscular, dark-skinned titan, a true barbarian in spirit and appearance. Since Frazetta, in defining work by artists like Ken Kelly, Sanjulian, Barry Windsor Smith, Mark Schultz and Gary Gianni, Conan has been revealed as both heroic and fearful, a thick-sinewed, long-haired mongrel, a truly striking figure in all respects.

Frank Frazetta died at a hospital near his home in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.

For a sampling of some of his finest work, visit the unofficial Frazetta Fantasy Art Gallery.

A Letter to Dave Arneson

A Letter to Dave Arneson

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As Theo already posted yesterday, Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, and therefore one of the founders of the RPG hobby and responsible for suckering a lot of kids like me into the genre of heroic fantasy, died at age 61 on 7 April 2009 from cancer.

Gary Gygax, the man who co-wrote the original D&D, received much more fame for his work on the famous RPG, mostly because Arneson left the company in 1976. Arneson later filed a series of five lawsuits against TSR over royalties for D&D and later settled out-of-court with Gygax—but some things never quite heal.

I gained a greater respect for Arneson the more I found about his part in developing gaming theory. I also read some of Gary Gygax’s novels and thought they were terrible, which suddenly made me think much more about Arneson’s contribution to D&D.

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In Memory

In Memory

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Steve Tompkins has died.

It wasn’t just that Steve was incredibly well read, it was that he could tap into his vast depth of knowledge and recognize themes and connections that no one else had seen and then articulate them cogently and thoroughly, with great insight and an inimitable sly wit.  When he decided to write about an author, or a genre, then by God it was worth the time to read every word and ruminate over what he had to say.  His writing was so rich with depth and meaning that a second, third, or fourth look might well be needed to truly appreciate what Steve was saying, for he never wrote without thinking long and hard.  If you don’t believe us, then visit The Cimmerian and leaf through any number of wonderful essays archived there, or pick up Del Rey’s KULL and read Steve’s introductory essay, or read the fine remembrance Steve co-wrote about the passing of David Gemmell right here on the Black Gate web site.

If, like us, you are an aficionado of sword-and-sorcery, then you should understand that we have lost a sword-brother.  And not just any sword-brother, but one of the elite, a Cimmerian, a Red Slayer, someone who formed the shield wall when anyone moved against the authors and stories that we revere.  Someone who saw the heroic history of our genre, understood its power and worth, and who could articulate its value in words of iron.

He has fallen now and the ranks will close, but no one can take his place. What five men could?  We have lost more than a brother; we have lost all that he might yet have done, and are poorer for it than we can ever know.

Raise high your glasses then, and drink deep in his name.  Cleave close to those you love and do not waste your time with the shadow players who blot our days.  Find your passion and, so long as it harms no one, follow it.  For all too soon those you treasure and the work you mean to do will be lost to you, for if life is sweet, death is ever greedy.

Carpe diem.

Howard Andrew Jones & John Chris Hocking

Black Gate Symposium: A Tribute to E. Gary Gygax (1938 – 2008)

Black Gate Symposium: A Tribute to E. Gary Gygax (1938 – 2008)

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The death of Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, marks the passing of an era. Gygax changed the face of fantasy like no other since J.R.R. Tolkien or Robert E. Howard. D&D brought people together, forged lasting friendships, and introduced a whole new generation to classic fantasy — in the process firing imaginations, heavily influencing the fledgling computer and video game markets, and laying the foundation for the billion-dollar online RPG industry. Just as importantly Gygax invited — indeed, demanded — that his readers become creators themselves, and the young fans he inspired eventually became some of today’s bestselling authors, including Raymond E. Feist, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, R. A. Salvatore, Ed Greenwood, and dozens of others.

While his creation became famous the world over, Gygax never truly left his home in Lake Geneva, WI, and remained approachable and active until his death on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. To mark the passing of one of our generation’s most creative minds, Black Gate has assembled several personal reminiscences, from BG webmaster and Cimmerian editor Leo Grin, Planet Stories editor and publisher Erik Mona, and Black Gate editors Howard Andrew Jones and John O’Neill.

Finally, we invite you to drop by the Black Gate blog, where you can leave your own memories and thoughts, either about Gygax or any of his varied creations, from D&D to Greyhawk, Drow to Fantastic Journeys, Lejendary Adventure to Castles & Crusades.

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