"The Duel of the Monsters" - Creepy

Behold:  A recent eBay acquisition!  I've been collecting issues of Creepy and Eerie off and on for a while now, mainly focusing on issues featuring covers by Frank Frazetta.  

I've been eyeing this one in particular for a while now.  As always, Frazetta evokes such dynamism and you can really get a sense of the ferocity of the combatants here.  The crumbling architecture is a nice touch as well!  

The issue itself contains probably some of my favorite stories and artwork I've seen up to this point.  Be on the look out for more from this issue in the future!

Happy Birthday to Frank Frazetta!

Frank Frazetta, one of my all-time favorite artists, would have turned 88 today.  

I tried really hard to upload just one of his pieces for this post.  I should have known myself better...

"Werewolf!" - Creepy

Frazetta in Middle Earth

Yesterday was J.R.R. Tolkien's 123rd birthday.  Rather than do the normal birthday post, I thought I would share some of Frank Frazetta's illustrations of Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings instead.

Ghoulish Goings-On in the Graveyard...

By the light of the full moon (probably at the stroke of midnight) the Crypt Keeper is up to some of his accustomed arcane antics!

This great painting of "C.K." was created by none other than Frank Frazetta.

Creepy's Loathsome Lore - "Werewolves"

Creepy's Loathsome Lore was a short segment printed on the inside cover of early issues of Warren's Creepy Magazine that typically focused on history and traditions surrounding various mythological creatures and macabre practices.  This piece was illustrated by the great Frank Frazetta!

"One for De-Money!" - Eerie

EC Comics met its untimely demise thanks to the creation of the Comics Code Authority...  But horror comics were resurrected in the the late 60's in the form of the comic magazines. To escape the curse of the Comics Code Authority, Warren Publishing printed in the magazine format.  The magazines Creepy and Eerie gave readers illustrated tales of terror in black and white on a bimonthly basis.  Featuring a roster established artists of EC fame along with budding new talent, the comics remain highly influential to this day.

Warren Publishing was a something of a spiritual successor to the EC legacy in many ways.  Like the EC Comics, each story was introduced by a "host" who usually made wise-cracking commentary on the plot using puns and dark humor.  Creepy stories were introduced Uncle Creepy while Eerie's hosting duties fell to Cousin Eerie.

The quality of the comics began to wane in the later years as the original creative team left and editors came and went on a regular basis.  The magazines began to rely on reprints of the early stories to stay afloat until they finally ceased publication in the early 80's.

The Art of Frank Frazetta

To say that Frank Frazetta was a talented painter and illustrator would be a massive understatement.  In the world of modern illustration it is difficult to find a more influential figure.  Working mainly in the Fantasy and Science Fiction genres, Frazetta's paintings graced the covers of novels, comics, magazines, and albums for almost four decades.

A self-portrait

Frazetta's works sweep the viewer into another time, another place.  His use of color and form gives a level of dignity to subject matter that would in less talented hands come off as hokey.  A master of anatomy and composition, nearly all of his paintings are epic and iconic. Frazetta's paintings imply motion and action with such convincing skill that his creations almost leap off of the canvas .

You can feel the crushing blow of Conan the Barbarian's shield in this piece.