Frazetta : World's Best Comics Cover Artist

Vanguard continues their trademark Definitive Reference series with Frazetta: World's Best Comics Cover Artist, a companion book to 2022's hit, Frazetta Book Cover Art.

"Art is subjective" the old adage goes and, it is largely true. But could any artist actually lay claim to be the best? This book not only says it is possible but proclaims one artist to be the best comic-book cover artist. Hall of Fame illustrator Frank Frazetta is a legend whose influence grows daily and whose original art garners headlines setting records, selling at major auction houses well into the millions. Though known for Golden Age comic-book line-art for EC Comics, Famous Funnies and more, Frazetta's real comic-book revolution came in the '60s and '70s when he made history using the fine art medium of oil paint for his comics magazine covers. This book covers Frazetta's ground-breaking, Earth-shaking work like no other chronicling the artist's creative evolution chronologically. 

Award-winning illustration and cartooning historian J. David Spurlock knew and worked with the artist. Spurlock last catalogued, documented, and expounded upon all of Frazetta's book cover paintings. This new volume focuses on the artist's comics magazine cover art, which originally appeared on such periodicals as Creepy magazine, Ghost Rider, Mad magazine, Vampirella, National Lampoon, and EC Comics' Weird Science-Fantasy and Tales From The Crypt.

J. David Spurlock is an award-winning author, historian, educator, advocate for artists’ rights, documentary filmmaker, and associate to star talents Frazetta, Basil Gogos, Neal Adams, Steranko, Joe Kubert, Carmine Infantino, Julius Schwartz, Wally Wood, and many more. Spurlock's book How to Draw Chiller Monsters, for Random House, rose as high as #18 on the Bookspan best-seller list.  Spurlock's IPPY Award-winning book, Alluring Art of Margaret Brundage, has been universally acclaimed including by MTV and by the Village Voice who proclaimed it one of The Best of 2013. His guest speaking engagements include many San Diego Comic-Con presentations, 2013 WorldCon (various lecture panels including on Robert E. Howard, Copyright Law, and on Margaret Brundage); with Stan Lee for Dragon Con TV and a live audience if 4,600; The Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine re-launch convention; the Frank Frazetta tribute event at the San Diego Comic-Con; Rutgers School of Law; and University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

According to the New York Times, Frank Frazetta "helped define fantasy heroes like Conan, Tarzan and John Carter of Mars with signature images of strikingly fierce, hard-bodied heroes and bosomy, callipygian damsels." Frazetta took the sex and violence of the pulp fiction of his youth and added even more action, fantasy, and potency, but rendered with a panache seldom seen outside of major works of fine art. His work has drawn comparisons to illustrators Maxfield Parrish, Frederic Remington, Norman Rockwell, and N.C. Wyeth as well as fine artists like Rembrandt and Michelangelo. Frazetta works sell for millions of dollars and his work has inspired generations of artists, movies, and directors including the Conan films, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the films of Robert Rodriguez, the epic, award-winning Game of Thrones series, Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, Disney’s animated Tarzan films, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and George Lucas’ Star Wars series.