Frazetta The Definitive Reference

by James A. Bond, David Winiewicz

* The most comprehensive index of the artist's work ever published! * Fantastic reference for artists; great entertainment for fans. The work of Frank Frazetta--THE greatest heroic-fantasy artist of all time--has influenced generations of artists, fans, designers, and movie directors. Now more than 400 of his unforgettable images have been collected in Frazetta, The Definitive Reference. With essays by experts and collectors, this one-of-a-kind volume traces the entire arc of Frazettas career. From his early 1950s comics; to his breathtaking book covers featuring Tarzan, Pellucidar, King Kong, and John Carter of Mars; to his 1960s monster mags, including Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella; to his major movie posters, including After the Fox, The Night They Raided Minsky's and Whats New Pussycat?; and, of course, his revolutionary Conan paintings--its all here. Frazetta - The Definitive Reference overflows with fantastic images, an index of every published Frazetta work and insightful commentary on this fantasy-art icon. Compiled by James A. Bond (no relation to the international spy). Edited by J. David Spurlock and Andrew Steven with a foreword by Frazetta close personal friend Dr. David Winiewicz.

Genres: Art

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Karl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is similar to the book by Jeff Jones's Definitive Reference. This is a great book for those wanting an incite into the volume of work Mr. Frazetta did during his life, from the comics to the book covers to the pillow cases. If you are a fan of his work, or a fan of fantasy art in general this would be the book to add to your collection. If I had any quibble with this volume it would be that the reproductions presented here for the most part are quite small, most of the time smaller than the actual paperback covers that were illustrated.

[Konrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a book of Frank Frazetta art. Can’t go wrong. I only docked this a star because a few of the smaller photos were blurry, and I guess I would have liked more full page reproductions. But that’s not what this book was meant for. It’s more of a resource or jumping off point for building a collection of the artist’s work.

[Lew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another gorgeous glossy book covering the whole spectrum of Frank Frazetta's art work. The primary purpose of this book is a reference listing of all of his art work from comics to magazines to movie posters, etc. This is a must book for any serious fan and/or collector of Frazetta's work. There are plenty of examples of his various art through out the book.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frank Frazetta was THE seminal sci-fi/horror/pinup/fantasy artist of 1960-'80s who really defined illustration. His "Conan" and "Death Dealer" paintings are iconic. This book is NOT a showcase of his art; it is a scholarly listing of every single publication and piece of work he produced. It is pure art history, though there are some small images as examples throughout.

Did you know Frazetta did PSAs in the '50s? And comics! And movie posters! And album covers! And most famously, pulpy book and magazine covers that are aped to this day by contemporary illustrators. And pin-ups. OF COURSE.

Actually, my favorite pieces shown in the book (sized 1/6 page, unfortunately) are some gorgeously-composed pen-and-ink drawings of Tarzan (or another jungle man. There were quite a few back then.) Here, let's show you:

Those compositions...AMAZING.
If you want to actually see full-page spreads of Frazetta's iconic work, then not this book. This book: Icon

[Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Frazetta was one of the true giants of fantasy art. His images defined Tarzan, Conan the Barbarian, The Lord of the Rings, and a wide variety of indelible characters. During his long career his work appeared in print as diverse as the Lil' Abner comic strip and Molly Hatchet's Flirting With Disaster album.

Frazetta's figures always had the incredible weight of authority about them. His painting "Death Dealer" is so powerful you can see the steam rising off the executioner, and the exhale from the horse's nostrils. His women were fleshy, full-bodied, and his men were carved from muscle and sinew.

This book, a compendium of Frazetta's work, could have been better produced and the interviews could have been richer, but just having one resource for reference is pleasure enough.

[Little Timmy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I eagerly awaited the publishing of this book. Being a huge Frazetta fan I just knew this would be THE book for all his great works collected in one spot. The book was not what I expected. It's more a listing of his works and where they appear. Not what I wanted at all.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want an incredible detailed index of Frazetta's work this is a great book. If you want full page great images of Frazetta's paintings I would suggest ICONS or Legacy.