The Death Dealer Cometh..

Frank Frazetta passed away yesterday. For those of you who can claw your way through the befogged memories of the 60s and 70s may remember seeing collections of his works on the coffee table of your hippie friends' digs. He did those great comic book art fantasy pieces of the surreal creatures engaged in pitched battles against warriors with knotty, sinewy limbs wielding a blood-covered broad-axe or pike. For an added thrill, there was usually some curvaceous, dark-haired beauty peering from behind a pillar.

My favorite - especially when I am in an intensely belligerent mood - is the malevolent Death Dealer (above). Somehow Frezetta's works always put you in the scene - or at least had you wondering, "what if that were me". In this instance, the picture of that ominous creature astride his mount waiting for the viewer of the picture to approach was enough to raise the hair on the back of neck.

UPDATE: Bastiatarian has lured me out. Just for the sheer joy of his images, here is a potpourri of Frezetta. Ain't gonna do a lot of work trying to make the placement aesthetic as the blogger tools have a mind of their own, so here goes..