Frank Frazetta would have turned ninety-three today. February 7th marked the thirty-third anniversary of Lin Carter’s death. Frank turned sixty two days after Lin died.* The careers of the two men intertwined in the late ‘60s, when Frazetta painted two covers for Carter’s Thongor novels. That would be interesting enough, but the saga continued on into the ‘80s and ‘90s.

It all began when the publisher, Paperback Library, approached Frazetta to paint a cover for Carter's Thongor novel, Thongor Against the Gods in late 1966. Lancer Books' Conan the Adventurer had hit the newsstands a few months earlier and the Paperback Library guys wanted Frank to paint their barbarian. Frank obliged and Thongor Against the Gods, graced by one of Frazetta's most iconic covers, burst upon America's spinner racks in November, 1967. Check it out, in all its unlettered glory:

Paperback Library had commissioned a second cover as well. This one was for Thongor in the City of Magicians, which debuted five months after 'Gods'. Once again, check it out sans text:

Some have wondered why Frazetta appeared to have forgotten that Thongor was a brunette, not a blonde. Considering the fact that the painting does illustrate a scene from the novel, I think the hair color might have been changed for artistic reasons. Thongor's head is against a black/dark background and black hair would have, effectively, 'disappeared' as a consequence. Thanks to the blonde hair and winged helmet, Frazetta retitled the painting as "Thor's Flight" in the 1970s. It was also worked into the finale of Fire & Ice twenty-five years later.

The first painting--which I've seen titled both as "War Against the Gods" and also "Against the Gods"--enjoyed a more interesting post-Thongor career. It would provide the basis for an animated cologne commercial for Jovan in 1978--though the 'protagonist' looked more like Frazetta's Kane from the Bloodstone cover.

However, the saga was far from over. Check this out from Heritage Auctions:

" 'The Tempest' Oil Painting (1988). This magnificent painting is the second version of a similar painting, the 1967 paperback cover for Lin Carter's novel Thongor Against the Gods. (...) In the mid-eighties Frazetta was commissioned to paint this larger, revised version of the Thongor scene for a computer software ad campaign. With this added exposure this pose became an iconic touchstone of the late '60s-early '90s -- a euphoric moment of enlightenment, symbolic of a Prometheus unbound."

The seller is laying it on thick, but the painting deserves it. Behold:

That is top-quality Frazetta from right at the end of what I consider his prime period. Unlike when Frank redid his Conan the Buccaneer painting--he was dissatisfied with it--removing the original 'Conan" figure in the center and replacing it with an entirely new one to create “The Destroyer”, "The Tempest" is essentially the same scene, just from a different angle. One of the last of Frazetta's truly iconic paintings, in my opinion. Soon after, he was debilitated by a thyroid condition and then by strokes.

The story isn't quite over. In 1990, an invitation was sent out from the Frazetta Museum to select customers. The first words of the invitation were, "Frank has decided to create his first ever public offered sculpting..." This was Frazetta's first ever sculpture offered for sale to the public.

Here is a quote from Bud's Art Books that sums up the project:

'It was put out in 1990 and only advertised through the Frazetta museum. This was Frazetta’s first statue, entitled “Against The Gods,” after the painting of the same name. It’s accompanied by a stained glass replica of the painting for display beside the statue and a certificate from the Frazetta museum encased in a blue padded case, with “War Against The Gods” and “Frank Frazetta” embossed in gold on the front.'

Here's a pic of the pewter statue and the nicely-done stained glass reproduction of "Against the Gods":

Just think about this for a minute. When Frank had to choose which painting from his career to sculpt and reproduce in pewter--for the first time ever--he didn't go with "The Barbarian" or "Silver Warrior" or "Death Dealer". He chose "Against the Gods". It is one of Frazatta's truly iconic paintings and one that I don't think gets enough love, along with its sibling painting, "The Tempest".

As a final DMR Blog bonus, here's a quick prelim sketch that Frank did for 'Gods' in 1966.

*Frank was actually two years older than Lin.