DMR Books

View Original

Frazetta Black Light Posters!


The witching season is upon us, the time when “spooky + cool” things come to the fore. In that spirit, nothing says ‘cool’ and ‘spooky’ like Frazetta black light posters. I didn’t even know such existed until I checked out a post on Cap’n’s Comics and found out one image was, indeed, from a black light poster.

The image in question was a version of Frank's painting for John Beynon Harris' The Secret People from Lancer Books. The original painting was from what I call Frank's 'early paperback period', with some obvious nods to his pen & ink work for Canaveral and his other line art from the early Sixties. The palette was cool, but fairly subdued.

However, the black light poster version is blazing with color, as well it should. I hate to second guess Frazetta, but this is the version I prefer:

I did a bit of searching and discovered that there are several Frazetta black light posters for sale at Trippy Store. Trippadelic versions of Satan's Generation, Dark Kingdom and three Death Dealers. Not too shabby. I have to wonder why Mothman and Red Planet didn't get the same treatment.

Looking at Frank's art for The Secret People makes me wish that Collier Books had gotten him to do a cover for Merritt's The Moon Pool, rather than the two crap covers they went with in the Sixties. Speaking of which, I did a post on a Virgil Finlay TMP black light poster here.

Check out Frank’s original painting sans text—and art director meddling—below.