Frazetta - Tarzan & the Antmen concept

Tarzan and the Ant Men (1962?)

Arguably the 'Proto Genesis' of Frazetta's matriculation into who we now recognize as the Master of Fantasy Art.

In 1962, after his less than amicable break with Al Capp, Fritz quickly found himself shut out of the comic industry, dismissed as “too old style.” Huh???

Frazetta stood at a crossroads. Then his friend and co-conspirator Roy Krenkel had an ispirational thought, he needed some help urged him toward the paperback world: Ace Books, Carnival, and others. Ignition...

Comics had sharpened his blade, but they also kept it sheathed. In the realm of book covers, Frazetta’s imagination finally broke free. His figures no longer forced to crouch inside panels, they strode, towered, dominated. His compositions didn’t fit the page, they exploded outward, blasted past borders, announcing a new visual language that reshaped fantasy illustration.

This was literally the moment Frazetta became the modern Frazetta.

Image: You can watch the invocation unfold right onto the page. In the lower center, Tarzan materializes like a jungle spirit summoned from the mist of time, a ghost becoming flesh. Shift to the lower left and the form gains form, purpose, stride.

At center, the figure stands, fully summoned, dynamic, mythic, alive, the jungle’s champion stepping out of legend and into ink, announced by the upwardly billowing cloud signaling Frazetta attitude and rising confindence.On the sidelines sprites dance and his iconic signature completes the magic!