There is a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding about the relationship between Frazetta and Roy Krenkel. What is completely clear is that Frank thought the world of Roy. They were very dear friends. Roy reciprocated their unconditional friendship. The dynamic of the "fleagles" looked like this: Frank was very close with Roy, Nick Meglin, and Angelo Torres. He was less close with Al Williamson. There are many reasons for this. Most people think that Frank and Al were always extremely close. Not true. They were hang-around buddies, but Frank felt closest to Roy. Al was very best friends with Roy. The basic unease between Frank and Al can be traced to the very early 50’s. It’s a long story and not something I want to pursue right now. I heard both sides of the story from Frank and Al. They agreed on the facts and the results.
My approach to art was different. His style had no affect on me. Nothing. I did my own art. I enjoyed making it up. I tried to help him. I couldn’t teach him. I tried. We had a sketchbook where I would draw a page, and then Roy would draw a page. We would compare them and talk about the differences. Remember that sketch sheet I gave you where Roy and I drew some cats. We even talked about how the whiskers should be added to the face. We both loved cats, big cats.
He liked to collect things, to find new artists. Every week he showed me someone new. He proclaimed him the greatest this or that. Al would get wrapped up in all that too. They drove me nuts. I looked at it and saw nothing. I could do better and did. We did help one another with jobs. We all needed dough and we all helped out one another. It was fun. All night sessions of drawing and joking. Good laughs, good times.”
