I just received my copy of the deluxe limited edition of the
SENSUOUS FRAZETTA. It was sent to me by my good friend, David Spurlock, the very hard working publisher of Vanguard Books. Yes, I did recently sell my collection of art,
fanzines, and books. However, I did keep a number of volumes that I consider
essential. All the various publications produced by Dave Spurlock fall into
this category. My bookcase is chock full of Vanguard books. Again, they are
ESSENTIAL for any true Frazetta fan and connoisseur.
This latest volume in the FRAZETTA CLASSICS SERIES is another must have. What could be
better than a volume devoted to Frazetta's women? Patrick K. Hill is
responsible for the overall design of the book and Patrick did an exceptional
job. It is a very handsome volume with accurate captions and nice layout. The
opening essay by Joseph Michael Linsner is heartfelt, sensitive, and insightful.
The remaining explanatory essays are very informative and provide a wonderful
context for the published illustrations. The quotations from Frazetta that are
sprinkled throughout the text are wonderfully appropriate and provide a nice
insight into Frank's thinking. Older fans and newer fans will learn from this book.
The heart and soul of this volume is, of course, the art. What
incredible art! The book provides a wonderful overview of the role that
sensuality and eroticism played in Frazetta's career. Frank drew and painted
women in such a unique manner. His women "Live" on the page. They
touch us, affect us, enflame the mind and imagination. Yes, they encourage more
than a bit of mental lust. The book covers the whole gamut of published genres from magazines to oils to movie posters to paperbacks. The Frazetta visual universe is vast and extremely impressive.
I thought I had seen every single image of females drawn and
painted by Frank. I had the opportunity to see all his private erotic/porno
stories on many occasions. Those stories are filled with the most highly eroticized Frazetta females known to exist. Sadly, these have never been published. This is certainly a sin against art history. However, a surprise on page 12 of this volume is a sensational
illustration that was brand new to me. What a complete treat!
Buy the book! This one illustration justifies any cost. Now you
have something to look forward to...a fresh Frazetta, never before seen.
Extraordinary.
The book presents all the truly great Midwood paperback illustrations. Beautifully presented in this volume in their original sepia wash intent. Exceptional
work. Many are based on photo reference, but the finished result is simply superb. Most
of these original wash drawings are not known to exist. I sincerely hope the
originals will be discovered some day. Frazetta was able to retain a small
number and now these originals are highly prized by collectors. Also in this
volume are the legendary romance stories done for the PERSONAL LOVE comic books. It is nice
to see the side-by-side presentation of these stories: the colored comic on the
right; the original linework in b/w on the left. All these original pages do exist so,
hopefully, at some point in the future we will be able to see repros in full
tonality shot from the actual original art pages. In the meantime this volume
has the best presentation. I thank David Spurlock for adding these great
stories. The stories drip with beauty and sensuality. Again, this is Frazetta at his best.
I really cannot find any fault with this book. Like all Frazetta
projects, this comes across as a great labor of love. Putting together a volume
such as this is not easy. It takes time, care, and participation by people with
art, copies, photos, and rare paperback books. I thank all the people who
helped this book to be the classic it is sure to become. For me it already is
the definitive work on the Frazetta female. It is a work that any fan of
Frazetta will enjoy pulling off his shelf time and time again. It will not
gather dust. A great, great project.
DocDave Winiewicz September,
2016
PS: There are several editions of this book available from VANGUARD PRODUCTIONS. I would buy the deluxe edition. It has a sensational slipcase and a set of extra art pages. The price is very reasonable for a book of this quality.
