Thursday, June 16, 2011

Flights of the Imagination

Every once in a while I feel a sudden shock that certain people, personal and famous, are no longer among us, even though I know they've been gone for some time. Of course we feel that way about our loved ones and friends.

But one such famous person is Frank Kelly Freas. I was so used to seeing his illustrative work come out regularly over the decades, that I feel sadness to never see new work of his again.

Of course that can be said of SO MANY people.

You could always count on Frank Kelly Freas to take us on colorful flights of the imagination into the books he covered.

Frank Kelly Freas — The Singing Stones

Frank Kelly Freas — The Probability Man

Frank Kelly Freas —The Tactics of Mistake

Frank Kelly Freas — Deeper Than the Darkness

9 comments:

M. D. Jackson said...

I feel the same way about Frank frazetta. Even before his death I knew his best work was behind him, but still...

Bob said...

I was lucky enough to have him sign my Famous Monsters convention poster in 1993. A gracious and nice man.

Annie said...

Hi Thom,
Thank you for sharing these covers. I was not familiar with his work. It is amazing how we can miss people we've never met, we've come to know through their words or through their images. Just the other night, I found out an old high school friend had died. I miss him, and I cried, and then I realized the notice I'd read was from two years ago, coincidentally, to the day. He was one of the good guys in life, kind to everyone, with a mischevious streak. I think intelligence, depth of emotion, and humor comes across in the art we view and the novels we read; so it makes sense we can miss an artist or an author.

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

M.D.—I was thinking about Frank Frazetta as well, when I wrote this post.

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

Bob—Very cool.

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

Annie—Freas was one of my artistic idols when I was a young teen. I sought out his work any which way I could. He published a lot of anecdotal material about his work, his thoughts and feelings, and his methods to the point where many of his fans felt that they knew him and what made him tick. So when he died, it did almost feel like losing a friend.

But losing a real friend, even years after last contact, is a real blow and hard on the soul. Losing people is the biggest pain of life.

Eric said...

Freas was just an amazing artist, who sadly seems to be somewhat lost in the shuffle these days. I think partly because he did so MUCH work that it's not the surprise to spot him like so many others.

Trivia time: Anybody know the one comic book he actually drew (or at least inked) a story for?

Thom: On a completely different subject, have you gotten my recent e-mails? I haven't gotten anything from you in a couple weeks, and I'm afraid I sent you too much Peter Wheat at once and got tagged as a spammer or something by your e-mail program.

Eric

Thomas Haller Buchanan said...

Eric, I don't know the answer to your trivia question. And I hope my current email to you comes through.

buzz said...

Freas & his wives (he remarried after his first wife died) are among the nicest people I've met in sci-fi fandom/prodom. He was a delightful & imaginative artist & I'm glad I got a chance to work w/him on the old TSR Comics BUCK ROGERS books.