WHAT? A NEW CONTROVERSY?
(see below and weigh in with your opinion)
- Note: The information in this post has been proven to be innaccurate because of false information published in a bootleg publication that was believed by me to be legitimate. Thanks to knowledgable readers and their helpful comments, the information has been conclusively discredited. I leave the rest of the original post to illustrate how controversies can be developed, and how people with knowledge sharing information respectfully can bring resolution to such controversies. -
Over the past several months, while I have been 'away', several giants of comic book illustration have passed from our midsts into the great beyond. Among these artistic giants was
Frank Frazetta. You can see my initial tribute to Mr. Frazetta over at
Black 'N' White And Red All Over.
Here I present to you some apparently little known or perhaps overlooked information regarding Frazetta's very first published oil painting. Of course as every serious art fan knows, Frank Frazetta is well known for (among other things) his amazing oil painting covers for the CONAN and TARZAN paperback books published in the 60's and 70's, as well as several Warren covers. What every serious art fan does not know, as evidenced by the Grand Comic Book Database (or GCD), is the fact that his very first published oil painting was done for Avon Comics in July of 1950 for WILD BILL HICKOK comics.
As presented by the
GCD, the above cover art was by artist
Harold Winfield Scott (click here to see GCD's entry). That is erroneous. I am here to set the record straight, using Frank Frazetta's own records.
This painting was done fairly early in Frazetta's career, before he began the habit of demanding the rights to keep his original paintings after publication. Where the original painting is now is unknown, and the records to indicate authorship are incomplete. Therefore the attribution by the GCD to Harold Winfield Scott was made as an educated guess by art experts, at first a mere suggestion and now widely accepted as a fact.
As comic book enthusiasts know, the GCD is an indispensable tool and are to be praised for all their efforts to catalogue every legitimate comic book every published, which is an almost impossibly daunting task indeed. One cannot fault them for displaying occasional false information, and they themselves ask for help from the public in clarifying some of these questionable entries. After I post this, I will contact them with the correct information. I encourage every comic book fan who has knowledge that can fill in the blank spaces over at GCD to please inform them of the correct information, so true facts will not be lost to history as time goes by.
My proof for the validity of Frazetta's authorship of the painting in question comes from Frank Frazetta's own records, as listed by him in his own publication, THE FRAZETTA TREASURY(1975), which includes Frank's own checklist of his work up to that point in his career. The checklist in that volume is hand-typed, most likely by Ellie Frazetta and verified by Frank himself, and on page 5 of the list is the entry:
WILD BILL HICKOK (Avon)
# 4 Cover [First published painting]
Beside the written entry, there is also a full page which reprints the cover in black and white, with the words underneath,
FIRST PUBLISHED PAINTING.
So it is Frank Frazetta himself claiming that the painting is his.
This revelation should be of importance to comic book/art historians, as well as comic book collectors. Anyone possessing this comic book (such as myself) should immediately reassess the value of WILD BILL HICKOK # 4, as it is a collector's item.
(I will consider any offers for this comic, if any collectors are interested in acquiring it.)
_______________________________
APOCOLYTIC ADDENDUM
Since posting this and other Frazetta material on Black 'N' White And Red All Over,
two readers have informed me that there is controversy surrounding the authenticity of THE FRAZETTA TREASURY. One of the people saying so is none other than Mr. Door Tree, art historian and the provider of the excellent GOLDEN AGE COMIC BOOK STORIES, whose personal knowledge regarding Frazetta is more extensive than my own, and therefore I must report that this post is not definitive, and any information contained in THE FRAZETTA TREASURY, as accurate as it appears, may not be 100% accurate after all. If the information wasn't coming from him, I might still not be convinced, but I am convinced of his knowledge of such facts. Now I welcome any comments, information, or opinions on this apparent controversy. Just leave your comment below. Thank you!
- THE APOCOLYTE Speaks
_________________________________
Finally, one last bit...
After contacting the GCD, their investigation, though hardly extensive, resulted in them sending me this link to a comic thread...you tell me, is this proof of the inauthenticity, or merely hearsay?
http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3279160
GCD did say they would at the least consider printing a small bit expressing the possible spurious information of The Frazetta Treasury.
Now I ask all of you -
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
___________
-additional information-
Alright, alright! I'll shut up now!
The controversy is over!
Here is the undeniable proof, as provided by the very knowledgable Daniel (of
An OEconomist.com), who provided the link to this image of the original cover art which appeared on a 1947 issue of SPEED WESTERN magazine (see comments below). Thank you to Daniel, and of course to Mr. Door Tree at the always amazing
Golden Age Comic Book Stories for his invaluable insights.
