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Post by DubipR on Mar 8, 2021 7:34:32 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Mar 8, 2021 8:35:16 GMT -5
It appears both he and his wife passed on the same day, six hours apart. Frank's legacy will live on. I am constantly surprised and delighted to find his name in the credits box of comics I didn't know he worked on as I explore new old comics and catalog comics I picked up on whims over the the last few years, knowing I am in for a treat when I read it. Rest well.
-M
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Post by MDG on Mar 8, 2021 8:49:21 GMT -5
Though I'm ashamed to admit it, this was my favorite thing he ever did.  |
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Post by brutalis on Mar 8, 2021 9:05:47 GMT -5
The old wizard will be missed. Lots of amazing work beyond his sensually designed heroines who defied gravity! As noted, it is fun finding Thorne in unexpected places while perusing comics. Very creative and talented artist beyond indulging in his erotic based work.
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Post by kirby101 on Mar 8, 2021 9:47:49 GMT -5
He will be remembered for portraying semi-clad and non-clad beautiful women. And it is a glorious, positive legacy. There was great joy in his work.
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Post by badwolf on Mar 8, 2021 10:19:10 GMT -5
I didn't like his work when I was younger--too loose a style I think?--but now I am really into it. There are a few collections out now I'd like to get. I just have one thin Ghita paperback right now.
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 8, 2021 10:36:34 GMT -5
Particularly loved his run on Tomahawk. Thorne had a knack for giving distinctive looks to the Rangers, who were often indistinguishable in group scenes, even when drawn by Fred Ray and Bob Brown. Dynamic and loose, Thorne's style reminds me of both Kubert's and Toth's; he spotted blacks like Caniff, and told a story as well as each of them. Also was unaffected and lacking in ego. I heard a long interview with him last year and he came across as proud of his work, but not at all impressed with himself.     |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 8, 2021 10:42:33 GMT -5
Particularly loved his run on Tomahawk. Thorne had a knack for giving distinctive looks to the Rangers, who were often indistinguishable in group scenes, even when drawn by Fred Ray and Bob Brown. Dynamic and loose, Thorne's style reminds me of both Kubert's and Toth's; he spotted blacks like Caniff, and told a story as well as each of them. Also was unaffected and lacking in ego. I heard a long interview with him last year and he came across as proud of his work, but not at all impressed with himself. I think the Son of Tomahawk run was particularly good. But I may be colored by the fact that I think the stories were a bit less hokey than the normal Tomahawk fare. R. I. P. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 8, 2021 10:50:08 GMT -5
Particularly loved his run on Tomahawk. Thorne had a knack for giving distinctive looks to the Rangers, who were often indistinguishable in group scenes, even when drawn by Fred Ray and Bob Brown. Dynamic and loose, Thorne's style reminds me of both Kubert's and Toth's; he spotted blacks like Caniff, and told a story as well as each of them. Also was unaffected and lacking in ego. I heard a long interview with him last year and he came across as proud of his work, but not at all impressed with himself. I think the Son of Tomahawk run was particularly good. But I may be colored by the fact that I think the stories were a bit less hokey than the normal Tomahawk fare. R. I. P. It was quite good, but the old-timey Tomahawk stories changed much earlier than that, as of about #120, Thorne's second issue, IIRC. That's when the stories began to revolve around anti-war themes, and touched on racial issues and the culture clash between the colonials and the original people. Not exactly Achebe or Orwell, but pretty good for Kanigher and a second-tier DC comic. And the Thorne art elevated that strip immensely. And that's from a fan of the underappreciated Bob Brown and the super-historical Fred Ray.) |
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Post by foxley on Mar 8, 2021 11:18:26 GMT -5
R.I.P. Frank Thorne. You will be missed.   |
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Post by Cei-U! on Mar 8, 2021 11:25:15 GMT -5
Thorne was the original artist on Gold Key's Mighty Samson, and his version of a dystopian future included a delicious assortment of monsters and mutated animals. Quieter than his '70s work, but still really good stuff. Rest well, Frank.
Cei-U!
I summon a momet of silence!
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Post by kirby101 on Mar 8, 2021 12:24:47 GMT -5
He was an artist whose style grew and adapted over the years. He mostly fit his style to the book and publisher. Those Korak and Tomahawk book were very Kubertesque. His Spectre looked like Aparo. His early comic strip work was very conventional, and very well drawn.
After Red Sonja, he really let loose and developed a more unique style, and honed his talent of portraying buxom leading ladies. His work then more closely resembled European graphic novelists.
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Post by profh0011 on Mar 8, 2021 15:26:35 GMT -5
Thorne was the original artist on Gold Key's Mighty Samson, and his version of a dystopian future included a delicious assortment of monsters and mutated animals. Quieter than his '70s work, but still really good stuff. Rest well, Frank. It's been suggested that MIGHTY SAMSON was the real inspiration for THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN. |
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Post by profh0011 on Mar 8, 2021 15:47:52 GMT -5
Well, this news comes at a spooky moment. Earlier today, I was driving north on Rt. 73 thru Mt. Laurel, right past the motel where I first saw Frank in person (along with Dave Cockrum, Dick Giordano, Joe Staton, and others) back in the late 70s. I always thought it was crazy how that day, I spoke with Joe Staton, but not Frank, who was sitting right next to him at the same table.
Over the next couple years, I saw Frank at conventions in Philly (once or twice, not sure) but still never got into a chat with him.
It wasn't until I started writing him fan letters in the mid-80s-- and he began WRITING BACK-- that we really started to get to know each other.
When Fantagraphics started their Eros Comix line and began knocking out tons of XXX-rated stuff, I once kidded Frank that his stuff seemed "tame" compared to some of these other guys. I've no way of knowing for sure, but I've always suspected I was responsible for him diving into the deep end with THE IRON DEVIL. What a character!
When I published my own X-rated comic back in 2002, I asked Frank if I could come up to see him, he agreed, and on a stunningly-beautiful day in early November, I drove up to north New Jersey and finally got to speak with him face-to-face at his house. I handed him a copy of my book, and got him to sign my copy of RED SONJA #1.
We stayed in touch after that, but I never got to see him again. He was the one who repeatedly urged me to "back away" from too much photo-reference, which turned out to be GREAT advice with some of the commission drawings I've done in the last few years.
During one of our many e-mail exchanges, he told me one of his first professional comic-book jobs was Dell's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA. When I mentioned I'd love to see it some day, he floored me by MAILING me what he said was "his last reminaing copy". WHOA!!! I knew I had to do something with it, and wound up scanning the entire comic into my computer, cleaning it up, and posting it ONLINE as part of a year-long JULES VERNE comics blog project. That eventually led to my Edgar Allan Poe blog project, so I think it's safe to say Frank was one of the people responsible for me getting started on that!
He seemed especially proud a few years back when, worried about his faltering eyesight and that it might drive him back to drinking too much, he instead managed to delve into a whole new arena with SURREALISTIC paintings, and had a one-man show that was apparently a rousing success. WHAT A GUY!!
He seemed to be having some technical problems with the internet over the last year, and out e-mails became fewer and father in between. I'd written him a couple times in the last 6 months, but didn't get any response. I guess this sad news today wasn't much of a surprise.
Incidentally, while comic-book fans might remember him for RED SONJA, Frank always said his most-popular creation was MOONSHINE McJUGS, who appeared in PLAYBOY magazine, which certainly had a much-bigger circulation than ANY comic-books in this country in my lifetime. He was also very proud of GHITA OF ALIZARR, which I can attest had FAR-better writing than any of the RED SONJA comics at Marvel. More than once Frank said he didn't care for Jack Kirby's work, but I've often compared their writing. Whereas most comic-book writers will do long serials which feel like "movie serials", each episode feeling like it was made up as they went along, Thorne & Kirby BOTH had a way of doing long stories that, when read in one go, felt like FEATURE FILMS, as if they'd been conceived as ONE piece, regardless of if they were serialized in print or not.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 8, 2021 16:07:49 GMT -5
Like Mike Ploog, Thorne had a distinctive style that we didn't get enough of but that was always welcome when it showed up. He will be missed.
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