Frank Thorne
Encyclopedia
Frank Thorne is an American comic book
artist-writer
, best known for popularizing the Marvel Comics
character Red Sonja
.
. "After graduation, he drew the Perry Mason
newspaper strip
for King Features, which was followed by more comic book work for Dell
. He turned out a multitude of stories for Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim
, The Green Hornet
, and many more."
for Conan the Barbarian
, Sonja was transposed from a minor Robert E. Howard
16th-century gunslinger character ("Red Sonya") to a mainstay of the sword and sorcery
Conan
canon by Roy Thomas
. Having featured in half-a-dozen issues of Conan the Barbarian
(with art by Smith and John Buscema
), Sonja graduated to a starring role in other comics, and it was then that Thorne took over from Dick Giordano
in drawing her for Marvel Feature
(Jan. 1976), continuing through most of her 1977-79 solo series, where he established her characteristic image as a ferocious and beautiful female barbarian
wearing a chainmail bikini, which later became a popular fantasy literature
archetype.
, and has subsequently created a number of erotic fantasy comics and characters, alongside other works. His most notable works include being the creator/artist/writer of "Moonshine McJugs" for Playboy
magazine, as well as Ghita of Alizarr for Fantagraphics Books
, "Lann
" for Heavy Metal
magazine, Ribit for Comico
, The Iron Devil and Devil's Angel for Eros Comix
, and Danger Rangerette for National Lampoon and High Times.
His published works include two autobiographies, Drawing Sexy Women and The Crystal Ballroom, as well as a novel, Nymph. All are published by Fantagraphics Books
.
award in the Comic Book Division, The 1978 Inkpot Award
, and the Playboy editorial Award for best comic: Moonshine McJugs.
and lives in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist-writer
Comic book creator
A comic book creator is someone who creates a comic book or graphic novel.The production of a comic book by one of the major comic book companies in the U.S...
, best known for popularizing the Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character Red Sonja
Red Sonja
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture"...
.
Biography
Thorne began his comics career in 1948, penciling romance comics for Standard ComicsStandard Comics
Standard Comics was a comic book imprint of American publisher Ned Pines, who also published pulp magazines under a variety of company names that he also used for the comics...
. "After graduation, he drew the Perry Mason
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
newspaper strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
for King Features, which was followed by more comic book work for Dell
Dell Comics
Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium...
. He turned out a multitude of stories for Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim
Jungle Jim is the fictional hero of a series of jungle adventures in various media. The series began in 1934 as an American newspaper comic strip chronicling the adventures of Asia-based hunter Jim Bradley, who was nicknamed Jungle Jim...
, The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
, and many more."
Red Sonja
Originally drawn by Barry Windsor-SmithBarry Windsor-Smith
Barry Windsor-Smith, born Barry Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best known work has been produced in the United States....
for Conan the Barbarian
Conan (Marvel Comics)
Conan is a fictional character based on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian. He was introduced to the comic book world in 1970 with Conan the Barbarian, written by Roy Thomas, illustrated by Barry Smith and published by Marvel Comics....
, Sonja was transposed from a minor Robert E. Howard
Robert E. Howard
Robert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
16th-century gunslinger character ("Red Sonya") to a mainstay of the sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
Conan
Conan (comics)
Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard was first adapted into comics published Marvel Comics beginning with the series Conan the Barbarian in 1970...
canon by Roy Thomas
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...
. Having featured in half-a-dozen issues of Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (comics)
Conan the Barbarian was a Marvel Comics title starring the sword-and-sorcery character created by Robert E. Howard. It debuted in Oct. 1970 and ran for 275 issues until Dec...
(with art by Smith and John Buscema
John Buscema
John Buscema, born Giovanni Natale Buscema , was an American comic-book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop culture conglomerate...
), Sonja graduated to a starring role in other comics, and it was then that Thorne took over from Dick Giordano
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph "Dick" Giordano was an American comic book artist and editor best known for introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes, and serving as executive editor of then–industry leader DC Comics...
in drawing her for Marvel Feature
Marvel Feature
Marvel Feature was the name of two comic book showcase series published by Marvel Comics in the 1970s. The first volume led to the launching of the new ongoing series The Defenders and Marvel Two-in-One, while volume two led to the new ongoing series Red Sonja.- Volume One :The first series was a...
(Jan. 1976), continuing through most of her 1977-79 solo series, where he established her characteristic image as a ferocious and beautiful female barbarian
Barbarian
Barbarian and savage are terms used to refer to a person who is perceived to be uncivilized. The word is often used either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
wearing a chainmail bikini, which later became a popular fantasy literature
Fantasy literature
Fantasy literature is fantasy in written form. Historically speaking, literature has composed the majority of fantasy works. Since the 1950s however, a growing segment of the fantasy genre has taken the form of films, television programs, graphic novels, video games, music, painting, and other...
archetype.
Other works
He "left Sonja" in 1978 to create his own woman warrior, Ghita of AlizarrGhita of Alizarr
Ghita of Alizarr is a sword-and-sorcery comic book created by Frank Thorne after he ceased work on Marvel Comics' Red Sonja. The titular character, Ghita of Alizarr, is a barbarian warrior like Red Sonja. The series is composed of two graphic novels, and is usually marked as "adults only" due to...
, and has subsequently created a number of erotic fantasy comics and characters, alongside other works. His most notable works include being the creator/artist/writer of "Moonshine McJugs" for Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine, as well as Ghita of Alizarr for Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
, "Lann
Lann
-Bearers of the name:* Lann ingen Dúnlainge, Princess of Osraighe and Queen of Midhe, died 866.* Lann ingen Donnchadha, Princess of Ailech, died 940.* Lann ui Selbachan, Abbess of Kildare, died 1047.-External links:...
" for Heavy Metal
Heavy Metal (magazine)
Heavy Metal is an American science fiction and fantasy comics magazine, known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy/science fiction and erotica. In the mid-1970s, while publisher Leonard Mogel was in Paris to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon, he discovered the French...
magazine, Ribit for Comico
Comico Comics
Comico: The Comic Company was an American comic book publisher, headquartered in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Its best-known comics include the Robotech adaptations, the Jonny Quest continuation written by co-creator Doug Wildey, and Matt Wagner's Mage: The Hero Discovered and Grendel...
, The Iron Devil and Devil's Angel for Eros Comix
Eros Comix
Eros Comix is an adult-oriented imprint of Fantagraphics Books, established in 1990 to publish pornographic comic books. Eros Comix sells anime videos, DVDs, adult comic books, and books of erotic art and photography...
, and Danger Rangerette for National Lampoon and High Times.
His published works include two autobiographies, Drawing Sexy Women and The Crystal Ballroom, as well as a novel, Nymph. All are published by Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books
Fantagraphics Books is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, magazines, graphic novels, and the adult-oriented Eros Comix imprint...
.
Awards
Among his awards are a 1963 National Cartoonists SocietyNational Cartoonists Society
The National Cartoonists Society is an organization of professional cartoonists in the United States. It presents the National Cartoonists Society Awards. The Society was born in 1946 when groups of cartoonists got together to entertain the troops...
award in the Comic Book Division, The 1978 Inkpot Award
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award, bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International, is given to some of the professionals in comic book, comic strip, animation, science fiction, and related pop-culture fields, who are guests of that organization's yearly multigenre fan convention, commonly known as...
, and the Playboy editorial Award for best comic: Moonshine McJugs.
Personal life
Thorne was known during the 1970s for attending comic book conventions in his persona as The Wizard judging Red Sonja Lookalike Contests—the most famed winner was artist/writer Wendy Pini He was born in Rahway, New JerseyRahway, New Jersey
Rahway is a city in southern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York metropolitan area, being 15 miles southwest of Manhattan and five miles west of Staten Island...
and lives in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains, New Jersey
Scotch Plains is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the township population increased to a record high of 23,510.-History:...
.
External links
- Article on Frank Thorne at Lambiek.net.