Comic Book Historians Presents...: Frank Thorne the Blue, Wizard of the Comic Arts

By TBD

Comic Book Historians, Alex Grand and Jim Thompson provide historical insight into the comic book legend Frank Thorne with essays and a one of a kind interview shortly before his death, discussing his works. Born in 1930, Thorne's career spans from the late 1940s where he utilized and expanded on inspir

• Language: English
• Publisher: Comic Book Historians
• Release date: May 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781736764756

TBD

Patsy Stanley is an artist, illustrator and author and a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She has authored both nonfiction and fiction books including novels, children's books, energy books, art books, and more. She can reached at:[e-mail] for questions and comments.

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Comic Book Historians Presents …

Frank Thorne the Blue, Wizard of the Comic Arts

©2021 Comic Book Historians LLC

All Rights Reserved.

Comic Book Historians is a Registered Trademark

Registered at Library of Congress

ISBN 978-1-7367647-5-6

Publisher: Alex Grand

Published by Comic Book Historians

Editors: Alex Grand & Jim Thompson

Assistant Editor: N. Scott Robinson, Ph.D.

Cover Pencil/Inks: Andrea Bulgarelli - Cover Colors: José Villarrubia Concluding Interior Art - Jorge Pacheco

Photo of Frank Thorne, 2017, zxl CC BY-SA 4.0

All images and characters are © and ™ their current and respective copyright and trademark holders and appear for the sake of scholarly analyses.

Any statements made in this publication express or implied are solely those of the individuals to whom they are attributed and do not represent the editorial position of the publishers or editors who accept no responsibility in such statements or opinions.

Nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher.

WIZARD

noun

/ wiz-erd /

a person of amazing skill or accomplishment related to a particular subject:

a wizard at computer games.

one who practices magic or sorcery:

Gandalf the Grey was a powerful wizard

BLUE

adjective

/blu:/

portraying or representing sexual activity in a manner offensive to some people; off-color or risqué:

a blue joke or comedian

That movie was too blue for me

CONTENTS

Title Page

Ode to Frank Thorne by Alex Grand

1. Beginnings and Career Decisions

2. Emergence: Things begin to Count

3. Two Good Joes and a Tomahawk

4. Bold Moves and Bald Heads

5. Making Sonja Sing!

6. Playboy After Red Sonja

7. Wizardry and Role-Playing

8. More Talk about Playboy and Jugs

9. Busting Boundaries on the World Stage

10. Published Histories, Private Dinners, and Parting Words

The Melody Lingers on by Jim T hompson

ODE TO FRANK THORNE

by

Alex Grand

Iwas a fan of Red Sonja starring Brigitte Nielsen and Sandahl Bergman. I spent the last couple of decades studying the history of Marvel and DC Comics superheroes until my tastes diversified to other companies and genres in 2015. After some years of catching up and reading thousands of comics of various genres and ages, it was inevitable that I would run into the work of this Wizard of the Comic Arts who was born almost a century ago on June 16, 1930.

I call Frank a Wizard for a few reasons; the main one being his iconic cosplay in the late 1970s conventions. No one could play the role of the mystical bearded, dirty old man better than Frank Thorne, who surprisingly was a devout Christian with a big family. I would be surprised to find this out since he always surrounded himself with beautiful barbarian warrior women like Linda Berhle and Wendy Pini. Frank had so much fun with this character, and it shows in the many photos taken of the period, with some of the best ones taken by Eisner award organizer, Jackie Estrada. Another reason I call him that is his approach to comic art, which of course respects the incredible female anatomy that was his forte and evolved through his life. His Red Sonja comics have page compositions that summon both war and the sexual otherworldly, sucking the reader into his magical mystery tour.

It really is a shining moment in the history of the character since Frank succeeded in coming out of the shadow of her co-creator, Barry Windsor-Smith, who was a tough act to follow. I asked myself, what was the origin of this Wizard? I researched