On this week's episode of Frazetta Fridays w/Frazetta Girls, Sara interviews The Shiflett Brothers! Jarrod and Brandon Shiflett have been at the forefront of sculpting for a few decades now. Their sculptures can be found in video-game design firms, special effects houses, art departments and even in the personal collections of Peter Jackson, Robert Rodriguez, Sir Richard Taylor and now, the Frazetta's. Together they won many awards for their work and have accolades from some of the best-known artists and studios in the world. They run an incredible online sculpting forum, they’ve taught masterclasses and they even have their own book, “Clay Sculpting with The Shiflett Brothers” published by 3D Total Publishing.

Purchase their book here: https://store.3dtotal.com/products/cl...

and here: https://www.amazon.com/Sculpting-Shif...

Become a Patron here: https://www.patreon.com/shiflettbros

Learn more here: https://shiflettbrothers.com/

Frank Frazetta could have been a professional athlete. He came of age playing baseball, participating in pick-up games in his neighborhood in Brooklyn, and later, for the local sandlot leagues. When he was around 20 years old, at the end of the 1940s, Frazetta emerged as a talented left-fielder. After leading the Coney Islanders of the Parade Grounds Baseball League with a .459 batting average, scouts noticed Frazetta. Being an athletically skilled and reliable player, the New York Giants made him a professional offer in 1948. Frazetta declined.

It was the folly of young love and the grueling lifestyle of traveling with the farm teams that dissuaded him from entering into the major leagues. In a 1977 interview, Frazetta discussed this, saying “I remember that going to another state seemed like going to the end of the world. They bus you back and forth and it was just one big disgusting hassle. So I said maybe next year…time went by and before you know it I'm too old. It was just my way of letting time go by.” And time went by, but not idly.

While Frazetta was indecisive about his baseball career, he was decidedly pursuing a career in comic art. Opportunities abounded for Frazetta, having already earned some notoriety working and illustrating for comics and publishers such as Bernard Bailey and Standard starting early in the decade.

Baseball remained in Frazetta’s life, though, even as his career in art expanded and evolved into adulthood. “I loved baseball,” he recalled in 1977. “I played it and I still play it and I still draw and paint. So what the hell is the difference? They are two things I love to do.” There was, however, a pragmatic difference between these interests. While Frazetta enjoyed the thrill of competition and the physical demands of the sport, life as a professional baseball player was very different then than it is now. A typical salary was substantial, but nothing extravagant, and accommodations and other provisions were minimal, if at all. “There were no huge bonuses in those days,” complained Frazetta, “most kids were delighted to go down and struggle in the minors.” But not Frazetta.

For Frazetta, playing baseball was an intense expression of his physicality and innate athleticism. “I could really let it all out—run like a wild man and swing that bat,” Frazetta fondly remarked in 1977. “Totally exhilarating! It almost beats sex—almost.” He commented further, adding “It always bugs me when I hear some professional athlete stand around and say that he only does it for the money.” Although money mattered to Frazetta, it was essential that he also gain something beyond the measure of wealth. Frazetta required any serious endeavor to pleasure him more deeply than anything money can buy.

When Frazetta turned down baseball, his success with art was not guaranteed, but his talent, skill, and performance in the field was already proven. He had booked legitimate jobs, accessed artistic freedom, and expression, and received a consistent paycheck. And with art, too, fulfilling his intrinsic need for a greater, more personal satisfaction, Frazetta grew into his adulthood as a man providing for himself and his family, and who simultaneously continued developing, expanding, and honing his craft, even if, as he says, it was more challenging: “I am nowhere near as exhausted playing ball as I am when I paint.”

In this episode we explore Frazetta's contributions to comics in the golden age of comics. In 1944 Bailey Comics hired a young high school student to be John Giunta's art assistant. This new apprentice was sixteen-year-old Frank Frazetta. Giunita was immediately impressed with Frazetta’s artwork and persuaded Bernard Bailey to publish a revised version of Frank’s personal comic strips, “Snowman.” The 7 page story titled “Snowman” appeared in TALLY HO #1 in 1944.

Following the publishing of ‘Snowman in Tally Ho #1,’ Giunita and Frazetta continued to collaborate with a few projects such as ‘Man in Black.’ After a short while of working with Bailey Comics, Frazetta began to feel slighted with his payments and left to find new work at Fiction House Comics. While working at Fiction House Comics, Frazetta met artists Graham Ingels, Bob Lubbers and George Evans. He was hired to assist them with tedious tasks around the studio which only lasted about six months. In 1946, Prize Publications gave Frazetta a chance to submit a solo story in TREASURE COMICS. The story; “Know Your America” was Frazetta’s first solo published work.

In 1949 Frazetta visited Standard with his portfolio and, lo and behold, there was Graham Ingels, who just quit Fiction House and was now working as the Art Director at Standard. Ingels gave Frazetta a feature to start with, ‘Judy of the Jungle.’ Standard also hired Frazetta to help illustrate their funny animal books. Between the years 1947 through 1950 Frazetta worked diligently with Standard on 15 different titles. He began illustrating books like Barnyard, Coo Coo, Happy and Supermouse to name a few. But when Frazetta’s talent really began to bloom he was offered a nine page story for Exciting Comics, one of Standard’s action adventure titles. Frazetta was also asked to provide a quarter page illustration for a “Looie Lazybones.” The response to Looie Lazybones persuaded Standard to create an ongoing series. These stories are credited as the ones that caught Al Capp’s attention.

All of this and more: Thanks for listening!

FrazettaVerse Discord: discord.gg/eJAhFRRtgZ

Magic: The Gathering X Frank Frazetta: https://secretlair.wizards.com/us/product/810214/the-art-of-frank-frazetta

Shop FrazettaGirls.com