r/RetroFantasyScifi

Source: Masters of Science Fiction and Fantasy Art, by Karen Haber (2011).

Hi everyone! I wanted to share this scene featuring 4 characters in a personal homage to Frazetta's Death Dealer.

Here is the quick lore behind the piece:

• Death Dealer: Seeking to settle pending scores with Captain Migueles.
• The Herald of the Dawn: Acting as a mediator between them.
• The Great White Stag: A symbol of the gods' purity and justice on Earth.
• Captain Migueles: An unfortunate soldier of the Spanish Tercios, fleeing from his fate.

💼 I am currently open for commissions! If you are looking to bring your characters, book covers, or fantasy scenes to life, feel free to reach out.

"Now in these dread latter days of the old violent beloved U.S.A. and of the Christ-forgetting Christ-haunted death-dealing Western world I came to myself in a grove of young pines and the question came to me: has it happened at last?"—Love in the Ruins, Walker Percy.

Note the people at the bottom of the painting for scale.

Eerie reversed the image and reposed Thelma Starburst's head.

According to Paul Vespignani, "When Frank submitted this painting to Ballantine Books they asked him to give the astronaut a shorter haircut and more clothing. Since FF preferred his original version he elected to not paint over it and kept it for himself and instead did a 2nd painting featuring a more conservative looking hero for publication. Other than the obvious differences of the main character Frank very closely replicated everything else almost exactly in the 2nd painting."

Just a little sketch, hope you wish to be on this ship, floating free through the clouds.

Published as an Ace Double with E.C. Tubb's Derai (and a lovely Jeff Jones cover). Coulson was also known for "filk"—folk music with sci fi and fantasy themes performed at conventions. You can find Past & Future Tense, a collection of her music, on Youtube.