Frank Frazetta’s art personified imagination. He created fantastical imagery of heroes and villains that inspired countless artists to emulate his work. When it comes to collecting, his name is among the most recognized, his work among the most coveted. In their July auction, Hake’s Americana & Collectibles will give collectors the chance to purchase two pieces of original cover art by Frazetta.

The art comes from Blazing Combat war comics magazine, which was published by Warren Publishing from October 1965 to July 1966. It was written and edited by Archie Goodwin with art by notable greats like Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta, John Severin, Alex Toth, and Wally Wood. “It featured war stories in both contemporary and period settings, unified by a humanistic theme of the personal costs of war, rather than by traditional men’s adventure motifs,” Hake’s Senior Cataloger Mike Bollinger said.

The comic magazine only lasted four issues and each depicted covers by Frazetta, two of which will be auctioned at Hake’s.

Frazetta’s Blazing Combat #2 comic magazine original cover art is triple matted to 12” x 12-1/4” in a frame measuring 23” x 23-3/4”. The Oregon 9 illustration board features mixed media original art depicts a World War II scene of close combat between American and Nazi troops. The image focuses on three soldiers – a cigar-smoking American driving a bayonet through a German soldier whose back is arched in agony and a dead soldier in the foreground with smoke still unfurling from the bullet hole in his helmet. Behind them, the smoking city is cast in ruins as Allied warplanes fly overhead.

Frazetta signed the art at the lower right corner and there are also registration marks on the art. The top and bottom margins also contain several of Frazetta’s preliminary pencil sketches of his work on the composition. Four of the sketches show soldiers depicted in the final painting.

“Frazetta is predominately celebrated for his fantasy art, but his war art is not to be overlooked. He expressed the brutality of war in realistic moments of combat, guaranteed to produce visceral reactions from viewers,” Hake’s President Alex Winter said. “We are excited to offer these pieces to our customers who appreciate the impact he has had on comic and related art fields.”

The other original cover art comes from Blazing Combat #4. The 16” x 20” canvas panel board features the original oil painting in an 18-3/4” x 22-3/4” frame. It depicts a World War II scene of an American soldier firing on Nazi soldiers as they flee their burning Panzer tank in front of the rubble of a ruined city.

Frazetta signed the art at the lower right and the canvas has some corner tip wear with light paint wear.

Hake’s is offering a 6-month time payment plan with a 25% non-refundable deposit due within two weeks after the auction closes. For payment, they are accepting checks, money orders, wire transfers, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

The auction goes online Tuesday, June 19, and will close on Tuesday through Thursday, July 10-12. Interested collectors can learn more about Hake’s and bid in their auctions at hakes.com.