Frank Thorne 1930 - 2021

 

There are reports that illustrator, comic strip and comic book artist Frank Thorne has passed away, mere hours near the time that his wife Marilyn had passed. He was 90 years old. No cause of death given.

Like so many, Frank said he knew he was going to be an illustrator since he was little. He contributed spot illustrations to pulp magazine, and then working for Standard Comics beginning in 1948. By 1951, King Features picked young Frank to draw the Perry Mason comic strip. (My friend Ger Apeldoorn has samples of it here.) He moved on in the world of comic strips, drawing and/or ghosting strips like Dr. Guy Bennett, Dr. Duncan and Mandrake the Magician. In the 1960s, he began drawing for Western Publishing's Dell and Gold Key line. He drew many titles including The Twilight Zone, Jungle Jim, Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery and others. 

 

By the 1970s, he worked on a steady stream of DC Comics titles: Korak, Son of Tarzan, Tomahawk, and war comics. But in 1975 he began drawing the Red Sonja comic book for Marvel. Red Sonja was an offshoot of Marvel's popular Conan comic book series. 

Via The Daily Cartoonist:

"Then he took over the art chores on Marvel’s Red Sonja comic book and his career path was set.

"That direction was specializing in erotic comic book fantasy. Danger Rangerette (for National Lampoon), Ghita of Alizarr, Moonshine McJuggs (for Playboy), and others would make Frank a fan favorite and keep him busy for the rest of his life. (A hardcover Ghita collection was released this month.)"

 Via CBR:

"Thorne's work earned him multiple honors, including a National Cartoonists Society award in 1963, a San Diego Inkpot Award in 1978 and a Playboy editorial award."