The Four Color Media Monitor

The Heavy website reports that artist Thorne, whose standout works include Red Sonja, passed away at age 90, along with his wife:

Frank Thorne, a legendary comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel’s Red Sonja, has died at the age of 90, along with his wife, Marilyn. Thorne and his wife died within about six hours of each other, according to fellow comic book artist Walter Simonson. The cause of death was not immediately released.

It's very sad to see him go, given that he was one of the top developers of Sonja along with Barry Windsor Smith and Roy Thomas, following the character's debut in the pages of Conan. It says here:

Thorne never stopped drawing. Comic Book Historians spoke to him for a one-hour podcast interview in 2019. He discussed his success over the years and his early work on the podcast.

He said people commented on the attractiveness on the women he drew, and when he found success with Red Sonja, he discovered his niche. He had discussions after the second issue of Red Sonja was released, which he described during the interview.

“Shoot, you’ve got a talent for drawing women. You should keep drawing women,” he said he was told, “which I have been doing since then,” he concluded with a chuckle.

And it's a terrible shame there've been sex-negative advocates in the past decade who couldn't show their appreciation for the guy, who helped popularize the cosplay fad at conventions. They're unlikely to change even now, and it's regrettable Dynamite went out of their way to hire leftist writer Mark Russell, just so he could exploit the property for PC propaganda. I think Thorne is somebody to be hugely admired, and I'm glad to own some of his work in archives today (reprinted by Dynamite).

Labels: good artists, indie publishers, marvel comics