As the month reaches its end I wanted to share this tremendous Frank Frazetta image of the mysterious Mothman yet again. It was commissioned by the folks at High Times in 1980 for a special issue of their magazine. The article inside is by John Keel, who wrote The Mothman Prophecies. To find the article follow this link, but sadly it's behind a wall.
As wonderful as this painting looks in its raw state, I think it's even more compelling as the actual cover for which it was intended. Frazetta's uncanny ability to extract drama was and is unmatched to my knowledge. Others paint as well technically as he did, but there's a certain unknown element which informs his best work that triggers the imagination like no one else.
The Mothman statue in the small town of Point Pleasant West Virginia seems to be a very rough attempt to evoke the Frazetta painting. Sadly, the fluidity of the painting is lost in this startling but rather static piece of metallic statuary.
And that puts a pin in the two-month "Summer of the Garuda" king-size special here at the Dojo. It was my trip to Point Pleasant and the Mothman Museum which inspired me to spend over two months this summer reading up on vintage UFOs and assorted paranormal critters, as well as revisiting some of my favorite UFO movies. There are still books on my nightstand to read on these subjects, but I think a break is in order.
What's up next month? Hint: "I have heard the word -- it is battle!"
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That's an excellent cover. This was also used as the cover to the "The Creeps " b&w horror magazine issue 22. I've seen a few TV documentaries on The Mothman , I find these creatures fascinating but like our own Loch Ness monster, I suspect they are explainable natural sightings .
ReplyDeleteThe Mothman is outstanding modern folklore. The story stars a supernatural flying "man" who predicts tragedy and anticipates human suffering. The creature is yet one more attempt by us humans to try and make sense of a cruel and often savage world. The Mothman might not be "real", but its meaning is no less potent for that.
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