| Frank Thorne | |
|---|---|
 Thorne in 2017 | |
| Born | Benjamin Franklin Thorne (1930-06-16)June 16, 1930 Rahway, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | March 7, 2021(2021-03-07) (aged 90) |
| Nationality | American |
| Area | Cartoonist, Writer |
Notable works | Red Sonja |
| Awards | National Cartoonists Society Award (1963) Inkpot Award (1978) Playboy Editorial Award |
Benjamin Franklin Thorne (June 16, 1930 – March 7, 2021[1][2]) was an Americancomic bookartist-writer, best known for theMarvel Comics characterRed Sonja.
Thorne began his comics career in 1948, penciling romance comics forStandard Comics. After graduation, he drew thePerry Masonnewspaper strip forKing Features, which was followed by more comic book work forDell Comics. He turned out a multitude of stories forFlash Gordon,Jungle Jim,The Green Hornet,Tom Corbett Space Cadet,Tomahawk,Mighty Samson,Enemy Ace and numerous others. Thorne drew the syndicated comic stripDr. Guy Bennett /Dr. Duncan from 1956 to 1963 forLaFave Newspaper Features.[3]
Originally drawn byBarry Windsor-Smith forConan the Barbarian, Red Sonja was transposed from a minorRobert E. Howard 16th-century gunslinger character ("Red Sonya") to a mainstay of thesword and sorceryConan canon byRoy Thomas. After the character was spun off into a solo feature, Thorne succeededpencilerDick Giordano in drawing her forMarvel Feature #2 (Jan. 1976), continuing through most of her 1977-79 solo series,Red Sonja.
Thorne subsequently created a number oferotic fantasy comics and characters, alongside other works. His works include creating, writing and drawing the features "Moonshine McJugs" forPlayboy, "Lann" inHeavy Metal, and "Danger Rangerette" inNational Lampoon, and the 1989 miniseriesRibit! for (Comico), as well as theFantagraphics Books/Eros Comixgraphic novelsGhita of Alizarr,The Iron Devil,The Devil’s Angel, andThe Illustrated History of Union County.
Publishing companyHermes Press has reprintedLann,Ribit! andGhita of Alizarr; the latter being reprinted as an archival, nearly full-sized reproduction of the original art.
Prosecutors in the Planet Comics and Science Fiction Store obscenity case inOklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1995–1996 confiscated Thorne'sThe Devil's Angel, among other creators' works, as allegedchild pornography.[4][5]
Thorne wrote and produced the documentaryTwo Lords and a Lady, about Elizabeth Lee “Aunt Betty” Frazee andThe Battle of the Short Hills.[citation needed] He wrote the booksThe Barrington Hall Sketchbook,Drawing Sexy Women,The Crystal Ballroom, andThe Alizarrian Trilogy: Nymph, all published by Fantagraphics Books., alsoFrank Thorne's Battling Beauties (with Howard Leroy Davis as co-writer and which includesSylph fromThe Alizarrian Trilogy),Frank Thorne's Ribit,Frank Thornre's Lann, all published by Hermes Press. His work as a writer-illustrator has appeared inPlayboy,Hustler,Golden Magazine,High Times, andVanity Fair.
Thorne's awards include a 1963National Cartoonists Society award in the Comic Book Division,[6] the 1978San DiegoInkpot Award, thePlayboy editorial award for best comic for Moonshine McJugs, Warren Magazine's Best Comic for Ghita of Alizarr, NJ Art Director’s Club.
Thorne was known during the 1970s for attending comic book conventions in his persona as The Wizard judging Red Sonja Lookalike Contests.[7] He was born inRahway, New Jersey, and as of 2010 lived inScotch Plains, New Jersey.[8]
Thorne wanted to be known as a master in all aspects of cartooning and illustration. This lifetime pursuit was completed with his humorousMoonshine McJuggs cartoons published inPlayboy. He acknowledged that he could not have done all that he had done without the support of Marilyn, his wife of sixty-nine years. Despite the controversial nature of some of his material her support was unwavering. This enabled Thorne to work in every area of cartooning and illustration from Sunday School pamphlets to pornography.[9]
He and Marilyn died on the same day: March 7, 2021.[10][11]
Frank Thorne was born in Rahway in 1930 and currently resides in Scotch Plains.
