The Revision and Recreation of Green Death
Wolfshead is the title of a 1926 novelette about lycanthropy by Robert E. Howard as well as the title of a posthumously-published collection of seven novelettes by the same author, named after the story "Wolfshead", which it includes. The collection covers the genres of adventure fiction, horror, historical, fiction, fantasy, sword and sorcery, weird fiction ad the weird west, and was first published by Lancer Publishing in 1968 with cover artwork by Frank Frazetta. Five of the novelettes had previously been published in the pulp magazine, Weird Tales and one each in Avon Fantasy Reader and Strange Tales.
In true Frazetta fashion, once he received the original oil on masonite back from Lancer, Frazetta named the painting "Green Death" and began revising the artwork. In the original published artwork the Frazetta girl appears to be lying down, defeated, perhaps by some dark magic from the cloaked intruder or from an entanglement with the deadly serpent. In the revised artwork the Frazetta girl is upright and horrified as she watches the ultimate battle, man v. serpent.
In the early 1980s, Frank and Ellie decided to sell the revised original artwork to a private collector. Ellie requested Frank to recreate the artwork once it was sold. At her behest, Frank set about recreating the painting and made it with pencil, ink and watercolor on an 8'x10'inch artist leaf. The watercolor was later sold at auction after Ellie and Frank passed away.
Fine Art Prints of "Green Death" are now available : FrazettaGirls.com
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