Page "Al Capp" Paragraph 53

Frazetta, later famous as a fantasy artist, assisted on the strip from 1954 to December, 1961.

Fascinated by Frazetta's abilities, Capp initially gave him a free hand in an extended daily sequence ( about a biker named " Frankie ," a caricature of Frazetta ) to experiment with the basic look of the strip by adding a bit more realism and detail ( particularly to the inking ).

After editors complained about the stylistic changes, the strip's previous look was restored.

During most of his tenure with Capp, Frazetta's primary responsibility — along with various specialty art, such as a series of Li ' l Abner greeting cards — was tight-penciling the Sunday pages from studio roughs.

This work was collected by Dark Horse Comics in a four-volume hardcover series entitled Al Capp's Li ' l Abner: The Frazetta Years.

In 1961, Capp, complaining of declining revenue, wanted to have Frazetta continue with a 50 % pay cut.

" said he would cut the salary in half.

Goodbye.

That was that.

I said goodbye ," ( from Frazetta: Painting with Fire ).

However, Frazetta returned briefly a few years later to draw a public service comic book called Li ' l Abner and the Creatures from Drop-Outer Space, distributed by the Job Corps in 1965.