the Pfeiffer Pfiles Presents....the Art Work of Artist Fred Pfeiffer

Fred Pfeiffer was an American Artist
He worked as an Illustrator out of N.Y.N.Y. and
L.A. CA. in the late 60's thru the 70's and into the 80's

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Fred Pfeiffer : Doc Savage - the Mystery On the Snow - 1972

by Lester Dent writing as Kenneth Robeson 1934/1972
A Doc Savage cover where we see clearly the Man of
Bronze face and features.

I like this cover because you can see clearly what Doc
looks like. We know this original is out there somewhere,
that it was painted on a sheet of masonite and that it was
found at the Bantam offices. I would love to see it in person.
I have to wonder about Fred's technique on this piece. Another
of those pieces where there was more going on than just a
brush to create the effects. Do I even need to say it's a
Favorite!?!

SP

3 comments:

Courtney Rogers said...

Doc Savage!

While Pfeiffer's first Doc cover for Quest of the Spider was a little less than amazing, this cover pulls out all the stops!

Doc is in full action and the dirigible coming over the mountains just screams Doc Savage to me!

Rob Weilert said...

This Doc definitely sports the face of Steve Holland, in my opinion. A powerful picture, but at the risk of making more than a few Doc Savage fans angry with me, I feel that I MUST go on record as saying I don't really like the "helmet hair". I would've much preferred the "real hair" look that was used on the old pulp covers.

Courtney Rogers said...

Rob, many Doc fans are divided between the pulp Doc and the Bantam Doc. Actually, neither one is quite corect.

In the stories, his hair stayed flat and very close to his scalp, and shed water like a duck. He did venture out at times wearing a metal skull cap, which the Bantam Doc resembles.

When I asked him about the widow's peak, Len Leone stated "I wanted to convey to the reader that this man was not just another mortal man, but far more visully spectacular." He instructed James Bama to give him the widow's peak.

I must admit that Fred gives his Doc quite a slab of hair that more resembles a metal skull cap than naything else.