Roy Krenkel | |
---|---|
Born | Roy Gerald Krenkel July 11, 1918 |
Died | February 24, 1983 | (aged 64)
Nationality | American |
Area(s) | Artist |
Pseudonym(s) | RGK |
Roy Gerald Krenkel (11 July 1918 – 24 February 1983), who often signed his work RGK, was an American illustrator who specialized in fantasy and historical drawings and paintings for books, magazines and comic books.
His artwork revealed the strong influence of artist Norman Lindsay, in addition to Franklin Booth, Joseph Clement Coll and J. Allen St. John. Before serving in World War II, he studied with George Bridgman at the Art Students League of New York.
After World War II, he attended Burne Hogarth's classes at the Cartoonists and Illustrators School, which became the School of Visual Arts. There he met a group of young cartoonists, including Joe Orlando, Frank Frazetta and Al Williamson. Frazetta noted, "I met Roy Krenkel back in 1949 or 1950, and he has never ceased to be a constant source of inspiration to me—a truly conscientious artist who will not tolerate incompetence."
Krenkel sometimes collaborated with Frazetta and Williamson on pages the trio drew for EC Comics particularly in Weird Science, Weird Fantasy and Weird Science-Fantasy. His splash page contribution to Williamson's “Food for Thought” (Incredible Science Fiction 32, November–December 1955), a highly detailed alien landscape, is often regarded as a peak achievement in comic book illustration. Krenkel only drew one solo story for EC, the unsigned “Time to Leave” (Incredible Science Fiction 31, September–October, 1955), displaying a futuristic cityscape of architectural splendors. Krenkel inked many of Williamson's comic stories for Marvel and ACG in the 1950s as well.