1967, gouache on board, 56cm X 81cm
Cover illustration commissioned by Corgi for Mickey Spillane’s 5th novel in the Mike Hammer series, first published in 1951. Spillane started out as a comic book writer, creating adventures for superheroes like Captain Marvel, Superman, Batman and Captain America. An earlier version of the Mike Hammer character was originally intended to be a comic book detective. The colours and stylised poses used by Fratini in his cover illustrations don’t move the books too far from the comic book tradition.
The artwork is sold with an original The Big Kill paperback that features the Fratini illustration.
The original painting art board is approximately 56 cm wide x 81 cm tall.
