Who could resist having an oil-painted portrait of a human-fly hybrid monstrosity for their dining room? That's the question art collectors will face when Ken Kelly's original 1974 cover art for Famous Monsters of Filmland #104 goes up for sale at Heritage Auctions today.
The striking piece, painted by Frank Frazetta's nephew, captures the titular character from The Fly (1958) in an unsettling formal pose — a well-dressed gentleman with the head of a grotesque insect. Created in oil on 20" x 26.75" illustration board, the painting showcases Kelly's mastery of the horror genre that made him a legend in fantasy art circles. Kelly, who went on to create iconic album covers for KISS and illustrations for Conan the Barbarian, painted this piece during his tenure at Warren Publishing.
The artwork shows its age, with water damage affecting the lower third and some paint loss in the center. But these imperfections hardly diminish its significance as a piece of horror magazine history. Famous Monsters of Filmland, launched in 1958, helped shape monster culture for generations of fans, including Stephen King, who called it "a life-changing publication" in his book On Writing.
Famous Monsters of Filmland's editor, Forrest J Ackerman (1916-2008), was one of science fiction's most colorful characters. Known as "Uncle Forry," he amassed 300,000 pieces of memorabilia in his 18-room "Ackermansion," including Bela Lugosi's ring from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Lon Chaney's teeth. As a literary agent, he represented an impressive roster of clients including Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and L. Ron Hubbard before Hubbard founded Scientology. He wrote lesbian fiction under a female pen name, spoke Esperanto (and once sang its anthem with actor Leo G. Carroll on Hollywood Boulevard), and coined the term "sci-fi." When he died in his will included three waitresses from his favorite restaurant, House of Pies, among its beneficiaries. His tombstone reads "Sci-Fi Was My High."
As of the writing, the current bid is $600.
