Fred Pfeiffer gets no respect (to paraphrase a catch-line from the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield).
The 13 covers he painted for the Bantam Doc Savage paperbacks are often given short shrift compared to James Bama, Bob Larkin and others.
Well, that changed back in September 2010. Courtney Rogers and Scotty Phillips discovered a mutual appreciation of Pfeiffer’s work and opened The Pfeiffer Pfiles blog.
“One of the main reasons that I started research on Fred Pfeiffer,” Courtney says, “is because his Doc Savage covers were maligned by the fandom, with some sites calling him the worst Doc Savage artist ever, and that there was not much known about him. I always enjoyed his Doc covers and wanted to find other artwork that he did.”
Scotty concurs: “He had to start after Bama. No one could have got that gig and not heard from the Doc Bama crowd. I don’t know anyone that could have done it and pulled it off. Time has seen many who didn’t grasp hold of Fred’s style right off are learning now what a talented creator he was. He had the guts to do his own thing with Doc and he didn’t try to copy Bama. I love his Doc covers, they are powerful and to me Doc looks metal.”
“I look at Pfeiffer’s Doc art and see lots of atmosphere, moodiness, and a very ‘painted’ approach,” Courtney says. “Doc always seems to be very alive and in action, even when he is standing still. And he looks metallic. I only wish he was allowed to do more than 13.”
Scotty says they started the Pfeiffer blog to “fill the void that is Fred Pfeiffer on the web. He is a mystery and a best kept secret kinda deal. I want to share his talent with the world and let others see some of his fantastic paintings. The Pfeiffer Pfiles are a lot of fun already with almost a hundred covers found so far. We are going to have a lot to share.”
Scotty and Courtney, who live on opposite sides of the country, have been seached used bookstores for Pfeiffer paperback covers, as well as researching the short life of the artist. They’ve done a fantastic job, too.
They have posted paperback cover scans, as well as scans of Pfeiffer’s original paintings, on their blog. There’s also a short slideshow of Pfeiffer’s childhood paintings.
“In the other Pfeiffer artwork I have found, he shows excellent drawing and composition and a willingness to tackle any subject matter,” Courtney says. “His distinct and classic style shown on the Doc Savage covers is readily apparent in his other work. He truly painted like no one else.
“Our blog is a goal to put information on Pfeiffer out there and share his unknown artwork, find other fans of Pfeiffer, and hopefully find people with original Pfeiffer artwork and more paperbacks.”
Check out Courtney and Scotty’s effort. You’ll come to appreciate Fred Pfeiffer’s skill.
