Death Dealer II is a fantasy painting by American artist Frank Frazetta. It depicts a muscular, armor-clad warrior with a horned helmet, wielding a large broadaxe. His face is obscured by the helmet, except for glowing red eyes. The image eventually led to spin-offs of varying merchandise, novels, statues, and a comic book, published by Image Comics.
This is the second painting in what would be a total of four Death Dealer works by Frazetta.
The Death Dealer painting series spawned a novel franchise in 1988, written by author James Silke, and published by Tor Books. Four novels were published in total, the first of which used the Death Dealer II painting for its cover.
Prisoner of the Horned Helmet (1988), in which the readers are introduced to the protagonist, who is given the name Gath of Baal. In the book he is a tribeless barbarian in a large forest that, according to the description on the back will one day become the Mediterranean sea. A large Mongol-esque invasion force by the name of the Kizzaks try to invade the forest, and one of Gath's love interests, who is given the name Cobra decides to help him by giving him a helmet which was possessed by the god of death. The helmet gives him godlike power, but at the same time also tortures Gath. With the help of various people found within the forest he manages to control the helmet, and fights against the Kizzak horde, eventually winning.
Lords of Destruction (1989) Only Robin Lakehair's innocent touch can free Gath of Baal from the murderous power of the Death Dealer. When an evil queen summons demons to kill Robin, Gath must don the Horned Helmet again and confront primordial evil to ensure his own freedom.
Tooth and Claw (1989) Across deserts wrested from the savage Kitzaak Empire, into the deadly, steaming jungles of the Daangall, to the mysterious plateau of the Bayaabar, the land beyond dreams, goes Gath of Baal, the Death Dealer, in search of the legendary Noon, beautiful Queen of Cats.
Plague of Knives (1990) Refugees flee to the castle of Whitetree, where, it is foretold, the White Veshta will rise again. But the evil sorceress queen Tiyy, who wears the mantle of the Black Veshta, seeks the Jewels of Light, and the death of the mortal host of the White Veshta, Robin Lakehair, the beloved of Gath of Baal—the Death Dealer.
Rise of the Death Dealer (2005) (omnibus containing the first two book).
American director and producer Robert Rodriguez is one of the largest private owners of Frank Frazetta original artworks. In 2014 Rodriguez opened a museum in Austin, Texas, displaying the original Death Dealer II painting, among many others.
