Mar 30, 2022
Hey, why was the cover art of Thunderdelve Mountain signed “Jack Freed?”
Good catch, I haven't looked closely at that cover art since 2012 and I missed the partially blurred signature at the time. "Jack Fred" was Larry Elmore's pseudonym that he used on work he felt was rushed and below his usual standards. Jeff Easley also apparently used the name, and one or both later used "Jackie Fred' and "Jack F" on some illustrations for Temple of Elemental Evil. If you say "Jack F" it sounds like it might be a not too subtle coded message, something a frustrated artist wanted to say to an editor with a demanding deadline.
A better scan of Elmore's version from XS2, still a bit obscured by the lines in the water:
