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I think you're referring to Death Dealer, the novels inpired by Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer paintings.
That was it! Thank you very much!
Get the Duckmobile!
You're welcome! I only encountered it on a stack of books in my friend's house while I was waiting for him. I read only a couple of pages, but since I was too young to handle such material yet (it was 2 decades ago) I couldn't continue. But whatever I had read and the cover art were enough to capture my imagination and I have thought about it time and time again. Glad that one particular vivid momment of my life got some use. Hoping I get another chance to read it.
Trying to recall a novel wherein the hero would put on a helmet and become a berserker, and he had to gain mastery over the helmet in order to use its strength effectively.
This is for my dad, actually - he thinks it was called "Deathstalker," but that's not turning up what he's looking for.