bix3131-migration

Hi gang, Now that Fletcher Hanks has appeared here in the Fiction House thread maybe a few of you can help me out. I am putting together a definitive Fletcher Hanks checklist and need confirmation that the Big Red McLane stories in Fight Comics are, indeed by Hanks. If anyone has Fight # 2, 4, 5, 7,8, or 9, could you post a page or two from the Big Red tales in those books for Hanks verification. ...and if you don't know who Fletcher Hanks is, go to my website or pick up my new book "I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets; The Comics of Fletcher Hanks". www.fletcherhanks.com thanks, Paul Karasik

That's my man, Hanks, alright! This message board ROCKS!!!

Thanks, Steve, tell him to put in that 2nd order fast. I think that Fantagraphics under printed! You seem to have a lot of these. Got any of those issues of Fight?

Wow, Steve! That looks like a great one! So both Jungle 11 and 12 are by Hanks! Anybody got those issues of Fight? Thanks for the kind words, Ryan. Hope it meets your expectations. Best to all, -Paul

Hi guys, I am still trying to put together the Hanks checklist and I need verification that Hanks stories appear in Jungle #11, 12, 14. I also am looking for copies of the Big Red McLane stories from Fight #3-9. Can anybody help by posting a page from any one of these stories? Thanks, -Paul

Please, no beans spilt here....frankly, there really are not that many beans to spill. I literally spent years on that story and it's minimal pleasures might be sabotaged by bean-spilling. Thanks for the kind words, Richard. -Paul

Hi guys, I believe that the Hanks book may now be available at your local comics store. -Paul

Thanks for posting that, Steve. I have a strong suspision that the Tiger Hart story was penciled and inked by Hanks, but written by someone else, perhaps "Carlson Merrick". Does anyone recognize this name from other comics? For a Hanks story, it lacks a certain weirdness. For one thing, the quality of the graphics seems strictly dictated by the plot. Often in Hanks own tales there is a feeling that the picture came first and then the text. Kirby-Lee stories have a bit of the same feeling. Lee would outline a story which Kirby would then draw. Lee would then take the finished drawings and put words in the balloons. It is interesting that you bring up Darger. Over at the Comics Journal Messae Board I began a thread simply announcing the Hanks website. The thread got detoured into a discussion about the merits (or lack their of) of Darger's work. I love Darger's stuff and understand why people might want to connect the dots between the two artists. Darger, however, really is the classic definition of the "Outsider Artist". He worked in a vacuum solely for his own needs, amusement, or personal therepy. Hanks was a trained cartoonist who delivered the work to a publisher with the full knowledge that it was to be published and that he was to be paid for it.

Fantastic (Comics), Steve. Please post a page or two when you get a chance. **** There will be plenty in my book from Hanks' son. "I Shall Destroy All of the Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks", is a collection of 15 Hanks stories followed by a comics story by myself that recounts my meeting with Hanks' Jr. and explains (in part), "Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks". The book is back from the printer and in the warehouse. It will be in bookstores in a few weeks. The fastest way to get a copy, I am told, is to order through Fantagraphics (this way you also support the guys who are doing more for the preservation of old comics than anyone else!). http://www.fantagraphics.com/recent/bks.html

I will try to get my bits and pieces together as a definitive checklist within the next few days. I am really hoping that someone has Planet #2. For some reason I have in my notes that there is a tale in it that might be by Hanks featuring a character named Tiger Hart. Tiger Hart, eh? I can only imagine...But given that it is by Hanks, usually he trumps imagination.

Jungle #12 is undoubtedly by Hanks! Thanks, Point (sorry, I don't hang out here enough to know people's real names!) Keep 'em coming and help me really nail down that Hanks checklist! -Paul

O.K. Now we can scratch Planet 8 & 9 from the list, too. They ain't by Hanks. It looks likely that he only did the tale in Planet #7. Does anyone have Planet 2, 3, or 4?

Wow! you guys are quick!! O.K. We can scratch Planet #5 & 6 as NOT by Hanks. Planet #7, the one you show above, is by Hanks and appears in my book. I think that the final Fantomah story by Hanks was in Jungle #15. It contains an amazing transformation triptych (that I am putting on a t-shirt) of Fantomah turning from Jean Harlow to Skull Face via Mrs. Pruneface. After that issue, Fantomah, was continued by some other guys who gave up the business of her turning grusome when provoked. She just wasn't the same Queen of Jungle Retribution after that. There are a few of these Jungle tales that I have not seen. does anybody have Jungle # 5, 6, 8, 11,12, 14? Again, some of these may NOT be by Hanks, but I do not know for certain 'til I see 'em. In the book I am reprinting Fantomah stories from Jungle #3, 7,9,10 &15.

Hi all, Ryan asked me an interesting Fletcher Hanks question off-thread that I would like some help with. I beleive that Hanks did several Buzz Crandall stories in Planet Comics, but I have only seen one of them from Planet #7 which I am using in the book (and from which the tile of the book is derived: "I Shall Destroy All of the Civilized Planets"). I believe that the Buzz Crandall stories from Planet 2-8 were done by Hanks under the name "Henry Fletcher", but I have not seen them except for #7. Planet # 3 &4 may not have Buzz Crandall stories at all and I have seen the Crandall story in #5 creditted to Nick Cardy (how old was he? 12?) If you have any of these issues, would you mind posting a couple of panels? I can tell the group immediately if they are by Hanks or not.

If you thought THAT story was insane...you ain't seen nothin' yet! -Paul

Hi boys, Every once and a while I wake up in the morning and wonder if it is really worth my while to get out of bed. Just knowing that there are a bunch of rabid collectors out there who adore old Fox comic books helps to pull those blankets away. I hope that I make someone's day by announcing my Fletcher Hanks website where you can look at a slideshow of a Fantomah story from Jungle #13 (O.K., O.K., I know it's Fiction House, not Fox). The Fletcher Hanks book will be out within the month. In the meantime, go here: www.fletcherhanks.com Best, -Paul

It can be pre-ordered at Amazon. By the way, the cover shown at Amazon and in the PW piece is just a sketch. Wait'll you see the real thing! ka-BLAM! Thanks for the positive support, guys. I hope that the book lives up to your expectations. Adam, I will deliver the message to my mom with pleasure...usually it she telling ME to get in line!

Wow! I guess this means that somone other than my mom is actually willing to buy a copy of this book! The pages will appear in their original glory, but with a subtle yet important difference. In "Art Out of Time" the decision was made to include all of the newsprint surrounding the comics themselves. In the Fletcher Hanks book we are dropping out the gutters and the area around the pages so that they appear on a crisp white background. Maybe this is a little precious for you purists, but I believe that it actually makes the work pop out a bit more and it looks very handsome. I assure that the only adjustments made to the orignal scans was to make them look 100% like an old smelly comic book. I look forward to your reactions. By the way, if you have not seen "Art Out of Time" by Dan Nadel you should try to track it down. It has one Hanks story (which I will not include in my anthology, but would if Dan had not used it), and tons of other great, weird old stuff, though not much in the realm of superheroes, if that is your cup of Sanka.

Hi guys, My anthology, "I Shalll Destroy All The Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks", should be out by the end of May. Here is a link to an interview about the book in Publisher's Weekly: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6405736.html The book features 15 Hanks stories (several from the collection of your esteemed colleague, Mr. Berk), followed by a 16 page comics story by myself that reveals, "Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks?" Hope you enjoy it. -Paul Karasik

Hey guys, my question remains: Did Hanks do only that Tabu story in Jungle #1 and then switch over to create the first Fantomah story in Jungle #2? Jon B. where are you? -Paul