Fletcher Hanks
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THE WILD WORLD OF 741.5 FLETCHER 741.5 HANKS JANUARY 2017—FIRST ISSUE! PLUS...SETH, DR. STRANGE & MORE! The Comics & Graphic Novel Bulletin of None but the bravest, like Big Red McLane. Fletcher Hanks worked for that Founding Father of the Canadian cartoonist Seth goes by one name, like None but the swiftest, like Whirlwind Comic Book, Will Eisner, who remembered him being Cher or Liberace. It’s a choice made in his angry, Carter. None but the most brutal, like Star- older than the rest of the staff at Eisner’s shop, most punk rock youth, as he describes in one scene from dust the Super Wizard. None but Fletcher of whom were barely out of their teens. “And he got it in on time!” recalled Eisner. “Frankly, nothing else this marvelous documentary by Luc Chamberland. Hanks, the cartoonist responsible for the really mattered.” That combination of youthful naivete Seth’s Dominion mixes film footage of the world- most bizarre comics of the Golden Age. Now and the eternal grind of deadlines informed most of renowned cartoonist and designer (of Fantagraphics’ Fantagraphics collects its previous reprints of the early creations of the Golden Age. Kids with heads Hanks’ work into one big hardcover featuring stuffed full of dime novels and Saturday matinee seri- Complete Peanuts books, for one thing) with anima- als turned their inexperienced hands to the newest every single strip Hanks turned out before tions of his simple, elegant work. And so we learn cliché’, the superhero. But for every successful Super- disappearing from the business in 1941. Even man or Captain Marvel, there were a dozen Hydro- how the man is so prolific: he never sleeps. And by the standards of pre-war comics, Hanks mans and Sergeant Spooks, born losers who filled the when Seth’s awake, he’s usually drawing. And if he’s was crude. His drawing was deliberately ex- back pages of popular comics and the front covers of not drawing, he’s working on the handmade models second-rate publishers. Now IDW and its subsidiary aggerated and grotesque, the bad guys always of his fictional Dominion City, or his puppet theatre, ugly in the tradition of Dick Tracy, his heroes or displays—and imaginary histories—for his wife’s great chunks of torso sporting slablike heads barber shop. Or the breathtaking package for his and oversized limbs. Hanks’ sole attempt at own documentary, which includes a selection of cheesecake, Fantomah, “Mystery Woman of comics and illustrations on one side, and photos of the Jungle”, is hideous, a bathing beauty his design work—like his boss logo for the Violet whose deathly visage swears that “Now you Uprising roller derby squad– on the other. Once Turn Loose Our Death Rays shall die by your own creation!” More aveng- you’ve viewed Seth’s Dominion, check out the other Seth’s Dominion and Kill Them All! ing angels than heroes, Hanks’ creations doled out punishments far beyond jail or works available through LPL, including the latest vol- by Seth & Luc Chamberland The Complete Works of Fletcher even death: evildoers are turned into worms umes of his series Palookaville and the award-winning Drawn & Quarterly/National Film Board of Canada Hanks, edited by Paul Krasik to be devoured by giant vultures, crushed “in graphic novel, It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken. Central - 741.5 Se75s Fantagraphics Books the relentless clutches of a shining octopus of gold”, or shrunk until nothing’s left but a Central - 751.5 H194t head, which is flung across the cosmos to be Evil villains conspire. “We must end democ- absorbed by a giant “Head Hunter”. But racy and civilization forever!” sneers the amidst the mayhem, there are moments of leader of the Fifth Column. Zomax swears surreal beauty: a great glowing idol; Fan- “I’ll cause a tidal wave that will drown every tomah greeting a dying elephant; skies filled living creature!” “With all other women out with citizens robbed of gravity, bodies flying Yoe! Books compiles the best of the worst in Super of the way, men will be at our feet!” pro- into space in a funnybook Rapture. It’s all as Weird Heroes (CL—741.5 Su76y—0000224351056). claim the Vahines, ruthless tiger-women of mad as hatters and hornets, colorful vigilante The features run from fairly long-lived also-rans like Bulletman and Cat-man to eccentric but competent Wildmoon Mountain. “We’ll be able to fairy tales churned straight from the raging id strips such as Nature Boy and the Deacon, not to men- control the whole world!” Who will pro- of an all-American roughneck, Hanks a true tion the buckskinned Captain Fearless, the buck- tect America, the jungle, the Universe itself? forgotten man who lives on through his art. naked Captain Truth, and the buck-making Captain Hadacol, two-fisted shill for the patent medicine loathed by children across FDR’s America. But then there’s the real weirdos like the magical nude giant Phantasmo, cross-dressing crimebuster Madam Fatal, and the Hand, which was just that: a giant hand. Won- der if he ever teamed up with the Eye? There’s so much gold in them yellowed hills of pulp a sequel is already in the works. Yoe! Books loves comics for their strangeness and trashiness, as should we all. Check out their other collections, Haunted Horror, Weird Love and The Worst of Eerie Publications, all available from your Lexington Public Library! Go to lexpublib.org. now! Our Feet, inspired in part by volume of Fantagraphics’ EC Meanwhile… the 1970s epic, Panther’s Artist Series dedicated to Hot on the heels of the Rage, now reprinted in one Johnny Craig, the cartoonist international hit film comes huge volume. Another high- responsible for “the cleanest the huge DOCTOR STRANGE light of comics’ Bronze Age, horror stories you ever saw”. OMNIBUS (Marvel), which Master of Kung Fu by This and The Living Mummy reprints the Silver Age Moench and Gulacy, is being by the great Jack Davis show comics that introduced the republished in the Omnibus why these comics were both Master of the Mystic Arts. format. Volume 2 further revered by fans then and proves that MOKF was the best espionage comic since England’s Modesty Blaise. now, and burned in bonfires The companion Epic Collec- by priests and parents. tion, A Separate Reality, pre- Pantheon collects alt-comix Meanwhile, the new school sents work from both the superstar Charles Burns’ lat- of horror comics is repre- unfortunate “mask” period est trilogy (X’ed Out, The sented by Volume 3 of the and the Doc’s 1970s come- Hive and Sugar Skull) in one demonic Southern drama back. Meanwhile, Stephen big book of gorgeously ren- Outcast, written by Robert Strange faces a cold, cruel dered horror and Lynchian (Walking Dead) Kirkman and new enemy in DOCTOR perplexity. One of Burns’ now a series on Cinemax. STRANGE V2: The Last Days influences is the focus of Other new volumes of on- of Magic, with amazing art by Voodoo Vengeance, the 2nd going series include V2 of Chris Bachalo. Other new Cliff Chiang and Brian (Saga) books from Marvel include Vaughn’s Paper Girls, Black the action-packed BLACK Science V5, Low V3, Trees WIDOW V1: SHIELD’s Most V2, Revival V7, Velvet V3 Wanted, Chelsea Cain’s and the fourth editions of controversial MOCKINGBIRD The Wicked and the Divine V1: I Can Explain, and MOON and Ed Piskor’s monumental KNIGHT V1: Lunatic, indie Hip Hop Family Tree. Rap comics draftee Jeff Lemire’s fans should def check out gritty yet trippy take on Fantagraphics’ collection of Marvel’s maniacal guardian Real Deal Comix, a raw and of the night. The breakout outrageous burlesque of star of Captain America: Civil ghetto life originally self- War, the Black Panther published in the Reagan Era returns with a regular series by Hubbard and McElwee. Sweat and tension and lots of ink: written by Ta-Nahisi Coates, Mature readers only, ya dig? collected in A Nation Under Johnny Craig’s Voodoo Vengeance .