Good Lord. This collection of comics by 1930's artist Fletcher Hanks has a perverse intensity that is hard to describe. They combine childlike impulses with adolescent worldview with adult problems into something that vibrates with energy and tension. Since Hanks did all his own writing, drawing, coloring, and lettering, I really felt like I was getting a view into the mind of this unusual person. And the bonus comic at the end about the quest to find Fletcher Hanks, well, that puts things into another perspective entirely. There is something so primal here -- the stories of Fantomah especially resonated with me, in some deep way I can't quite understand.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets!
Good Lord. This collection of comics by 1930's artist Fletcher Hanks has a perverse intensity that is hard to describe. They combine childlike impulses with adolescent worldview with adult problems into something that vibrates with energy and tension. Since Hanks did all his own writing, drawing, coloring, and lettering, I really felt like I was getting a view into the mind of this unusual person. And the bonus comic at the end about the quest to find Fletcher Hanks, well, that puts things into another perspective entirely. There is something so primal here -- the stories of Fantomah especially resonated with me, in some deep way I can't quite understand.
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Thanks for the kind words about my book. You may be interested to know that there is now a SECOND collection of Fletcher Hanks stories: "You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation!". Together the two books comprise the complete works by this extraordinary artist whom R. Crumb called , "A twisted dude"!
ReplyDeleteHi Paul-
ReplyDeleteI have been reading the second collection, and expect to finish it soon -- great work pulling these together!