The Complete Works of Fletcher Hanks Series by Fletcher Hanks, Paul Karasik

Welcome to the bizarre world of Fletcher Hanks, Super Wizard of the Inkwell. Fletcher Hanks worked for only a few years in the earliest days of the comic book industry (1939-1941). Because he worked in a gutter medium for second-rate publishers on third-rate characters, his work has been largely forgotten. But among aficionados he is legendary. At the time, comic books were in their infancy. The rules governing their form and content had not been established... moreWelcome to the bizarre world of Fletcher Hanks, Super Wizard of the Inkwell. Fletcher Hanks worked for only a few years in the earliest days of the comic book industry (1939-1941). Because he worked in a gutter medium for second-rate publishers on third-rate characters, his work has been largely forgotten. But among aficionados he is legendary. At the time, comic books were in their infancy. The rules governing their form and content had not been established. In this Anything Goes era, Hanks' work stands out for its thrilling experimentation. At once both crude and visionary, cold and hot as hell, Hanks' work is hard to pigeon hole. One thing is for certain: the stuff is bent. Hanks drew in a variety of genres depicting science-fiction saviors, white women of the jungle, and he-man loggers. Whether he signed these various stories "Henry Fletcher" or "Hank Christy" or "Barclay Flagg" there is no mistaking the unique outsider style of Fletcher Hanks.Cartoonist Paul Karasik (co-adapter of Paul Auster's City of Glass, and co-author of The Ride Together: A Memoir of Autism in the Family) has spent years tracking down these obscure and hard to find stories buried in the back of long-forgotten comic book titles. Karasik has also uncovered a dark secret: why Hanks disappeared from the comics scene. This book collects 15 of his best stories in one volume followed by an afterword which solves the mystery of "Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks," the mysterious cartoonist who created a hailstorm of tales of brutal retribution...and then mysteriously vanished.2008 Eisner Award WINNER: Best Archival Collection/Project — Comic Books2008 Eisner Award Nominee: Best Short Story, "Whatever Happened to Fletcher Hanks?" by Paul Karasik less

Fletcher Hanks was the first great comic book auteur. That is, hewrote, penciled, inked, and lettered all of his own stories. Hecompleted an astonishing 48 stories in three years from 1939-1941. As aone-man-cartooning-band, his work packs the wallop of a unique andunified artistic vision. He was a true comics visionary... moreFletcher Hanks was the first great comic book auteur. That is, hewrote, penciled, inked, and lettered all of his own stories. Hecompleted an astonishing 48 stories in three years from 1939-1941. As aone-man-cartooning-band, his work packs the wallop of a unique andunified artistic vision. He was a true comics visionary. In theearliest days of the comic book, before censorship, it was anythinggoes and in the tales of Fletcher Hanks, anything went The superhero Stardust gazes down at evil-doers from space and dolesout ice cold slabs of poetic justice with his wizardry. A villain outto kidnap all the heads of state gets turned into a giant head, himself no body, just a head The jungle protectress, Fantomah, lookslike Jean Harlow in a skin-tight black negligee. But when she sees anevil scientist drugging gorillas to become slaves, her head transformsinto a flaming skull and she tosses the villain to the gorillas whoproceed to graphically tear the guy limb from ragged limb.Although the early comic books were meant for the kiddies, today smature readers are stunned by their pop surrealism and outright violentmayhem. The first volume of Fletcher Hanks stories, I Shall Destroy All Civilized Planets (in multiple printings) was an Eisner Award-winning smash hit and a staple on Best of the Year lists.Comics fans were thrilled to come upon a cartoonist of this caliberwhom they had never heard of before. Non-comics fans who read about thebook in The Believer and other journals were stunned todiscover an Outsider Artist in comic book form. Edited by cartoonistPaul Karasik (who also provides an insightful introduction), thissecond volume, You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation , collects all of the rest of Hanks's comic book work. That s right...all The 31 tales in this book (more than twice as many as in thefirst), when combined with the first volume, comprise The CompleteFletcher Hanks less