Like Ed Wood? Try Fletcher Hanks!!!

[Svengoolie 3]

If you like Ed Wood, you should have a look at the works of Fletcher Hanks.

"Who is Fletcher Hanks?" you ask?

FH was perhaps the most warped, weird and twisted comic writer and artist ever. His work really stands in a class by itself and many people have compared him to Ed Wood. It;s really impossible to describe Fetcher Hanks' work. The story lines were so utterly over the top as to pretty much leave the known universe, with plot lines and characters who simply defined disbelief. Yes, they were even beyond disbelief, they were so far beyond believable they stretched the limits of disbelief.

As to the art.... Honestly, there are no phrases, terms or words. His artwork makes the most bizarre imagery of Picasso and Dali seem prosaic in comparison. It looks like illustrated insanity in 4 colors. His artwork seems to be nearly non euclidean in it's geometry and proportions. Your senses will reel, your mind will croggle and your sanity will teeter on the edge of utter annihilation as you gaze, wide eyed, slack jawed and utterly stupefied at it.

Hanks was a seriously defective and downright bad person who was abusive towards his family, abandoned them and died ox exposure on a park bench in NYC after a lifetime of alcoholism. Looking at his work it's obvious he suffered a spectrum of mental illness. His work reeks of racism, and his heroes usually practice the most sadistic, twisted punishments imaginable. He makes the spectre seem like a card carrying member of the ACLU when it comes to how to treat evil doers. Some of his punishments for the villains in his comics (who are so utterly evil they make Dr. Doom look like Dudley Dooright, it must be admitted.) clearly show a psychotic mentality.

While hanks only write comics for 4 years he created a body of work that was nearly as large as it was bizarre. He created a spectrum of characters, like stardust the super wizard, big red the lumberjack, space smith the space explorer and Fantomah, mystery woman of the jungle who, it must be admitted, is likely the first super powered female character in comics (Yes, ahead of wonder woman)

One can easily find endless reffs to Fletcher Hanks on the net, below is a link to a random sampling of his imagery. Prepare as much as you can, it will not be enough to keep you for being staggered at the sheer impossible badness of his work.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fletcher+hanks+comics&FORM=HDRSC2

[Svengoolie 3]

Here is an actual Fletcher Hanks comic, this is actually a failry tame one.

No, I'm not kidding.

http://goldenageheroes.blogspot.com/2008/12/stardust-super-wizard.html

[Svengoolie 3]

Here's a stanger one. Yes,  stardust makes an army of bad guys become one person....

http://thegreatcomicbookheroes.blogspot.com/2013/11/fletcher-hanks-stardust-super-wizard-vs.html

[Svengoolie 3]

Another one. Yes,  the villain is named 'Slant eye'. Stardust goes to truly excessive lengths to inflict a horrific fate on him. Sheesh,  get a hobby.

http://oralmaze.blogspot.com/2011/06/stardust-super-wizard.html?zx=7aa47d50b511ec7

[RCMerchant]

I got into Hanks some years back-it is truely is twisted.

[Svengoolie 3]

By now you may think it was impossible for anyone to top fletcher hanks for surrealistically bad art and laughable storylines, you should know you are wrong on both counts. Fletcher Hanks was outdone in his later years in terms of horribly bad art and storylines by Fletcher Hanks. His work actually got worse, and perversely more entertaining, as time went on during his brief,m 4 year career.

Check out the storylines here.

http://muttermumblegrumblegripe.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-cant-believe-its-not-chaotic-world-of.html

[Pacman000]

If his art is bad, I should probably give up any hope of drawing anything. 

[RCMerchant]

If his art is bad, I should probably give up any hope of drawing anything. 

I don't think his art is "bad"- that's subjective. It's most certainly weird!

[Svengoolie 3]

Well,  yeah. Abd we could say ed wood's writing and directing was subjective too. Which is true. And they're both bizarre.