Fletcher Hanks, Sr. was a cartoonist from the Golden Age of Comic Books, who wrote and drew stories detailing the adventures of all-powerful, supernatural heroes and their elaborate punishments of transgressors. In addition to his birth name, Hanks worked under a number of pen names, including "Hank Christy," "Charles Netcher," "C. C. Starr," and "Barclay Flagg." Hanks was active in comic books from 1939 to 1941.
Life and career
Little is known of the life of Fletcher Hanks. He was born on December 1, 1889, in Paterson, New Jersey, and grew up in Oxford, Maryland. His father, William Hanks, was a Methodist minister, and his mother, Alice Fletcher Hanks, was daughter of English immigrants; they married. Fletcher himself married Margaret. In 1910, his mother paid for her son to take the W. L. Evans correspondence course in cartooning; as early as 1911 he described himself as a cartoonist. His nickname was "Christy," in reference to the great baseball pitcherChristy Mathewson. Hanks had four children: William, Fletcher Jr., Alma, and Douglas. Fletcher Jr. was the primary source of biographical information on his father. Family members have described Fletcher Sr. as an abusive father and spouse, and an alcoholic, spoiled by an over-indulgent mother. He made money painting murals for the wealthy, and spent the money on alcohol for himself and his friends. Fletcher Jr. worked odd jobs to support the family; in 1930, he found his earnings missing, along with his father. Fletcher Jr. said his mother responded, "It's a small price to pay to be rid of the bum."
In 1939, in the wake of the success of Action Comics and Superman, Hanks began producing comic book stories. Gradually, he abandoned the crosshatch-heavy style he had learned in his Evans courses and settled on a cleaner, thick-lined style that reproduced better in the cheaply manufactured comic books. Some of Hanks' work was for the Eisner & Iger comic book packaging company; Will Eisner recalled Hanks as punctual artist whose work was reminiscent of the early work of Basil Wolverton. Hanks did all the work on his comics, from the writing to the lettering, and was considerably older than the other artists who worked there — many of whom were teenagers. The primary publishers he produced work for were Fiction House and Fox Features Syndicate. His creations include Stardust the Super Wizard, Tabu the Wizard of the Jungle, Big Red McLane, and Fantomah—one of the first female superheroes, predating Wonder Woman. He produced work for three publishers under a number of alias names, including Hank Christy, Charles Netcher, C. C. Starr, and Barclay Flagg, the last of which he signed to his Fantomah stories. He used his real name on his Stardust the Super Wizard stories. In all Fletcher Hanks created 51 stories.
Later life
Hanks left the comic book industry in 1941; the reason is still unknown. He continued to live in Oxford, Maryland, where he became the president of its town commission in 1958–60. His body was found on a park bench in Manhattan in 1976; he had frozen to death, penniless.
Legacy
A cult following developed around Hanks' work. His stories and art have been reprinted in the magazine Raw and several comics anthologies, and archival material of his work has been the subject of two books edited by Paul Karasik and published by Fantagraphics Books: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! and You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!, as well an omnibus collecting both previous books titled Turn Loose Our Death Rays and Destroy Them All!.
