You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation ! Paperback – August 4, 2009

Fletcher Hanks had a rather odd comics career. Although comic book writing was generally a young man's game in his era, Hanks didn't produce any comics till he was in his fifties, and he was done within a couple years, even though he'd live for over three more decades. That brief productive period of 1939-1941 is captured in its entirety in a pair of books: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets and its successor (and the subject of this review), You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation.This second volume has around three dozen stories, each just a few pages long, as well as an introduction by Paul Karasik that provides a biography (Karasik also provided material for the previous volume). The stories feature a number of different superheroes, but three stand out.Stardust is "the most remarkable man of all time", a super-wizard who observes evil-doers from his remote star and then travels to Earth in his tubular spacial on accelerated supersolar light waves. He then uses his god-like powers to mete out justice against such villains as the Emerald Men of Asperus and Rip-the-Blood.Fantomah is the most remarkable woman who ever lived. She protects the jungle and like Stardust, has power enough to stop villains such as the Scarlet Shadow, the Tiger Women (not to be confused with the Leopard Women of Venus) and Zomax, the Demonized Marine Scientist. When angry, she turns into a skeletal figure. Big Red McClane, on the other hand, is a lumberjack, but no mere mortal: he wins any brawl he gets in, no matter how many oppose him. These tales of the King of the North Woods are the only ones with any real continuity between stories.There are also several stories featuring Space Smith (who fights the Leopard Women), a pair with Whirlwind Carter, and one-shots of Tabu, Tiger Hart and Yank Wilson. To a large extent, the stories are all pretty similar, with bizarre villains finding themselves thoroughly outclassed by superheroes. Stardust and Fantomah in particular act like gods, having few qualms about allotting divine justice, sometimes with death, and sometimes with a more ironic punishment.Hanks to a large extent needs to be experienced as any description will fall short. His over-the-top writing fits in the so-bad-it's-good category, and his art has its own special flavor: it's straightforward and simple, but has a style that has it's own bizarreness. Several of the blurbs on the back of this book describe Hanks as the Ed Wood of comics, and this is not a bad way to describe him. Read this book or face the wrath of Fantomah!

It has more variety than the previous book. It has a nice introduction that tells pretty much all that can be learned about Fletcher Hanks at this point. The biography is far from complete. What was he doing between 1930 and 1939? How did he wind up drawing comic books in New York? Why did he stop after only two years? What did he do with himself for 35 years until he was found dead on a park bench? We may never know the answers to these questions. All we have are the reminiscences of Hanks' children, and approximately 330 pages of comics.And what about these comics? The intro asserts that Hanks should not be considered an "outsider" since he was a professional artist and was very much working "inside" the comics industry at the time. The intro also soberly reminds us that the comics we are about to read "were created by a man who once kicked his four-year-old son down a flight of stairs."It was in this volume that I realized Fletcher Hanks could actually draw really well when he wanted to, and that therefore the crudity of style in the first volume was intentional, the result of a conscious decision imposed by the limitations of comics publishing at that time. It was in this volume that I really started to see and appreciate exactly what Fletcher Hanks was doing. Their bizarre appeal aside, these comics stand on their own as pure art. There's a certain naive, intense sincerity running through them which is rare in this medium. It hits you on an unexpected level.Why did Hanks quit drawing comics? Perhaps more importantly, did he ever find personal redemption? Did he ever come to grips with his inner demons? In light of the scant information we have about him, one is tempted to view the story of Fantomah vs. the Jungle Demon (page 124) as wistfully autobiographical. It is equally likely that Hanks was nothing more than a hack, exploiting his own artistic talent to scrape up some booze money, and then quitting when he got bored or found a better racket. Maybe he went off on a bender and got fired for missing his deadlines. We will never know. All we have is two-and-a-half years' worth of truly strange comics. And maybe that's all we need from someone like Fletcher Hanks.If you seek a monument, this book is it.

I stumbled upon Fletcher Hanks when YouTube recommended me a video about him - made, I believe, by the author of this book. As a fan of outsider film and music, this seemed especially interesting; I'm not a comic book/graphic novel fan per se, but do like seeing something that captures a very unique vision from one person. As the excellent introduction explains, Hanks was not a pleasant chap - reading about how he treated his family is quite an eye-opener, especially with how most of his works deal with very clear right and wrong. Yet, separating this from the comics, it's easy to see how Hanks became a cult figure in the industry. His comic creations - Fantoma - Queen of the Jungle, Stardust - Super Space Wizard, Space Smith and, my own favourite, Big Red McLane - King of the Northwoods - are simplistic, almost child-like in terms of narrative. The heroes and heroines barely break into a sweat dealing with the troubles they face, evenif it includes someone suck Mars out of its orbit and firing it at the Earth!. If you think Superman is overpowered, wait until you see Stardust in action! What is absorbing is the style which is odd, off-kilter and almost oneiric (I read a lot of them in the middle of the night when I couldn't sleep). Even the colouring is slightly surreal and leaves a lasting impression. The book loses a star because Hanks's work is by its very nature, quite repetitive - you don't really get any surprises or twists along the way. Nevertheless, for people that like art that seems to exist in an alternative reality, this is a fantastic collection. I imagine it looks especially splendid in a printed, hardback version (I bought the ebook)!

Material from this brilliant artist is very difficult to find, so this 2nd volume collecting the complete works of Fletcher Hanks is very welcome, and is presented in full colour, and a faithful reproduction of his work.Recommended for any comic collector interested in the early Golden Age of comics.

Really fun book. Enjoyed my read 100%.

Este es el segundo volúmen de la obra de Fletcher Hanks editado nuevamente por Fantagraphics. 31 historias que combinadas con las que aparecían en el primer volúmen suman las 48 historias que creó el autor durante tres años (1939-1941), lo que convierten este "You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation!" de 2009 y aquél "I Shall Destroy All The Civilized Planets!" de 2007 en la recopilación de su obra completa.

Amazing book!