Fantastic Comics #5
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeFantastic Comics #5 (April 1940) is one of the purest surviving examples of Fletcher Hanks's singular creative vision at full throttle — the fifth consecutive installment of the Stardust the Super Wizard series, with Hanks handling every element of the story solo. The issue belongs to the brief, complete window of Hanks's entire comics career (1939–1941), making each installment a rare artifact of a creator whose output was as short as it was bizarre. Comics historian Kurt Mitchell has written that Hanks's Stardust stories 'highlighted Hanks' straitfaced absurdity and distinctively ugly dramatis personae,' and that 'in style and attitude, Hanks anticipated the underground comics of the 1960s and early '70s' — a judgment that has only grown in weight as Stardust has moved from Golden Age footnote to cult touchstone. The issue also sits in the historically fertile context of Fox Feature Syndicate's peak period, sharing cover space with Lou Fine's visually striking artwork, placing outsider-art storytelling and polished draftsmanship side by side on the same newsstand package.
An anthology featuring multiple heroes: "The Golden Knight" follows Richard as he descends into a well to rescue Alice, daughter of Bawala, overcoming strange obstacles and winged people before helping her return to the well's entrance. "Space Smith" depicts Space and Dianna attempting a speed record to the moon in their high-velocity ship traveling at 210 miles per minute, encountering what appears to be opaque star gas. "Stardust" shows the master of interplanetary science learning of a dangerous group of crime wizards called the "Miracle Men" who plan to kidnap leading Americans using invisible vacuum tubes, prompting Stardust to take action against the gang.
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Fox Feature Syndicate was founded by entrepreneur Victor S. Fox and initially drew its content from the Eisner & Iger packaging studio, though by the time Fantastic Comics #5 reached stands in April 1940, Will Eisner had already departed that shop to launch The Spirit, with Fletcher Hanks continuing to contribute through what became the S. M. Iger Studio. Hanks was an unusual figure in the bullpen: considerably older than most of his colleagues (he entered the industry in his early fifties), he worked entirely alone — writing, penciling, inking, and lettering every story himself — a practice that Will Eisner noted made him stand out as punctual and self-contained. The cover of the issue, like the majority of early Fantastic Comics covers, was produced by Lou Fine, whose polished draftsmanship provided a glossy exterior for the distinctly rougher, more expressionistic Stardust interior pages.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published April 1940 by Fox Feature Syndicate as the fifth issue of Fantastic Comics (cover-dated April 1940).
- The Stardust story in this issue is titled 'Wolf Eye's Synthetic Tornadoes' (also referenced in some sources as 'Wolf Eye's Vacuum Tubes'); in it, Stardust defeats the villain Wolf Eye, who deploys vacuum tubes to drain air from cities, by reversing the technology against the criminal gang.
- The Stardust feature was written and drawn entirely by Fletcher Hanks — one of the few Golden Age creators who handled all stages of production (writing, pencils, inks, lettering) on his own stories.
- Lambiek Comiclopedia identifies a panel from the Fantastic Comics #5 Stardust story as containing a self-portrait of Fletcher Hanks (the figure with a cigarette in the foreground).
- The issue's cover art was by Lou Fine, who provided covers for the majority of early Fantastic Comics issues and was regarded by contemporaries including Joe Simon and Jack Kirby as one of the finest draftsmen of the Golden Age.
- Other features in the issue include Samson (art by Alex Blum), Flip Falcon (art by Don Rico), Golden Knight (art by Grieg Chapian), Yank Wilson, a Space Smith story by Hanks under his pseudonym Hank Christy, Captain Kidd (art by Bill Bossert), and Sub Saunders (art by Henry Kiefer) — making it a dense anthology typical of the 68-page Fox format.
- Stardust himself debuted in Fantastic Comics #1 (December 1939) and ran for 16 issues through March 1941, plus one appearance in Big 3 #2; this issue is the fifth chapter of that unbroken run.
- Hanks's complete Stardust stories, including the Fantastic Comics #5 installment, were eventually reprinted in the Fantagraphics collections I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! (2007) and You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! (2009), edited by Paul Karasik, with the 2007 volume earning a 2008 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection.
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Reprints
Reprinted in I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! #[nn] (2007), You Shall Die by Your Own Evil Creation! #[nn] (2009), Fletcher Hanks : œuvres complètes #[nn] (2018)
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