InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Why did you choose me?"

jlroberson (jlroberson) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-07-10 01:12:00

Current location:	Seattle
Current mood:	calm
Current music:	Lost Highway soundtrack
Entry tags:	char: stardust, creator: fletcher hanks, era: golden age, status: public domain, title: fantastic comics

In Which Stardust Gets a...Girlfriend?

Oh, you lucky people. I got myself a disc of scans of some golden age comics, and they're public domain(please note, mods). Including this one. This is from FANTASTIC COMICS #12, from 1940, and of course this is Fletcher Hanks' STARDUST. And this time around, he actually manages to be more disturbing than ever.

Is it just me that thinks these look more like pigeons?

Yes it's Cardboard Girl, whose power is not moving one bit.

"She'll make fantastic bait!" says Stardust.

There's a lot more in this comic, including some strips even more bizarre than Stardust.(and almost all of them have shirtless heroes) Want more?

(Post a new comment)

	freezer818 2009-07-10 08:45 am UTC (link)
	HOLY CRAP is Stardust coming across creepy (as opposed to his usual Dick Tracy On Lithium sociopathy). (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-07-10 09:30 am UTC (link)
	I know, I can practically see her thinking, "B-b-be nice to the huge giant who turns people into worms..." That second panel close-up of them? He grew, just to scare her. Also, Hanks is making up words. "Spacial"? But I'll leave it to your filthy minds to come up with a use for the word... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	besamim 2009-07-10 01:48 pm UTC (link)
	The "tubular spacial" is illegal in Kentucky, Alabama and Texas to this day. Vice-squad raids, prompted by spiteful neighbours' phone calls, are not unheard of. And then there's Rev. Fred Phelps's Godhatesspacialists.com. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	kamino_neko 2009-07-10 09:33 am UTC (link)
	Venus? Worm? OMG, KAOS IS MR MIND! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-07-10 09:34 am UTC (link)
	Say. When did Mr. Mind first appear? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Mind_and_the_Monster_Society_of_Evil Answer: 1943 Well-spotted! Actually, as this is PD they COULD make it that way. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	vignettelante 2009-07-10 09:55 am UTC (link)
	He has a needle that detects crime. What the--what? What is it measuring!? Or is Stardust actually a D&D paladin? Also, "If I can dominate those vultures up there, I'll be able to conquer the Earth!" Who could possibly read or write that sentence without thinking "Couldn't he just cut out the middlebird?" (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-07-10 10:01 am UTC (link)
	Practice makes perfect. Many times I have sat feeding pigeons, thinking this is perfect practice for that job at the IMF someday. (Reply to this) (Parent)

besamim
2009-07-10 10:44 am UTC (link)

Notice that this time, Hanks gives a reason why Stardust doesn't stop the carnage before it happens: even with his super-speed the villain and his hypnotized vultures have the jump on him. As opposed to the story I posted recently (and others like it) where Stardust discovers a bad guy's plot well before it's ready to launch, then sits on his ass and waits until thousands are dead.

The "potential love interest" angle is interesting, as is Stardust showing gentle kindness to someone for once (even if he first balks because he has "duties to attend to"). Related to this is a story in which he enlists a group of youths to be his "sixth column" against a villain. At the end of the story he thanks the boys and says "I'm proud of you." It's the closest to human he ever gets.

Now consider that by this time several other superhero comics were giving their protagonists romantic partners and/or kid sidekicks. Did the editor of Fantastic Comics instruct Hanks to follow this trend and make Stardust more sympathetic and relatable? Or did Hanks himself (who had abandoned his family ten years back, after years of drunken abuse) come to realize (if only temporarily) that the human condition isn't all dark and ugly? We'll never know.

We thought that by making your world more violent, we would make it more "realistic," more "adult." God help us if that's what it means. Maybe, for once, we could try to be kind.
--Grant Morrison, Animal Man #26 (1990)

(Reply to this) (Thread)

jlroberson
2009-07-10 10:55 am UTC (link)

>>Or did Hanks himself (who had abandoned his family ten years back, after years of drunken abuse) come to realize (if only temporarily) that the human condition isn't all dark and ugly? We'll never know.

I was thinking when I read it, given that Hanks' son referred to him as a ladies' man, this seems like the kind of thing someone might draw after falling for someone. At the end, for the time, it's a little weird that he basically says, "So, my place, baby?" That's really the tone of it. And takes her, basically, to live with him. Yes, she has her own castle. Still.

Notice that she's also implacably pushing for his attention. It does appear Hanks might have, at least for a time, fallen in luvvv. It's almost cute, this one.

But those are pigeons.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-07-11 07:38 am UTC (link)
	Living in the country as I do, I see vultures on a fairly regular basis, and these 'vulture-birds' are really not all THAT far off. Vultures are black or brown instead of grey, and they have slightly ganglier legs, and obviously those gigantic feet are ridiculous, but they look more like vultures than pigeons to me. Also, remember, they're from an alien planet. (Reply to this) (Parent)

fungo_squiggly
2009-07-10 02:47 pm UTC (link)

Actually, reading this story left me thinking that perhaps we've been a little unfair to old Stardust.

In the story where we supposed he let thousands die, we don't see Stardust racing towards Earth: we just see him saying "A wholesale murder plot! And they're working fast!" and then arriving too late to save everyone.

Considering that the murderers were already on Earth at the time of their plot, and Stardust was extremely far away on his private star, it could be that he left as soon as he realized what was happening and simply couldn't get there fast enough.

Perhaps his constant frustration over being perpetually out of reach and therefore too late to prevent disasters has driven him to the edge of madness, causing him to overcompensate with the sadistic manner that he avenges those massacres.

On the other hand, you'd think he'd just build a faster way to get to Earth, or move closer, or something. So he's still a massive tool.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	perletwo 2009-07-10 10:53 am UTC (link)
	It kinda looks like "When Blowup Dolls Mate." ~~Coming soon to a FOX affiliate near you!~~ (Reply to this)

	jeyl 2009-07-10 11:16 am UTC (link)
	Every time look at him, I hear Joel from MST3K saying "I'm huuge!". (Reply to this)

	dustbunny105 2009-07-10 01:18 pm UTC (link)
	"I'm terribly upset and scared!" Uh... huh. Well, she certainly looks it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

besamim
2009-07-10 01:43 pm UTC (link)

Facial expressions were not Hanks's forte, to say the least. They scarcely changed from panel to panel. Perhaps, like his frequent use of silhouette, that was a time-saving measure; he handled all the writing, pencilling, inking and lettering himself and, according to Will Eisner (one of several editors he submitted to), always got his work in on time. Or maybe he just didn't care.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	bluejaybird 2009-07-10 01:42 pm UTC (link)
	Now THAT is a neck, Mr Superwizard. Also, those eyebrows look pretty damn plucked to me. (Reply to this)

	halloweenjack 2009-07-10 02:45 pm UTC (link)
	I love how he's resting his enormous head on her shoulder while he's saying, "But I have duties to attend to!" Oh, I just bet you do, big boy. cue bow-chicka-bow-bow guitar (Reply to this)

	fungo_squiggly 2009-07-10 02:48 pm UTC (link)
	Also, it doesn't help that so many of Hanks's villains are drawn with what looks like a permanent pout. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-07-11 07:34 am UTC (link)
	Damn skippy they are - if you look at De Structo from the previous Stardust post, and compare his face with that of Kaos here, they're practically identical. Structo has a slightly fuller lower lip, but that's about it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	icon_uk 2009-07-10 04:37 pm UTC (link)
	Is it wrong to say I rather like the colouring here? It's so candy-coated it's almost irresistible. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	darklorelei 2009-07-10 07:03 pm UTC (link)
	I actually much prefer this to the dodge-tool abuse currently running rampant. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-07-10 10:34 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, the dodge tool is one I've not used yet because I have no idea what it does. Please explain. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	toasty_fresh 2009-07-10 10:46 pm UTC (link)
	You use it to add shine, mostly. Or overuse it, as some colorists tend to do . . . (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-07-11 01:29 am UTC (link)
	Hmmm. I'll try it. There's a lot I still don't know. Mostly I've used it in place of a production department to keep doing what I already did analog, but cheaper. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	sandoz_iscariot 2009-07-10 07:29 pm UTC (link)
	Does anyone have scans of the Mike Allred Stardust story? I'm curious, especially since the homeless girl apparently appears there. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-07-11 07:32 am UTC (link)
	I'm also curious about that - it'd be interesting to see how an artist who can, y'know, DRAW properly would handle the character. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	(Anonymous) 2009-07-15 05:10 pm UTC (link)
	It's a decently drawn story. As for the plot, well, Allard seemed to have missed the fact that Stardust was a sadistic psychopath and depicted him as a sort of generic Superman-eque character. Strannik01 @ LJ (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-07-15 08:33 pm UTC (link)
	It's often difficult to pick up the pace when you're writing a character whose creator was, eh, decidedly eccentric. Wonder Woman had the same problem after Marston died. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	mrmojorisin1135 2009-07-10 08:18 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, more please (Reply to this) (Thread)

	You got it! jlroberson 2009-07-11 02:00 am UTC (link)
	And that's still not all! http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/647740.html (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ashtoreth 2009-07-11 05:37 am UTC (link)
	I can't rid myself of Alan Moore's notion of Stardust as space Frankenstein monster. But the girl is a plant! I can tell!!! (Reply to this)

	psychop_rex 2009-07-11 07:42 am UTC (link)
	This may be soon, but - does it seem to anyone else that Stardust's new girlfriend looks disturbingly like Michael Jackson? Also, I love Stardust's ever-so-subtle seduction technique. "Would you like to come to my private star for awhile? It's very restful there." "Oh, Stardust, I'd be crazy about it!" Well, at least it works. That neck must emit powerful pheromones. (Reply to this) (Thread)

(Anonymous)
2009-07-11 12:35 pm UTC (link)

Wow! So much interesting and wise-cracking analysis here!

This story appears in my book, "You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation!", the second collection of Hanks' wok that, when combined with the first Eisner Award-winning volume, "I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets!", comprises the Complete (God help us!) Fletcher Hanks!

This story is from late in his run of Stardust stories when the format for all the tales in these Fox comics had become tightly structured. Gone are the playful layouts that characterize earlier stories. Yet Hanks work shines through with brilliant coloring (as mentioned above) and his usual bizarre plotting.

BTW: If you order the book through Fantagraphics or come to one of my East Coast book signings this summer, you can score a free Hanks coloring book with a cool cover of Fantomah by Charles "Black Hole" Burns!

-Paul Karasik

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-07-12 12:25 am UTC (link)
	Awesome to see you here, Mr. Karasik. And my copy's already on order. The story at the end of the first book, incidentally, was really nice. (Reply to this) (Parent)