InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Got it memorized?"

sandoz_iscariot (sandoz_iscariot) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-09 21:17:00

Current mood:	sleepy
Entry tags:	char: fantomah, creator: fletcher hanks, era: golden age, theme: racism

Fantomah from Jungle Comics #7.
More insanity from Fletcher Hanks, this one featuring my favorite of his creations, Fantomah.

...wat.

(note to mods: the comic is in the public domain, so I'm posting the complete story.)

(Post a new comment)

	foxhack 2009-08-10 01:35 am UTC (link)
	What the flying fuck was that shit o_O (Reply to this) (Thread)

	the_jeff 2009-08-10 02:04 am UTC (link)
	I just glanced over it, I'm assuming the artist was put to death by Pym-particle enhanced sperm because of those horrible racist caricatures... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-08-10 02:10 am UTC (link)
	Sad to say, that particular method of drawing black men was pretty much par for the course in those days. :( (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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jlroberson, 2009-08-10 02:16 am UTC

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box_in_the_box, 2009-08-10 02:20 am UTC

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jlroberson, 2009-08-10 02:43 am UTC

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houbanaut, 2009-08-10 04:16 am UTC

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btravage.livejournal.com, 2009-08-10 06:54 am UTC

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houbanaut, 2009-08-10 03:18 pm UTC

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houbanaut, 2009-08-10 03:30 pm UTC

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runespoor7, 2009-08-10 03:58 pm UTC

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nagaoka, 2009-08-10 05:12 pm UTC

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sandoz_iscariot, 2009-08-11 12:32 am UTC

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houbanaut, 2009-08-10 06:23 pm UTC

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runespoor7, 2009-08-10 08:04 pm UTC

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dr_hermes, 2009-08-10 09:34 pm UTC

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runespoor7, 2009-08-10 11:30 am UTC

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houbanaut, 2009-08-10 03:27 pm UTC

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runespoor7, 2009-08-10 03:52 pm UTC

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dr_hermes, 2009-08-10 09:38 pm UTC

	sir_razorback 2009-08-10 02:03 am UTC (link)
	This reminds me of the aftershocks of drinking for 6 hours straight with Pink Floyd playing in a room with strobing blacklights. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-08-10 02:11 am UTC (link)
	... Goddamn you for making an icon of that story. :( (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sir_razorback 2009-08-10 02:42 am UTC (link)
	It was the one redeemable thing from it. Defenitely a good fit for "Do... not.. WANT!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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ashtoreth, 2009-08-10 04:42 am UTC

	nagaoka 2009-08-10 02:05 am UTC (link)
	O_O ... ... ... ... ... O_O (Reply to this)

box_in_the_box
2009-08-10 02:07 am UTC (link)

Between this and Stardust, Fletcher Hanks seemed to have a thing for punishing groups of evildoers by ... well, smooshing them all together, into the same body. Was this out of his subconscious need to further depersonalize and dehumanize those whom he meant to characterize as evil and deserving of punishment, or was it simply the expedient of an artist who didn't want to have to draw a bunch of different characters? Or both?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

khamelea
2009-08-10 02:19 am UTC (link)

"Was this out of his subconscious need to further depersonalize and dehumanize those whom he meant to characterize as evil and deserving of punishment, or was it simply the expedient of an artist who didn't want to have to draw a bunch of different characters?"

I wouldn't go with the latter.

I mean, he could just have started off with one main guy to punish, or even used this exact same set up and make every but make each step of this overly elaborate gauntlet into a punishment into itself: one gets the claw, another gets the cobras, another gets fused to the rock...

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	box_in_the_box 2009-08-10 02:22 am UTC (link)
	True. Plus, it's such an oddly idiosyncratic plot point for him to revisit so many times in his work ... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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khamelea, 2009-08-10 02:24 am UTC

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box_in_the_box, 2009-08-10 02:27 am UTC

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sandoz_iscariot, 2009-08-10 02:30 am UTC

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box_in_the_box, 2009-08-10 02:33 am UTC

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khamelea, 2009-08-10 02:33 am UTC

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box_in_the_box, 2009-08-10 02:34 am UTC

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ashtoreth, 2009-08-10 04:44 am UTC

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bashzilla, 2009-08-10 02:37 pm UTC

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-08-10 02:09 am UTC (link)
	Wow, Fletcher Hanks characters are worse than the Spectre! (Reply to this)

	freezer818 2009-08-10 02:11 am UTC (link)
	Do we have a "NOTHING Works Like That" tag? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-08-10 02:17 am UTC (link)
	But it's magic! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

box_in_the_box
2009-08-10 02:31 am UTC (link)

Hanks stories are one of those rare cases where IT'S MAGIC actually works as a defense, especially since it doesn't really merit a tone-break in his stories - from the first, it's almost like Hanks is saying, "Fuck you, the only rules of reality are whatever I decide to make up on the spot," so by the time you get to hands coming out of the walls, you've already got the five bad guys smooshed into one and plunged into the pit of Sleestaks or whatever the fuck they are, so why expect it to make sense NOW?

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	box_in_the_box 2009-08-10 02:18 am UTC (link)
	It's actually standard-issue fare - racist and formulaic, but otherwise very much unremarkable - until she takes the robbers down into the pit. From there, the story goes from White Man's Burden In The Jungle to Crazed Fever-Dream Retold By A Breathless Five-Year-Old Boy ("And then, a big hand came out, and then, snakes, and then ..."). (Reply to this) (Parent)

	khamelea 2009-08-10 02:21 am UTC (link)
	"Thrilling adventure" isn't what comes to mind after reading this. (Reply to this)

	ian_karkull 2009-08-10 02:27 am UTC (link)
	Fletcher Hanks Is My Master Now. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	ulf_boehnke 2009-08-10 04:24 am UTC (link)
	Moyah! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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lawrence_live, 2009-08-10 09:30 am UTC

	lookingforsigns 2009-08-10 03:36 am UTC (link)
	So if she knows what's going to happen, why does she let them get captured in the first place? (Reply to this) (Thread)

kitty_tc_69
2009-08-10 04:15 am UTC (link)

That was my thought too... she let the natives she was defending get shot, captured, enslaved, the mine owners get shot out of the sky (where the fuck did they get antiaircraft guns???), and all kinds of shit before FINALLY showing up to mete out vengeance for the crimes she could have just as easily prevented. It's like she can do anything -except- get from place to place in a reasonable amount of time when there's a page count left to fill.

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dr_hermes, 2009-08-10 04:19 am UTC

	ashtoreth 2009-08-10 04:46 am UTC (link)
	....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Cool! White cobras! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	icon_uk 2009-08-10 02:38 pm UTC (link)
	Snakes can be albino too. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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ashtoreth, 2009-08-10 08:14 pm UTC

	icon_uk 2009-08-10 08:17 am UTC (link)
	"When a flaming disembodied skull with blonde hair tells you not to do something, don't fucking do it" As my dear mama used to say to me so on many occasions... Actually that probably explains a lot about how I turned out. (Reply to this)

	skalja 2009-08-10 03:14 pm UTC (link)
	Historical note: Fantomah is one of the contenders for first female superhero! ... I now understand why no one's ever tried to reboot her. Oy, my brain. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	sandoz_iscariot 2009-08-10 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	Fantomah is one of the contenders for first female superhero! Scary isn't it? Fantomah could probably thrive under a writer who loves crazy shit like, say, Grant Morrison, but obviously you'd have to eject the racist "blondey must save the noble savages" concept. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)