That's the thought that came to my mind when I first saw Alan (or Jim) Hanley's artwork. The more I saw, the more I wanted to see. It seemed there was more than just pictures here to explore.
I was right. His political takes and statements on (then) current affairs soaked his stories. The light, cartoonish style he had seemed to make his point in a manner similar to Pogo.
He had a character named "Goodguy" that was a nostalgic salute to Fawcett comics' Captain Marvel.
I immediately wanted to find this guy and see what he was up to these days. Surely a man with such a wonderful take on the state of the world had gone on to do something great!
But he hadn't.
He was involved in an auto accident not far from his home in the winter of 1980. He was buried in a little town called Tomah, Wisconsin. He was 42.
I'm 42.
Makes me sad to look upon the total time I've had on the planet and think, "that's all you get".
I'm sure, given enough time he could have done much more with his life than give a bunch of comic fans a laugh, a thrill and maybe a second look at the world around us.
Or maybe that was enough.
God bless ya, Alan. Rest in Peace.
I have here some Alan Hanley covers and a puzzle I found with his character, All American Jack.
I have had some difficulty with the Comic Book covers. All accounts indicate there were only 6 issues. Even Alan stated so in the back of issue 6. Bill Schelly says so in his book, "The Golden Age of Comic Fandom" that there were only 6 issues.
Yet I count 7. The silver issue has number seven on the cover. Is 7 reprint material?
Anyone who can help me make order of this is welcome to comment.
Thanks.
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