Number 354


The Comic Book Goodguy


I showed you the lead story from Alan Hanley's Comic Book #6 in January. This is the rest of the issue, published in in 1974 by Hanley, who died at a young age in 1980. In that January posting you can read comments on Hanley by a couple of his knowledgeable friends.

For an "amateur," Hanley had a spontaneous cartooning style with facile inking. I'm sorry he didn't live to develop his artistry into alternative comic book projects like we saw in the 1980s. He had a blend of comic art styles, including his favorites like Walt Kelly and C. C. Beck, but even with his various influences it mostly came out as Hanley. His writing was funny with social and political consciousness. His projects were more fan-oriented than the underground scene at the time, which often used adults-only themes to illustrate their points, but his barbs were just as sharp.

Alan J. Hanley's Captain Marvel-styled character was called "Goodguy," and from everything I've read by his friends, that described him, too.

The illustration at the top is the back cover of Comic Book #6.
























Hanley's hand-lettered editorial from the inside front and inside back covers explains the history of Comic Book and his purposes for publishing.