They were cute and I appreciated poking fun at my favourite characters. However, the stuff that REALLY got me was Hembeck's comic-style pages from the Comic Buyers' Guide which reviewed comics or mostly reminisced about the long history of the medium (and why Fred loved comix so much). Around 1980, these pages were reprinted in larger format magazines (with titles like "Bah, Hembeck", "Dial H For Hembeck" and "Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Fred Hembeck"). Sometimes Fred would draw in actual comic book panel form (click here for an example) and sometimes he would "redo" classic comic book covers from the past (click here for an example). Other times he'd actually conduct interviews with the characters themselves (click away!). Needless to say, Fred Hembeck's nostalgic and funny reminiscences really appealed to an old comics fan like me. They were done with a great sense of love for the medium as well as a firm grasp on the minutest of comic book continuity. I hadn't seen anything by Fred Hembeck since around 1990 so I looked around this ole internet and lo and behold found his website. (Another webside called The Hembeck Files collects some of his strips.) I sure would love to see all his stuff collected into a book. Oh well, at least I can reread those old Hembeck collections.
Friday, March 03, 2006
TALES OF THE BIZARRO HEMBECK!!! OK, I'm feelin' kinda comicbooky lately. Not what passes for comic books these days. I'm talking the OLD comix I bought as back issues when I was a kid. Well, I don't know what put him into my mind but I suddenly remembered Fred Hembeck. Now, Hembeck was a fan boy from before I was born (who began reading around 1961 I think). However, ole Fred made good by developing a cartoony drawing style and a humorous way of looking at the comic books he loved so well. I first encountered his work probably in the late 70's when all DC Comics featured one page of upcoming DC comics news (fittingly called the Daily Planet) in each one of their issues. Usually at the bottom of the page I'd find a little Hembeck strip (like this Aquaman one). 
They were cute and I appreciated poking fun at my favourite characters. However, the stuff that REALLY got me was Hembeck's comic-style pages from the Comic Buyers' Guide which reviewed comics or mostly reminisced about the long history of the medium (and why Fred loved comix so much). Around 1980, these pages were reprinted in larger format magazines (with titles like "Bah, Hembeck", "Dial H For Hembeck" and "Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Fred Hembeck"). Sometimes Fred would draw in actual comic book panel form (click here for an example) and sometimes he would "redo" classic comic book covers from the past (click here for an example). Other times he'd actually conduct interviews with the characters themselves (click away!). Needless to say, Fred Hembeck's nostalgic and funny reminiscences really appealed to an old comics fan like me. They were done with a great sense of love for the medium as well as a firm grasp on the minutest of comic book continuity. I hadn't seen anything by Fred Hembeck since around 1990 so I looked around this ole internet and lo and behold found his website. (Another webside called The Hembeck Files collects some of his strips.) I sure would love to see all his stuff collected into a book. Oh well, at least I can reread those old Hembeck collections.
They were cute and I appreciated poking fun at my favourite characters. However, the stuff that REALLY got me was Hembeck's comic-style pages from the Comic Buyers' Guide which reviewed comics or mostly reminisced about the long history of the medium (and why Fred loved comix so much). Around 1980, these pages were reprinted in larger format magazines (with titles like "Bah, Hembeck", "Dial H For Hembeck" and "Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Fred Hembeck"). Sometimes Fred would draw in actual comic book panel form (click here for an example) and sometimes he would "redo" classic comic book covers from the past (click here for an example). Other times he'd actually conduct interviews with the characters themselves (click away!). Needless to say, Fred Hembeck's nostalgic and funny reminiscences really appealed to an old comics fan like me. They were done with a great sense of love for the medium as well as a firm grasp on the minutest of comic book continuity. I hadn't seen anything by Fred Hembeck since around 1990 so I looked around this ole internet and lo and behold found his website. (Another webside called The Hembeck Files collects some of his strips.) I sure would love to see all his stuff collected into a book. Oh well, at least I can reread those old Hembeck collections.
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