Fred Hembeck

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Fred Hembeck is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. He and his wife Lynn (married over 25 years) live in Upstate New York.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Fred Hembeck was born on January 30, 1953. His individualistic cartooning style relies on a simple yet sophisticated economy of lines, resulting in an immediately recognizable "signature" to his characters. His characters are always drawn with curlicues at the elbows and knees. He often portrays himself as a character in his own work, in the role of "interviewer" of various comic book characters.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Hembeck wrote and drew a comic strip that frequently appeared in the "Daily Planet" page of DC comic books. (The "Daily Planet" featured news on current and upcoming DC comics and answers to reader questions.)

He also did the comic strip "Dateline:@#$%" for the Comics Buyers Guide.

He was especially visible in the 1980s when his strips would be seen in Marvel Age, a Marvel Comics information magazine. His strips are available through his own website.

[edit] Quotes

20th Century Danny Boy: "If you take your comic books seriously, and think that those characters are real then you're probably not a fan of Hembeck.", [1]

'The Factual Opinion: " Final page is the Fred Hembeck story, a mildly funny 3-panel joke that gets stretched to the length of a page. Although this is probably the place to mention that it's better to end a bad comic on a good note, the Hembeck passage pretty much fits this entire issue: it's an idea, not really a story, so why the hell not?" [2]

[edit] Parody

Although most of Hembeck's work is itself parody, Hembeck and his drawing style have also been the subject of parody. In issue #3 of the first Omega Men series, a team member named "Humbek" appears, drawn in a style approximating that of Hembeck (as opposed to the more representational art of the rest of the issue). His thoughts reveal him to be an underground cartoonist exiled from his homeworld. Seconds later, he is killed by Lobo. In a later issue of [Legion of Super-Heroes], the words "I killed Fred Humbeck" appear in the filligree of a panel border, courtesy of artist [Keith Giffen].

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Fantaco

  • Hembeck!
  • Hembeck 1980
  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Bride of Hembeck
  • Bah, Hembeck
  • The Hembeck File
  • Jimmy Olsen's Pal, Fred Hembeck
  • Dial H for Hembeck

[edit] Marvel

  • Fantastic Four Roast (1982)
  • Spectacular Spider Man #86 (1984)
  • Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe (1989)
  • Fred Hembeck Sells the Marvel Universe (1990)

[edit] Image Comics

  • The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus, released May 29, 2008 - massive (over 900 pages) compilation of previously published strips and comics not owned by other companies, including all of the books published by Fantaco

[edit] References

  1. ^ 20th Century Danny Boy: Looking Back With Fred Hembeck
  2. ^ The Factual Opinion: Comics Of The Weak: When Robin Missed An Important Tennis Match To Cry A Bunch


[edit] External links