He's stared down the barrel of the Punisher's gun and found him lacking.
He's looked Aquaman straight in the eye and let him know how boring he is.
He's even destroyed the Marvel Universe.
If comic book satire has a name, it MUST be Fred Hembeck.
Endearing fans with his own perspective on the comic industry, Fred has created a niche in the comic book world that is unmatched. Fred sat down with CCL and discussed everything from his "Dateline: @#$!" strips, his family and what he would place on Captain America's tombstone.
Comic Collector Live: Artist. Humanitarian. Destroyer of Universes. Who IS the REAL Fred Hembeck?
Fred Hembeck: The real Fred Hembeck is just a guy who spends most of his time hanging around the house, sitting at the drawing board, posting on his website, listening to music, watching too much tv, not reading nearly as many comics as he used to but all the while still surrounded by them pretty much everywhere you look. The real Fred Hembeck has a 17 year old daughter named Julie and a wife of 28 years named Lynn, and he's extremely lucky in both instances. The real Fred Hembeck isn't a particularly exciting individual, but, I'm delighted to reveal here, is a happily contented one! And he DOESN'T have curlicues on his knees, understand? So let's just nip THAT little rumor in the bud right here and now, okay? Okay...
CCL: Let's say you're a super-hero. I mean, everyone knows you ARE, so you might as well admit it. Out of all of your friends in the comic industry, past and present, who would you choose as your sidekick? Who's your Bucky, Fred, and what qualities would make him or her a suitable Speedy to your Green Arrow?
FH: Actually, you've got this backwards--ideally, I'D be Aqualad to Stan Lee's Aquaman! On the other hand, if we were making a buddy comic, pencil me as Luke Cage to Jim Salicrup's Iron Fist! These two guys--Stan and Jim--would always be making with the snappy patter, and hey, what more could you want from a super-hero than THAT?
CCL: I read an interview you conducted with Aquaman back in an issue of Comics Buyers Guide a few years, in which you called him "boring", and called some of his stories "dull". If DC gave Fred Hembeck complete writing and artistic control over Aquaman for a 12-issue limited series, what could fans expect to see in your stint with the series?
FH: We'd go back to the gimmick that DC employed incessantly when I first encountered the Sea King in a series of filler stories back in 1961--he'd be just fine if he was out of water for, oh, say 59 minutes. He'd start getting shaky at the hour mark, and then--sound the alarms!--61 minutes in, he'd be flopping around on the ground like a (you guessed it) fish out of water, gasping for liquid!! So, for 12 issues, I'd have him up on land, trying desperately to submerge before running out of time--and never quite making it!! That whole undersea ruler gig would be right out the window if I had my say--look, I can believe an Atlantis run by a dude named Prince Namor, but by an "Aquaman"? Nah--better he be on permanent pier patrol!
CCL: What's the difference between Fred Hembeck in the Marvel Universe and say, ULTIMATE Fred Hembeck in Marvel's Ultimate universe?
FH: Ultimate Fred Hembeck is younger, thinner, looks ever so slightly different--and of course, takes WAY longer to get around to his point (if you can imagine THAT!) than Marvel Universe Fred Hembeck! Plus, that slick paper really makes him shine!
CCL: THE NEARLY COMPLETE ESSENTIAL HEMBECK ARCHIVES OMNIBUS is almost upon us, courtesy of Image and you, of course. 900 pages of material for $20 on Amazon. How can you fit all this comic goodness in one volume at such a great price?
FH: Stunning, ain't it? Let's just say, in order for me to become wildly wealthy, we're gonna have to sell a whole lotta copies--and I DO mean a lot! But I'm just delighted to have the thing out there, truly I am! (And here's where folks can find a bit more info on exactly what those 900 plus pages contain: http://www.hembeck.com/More/HembeckOmnibusInfoPage.htm )
CCL: How did plans for the NCEHAO come to pass?
FH: Several years back, Al Gordon, long-time Marvel and DC Comics inker, called up one day (I've known Al for decades, even though we live on opposite coasts) and suggested that I put together a collection of all my Dateline:@#$! strips. It took awhile, but from that small germ of an idea a full blown virus grew, and now we have what we have! Once Al got his pal Erik Larsen—a.k.a. publisher of Image--on board, things began to really move along. It was Erik who suggested we expand the parameters, which likely doubled (at least) the size of the book!
CCL: How has the Internet affected your unique perspective and insights in the comic industry?
FH: The Internet has been a tremendous source of information about comics both past and present, as well as allowing me access to the unvarnished opinions of scores of like-minded individuals. And it's allowed me to put myself out there and let folks know I'm still around! I'd been doing stuff here and there fairly regularly in the nineties, but if you as a reader, weren't following any of those publications, well, I might just as well have dropped off the face of the Earth as far as a lot of people were concerned. But having my own site--and MySpace page, and Facebook, too--has helped raise my profile immensely! And it's easier to interact with my readers via the web--I've met an awful lot of very nice people over the last half-decade! Plus, I've discovered that anybody with a blog, a scanner, and a small pile of Jimmy Olsen comics can have just as much fun mocking old Mort Weisinger comics as I ever did! WITHOUT the squiggles, of course...
CCL: I've seen lots of cartoonists, each with their own unique style, but there's only one Fred Hembeck. Any comic professionals ever look to you for guidance?
FH: Nope. But I DID give Bill Anderson his start! I met him at a local con when he was in his mid-teens, and saw immediately how talented he was. Since he lived nearby, we struck up a friendship, and eventually, he inked a few back-up stories that appeared in several Fantaco publications (which, yes, DO turn up in the Omnibus). Plus, I had Bill ink Captain America's shield that Cartoon Fred is holding on the otherwise Mike Zeck pencilled page in the Fantastic Four Roast, Bill's first foray into mainstream comics! Believe me, it was all uphill for him after that!
CCL: Besides "Destroying the Marvel Universe", what else are you proud to have your name attached to?
FH: My daughter, Julie Hembeck! (I'd say my wife, too, except she long ago chose to hold onto her own last name, Moss. Guess she's still not entirely sure of me, huh?...)
CCL: You were the host for the Fantastic Four's Roast. Did you feel any pressure at all?
FH: Not nearly as much as I did when I was given the task to destroy the Marvel Universe, and that's a totally serious answer. Standing up at a dais, cracking jokes? I could do that. Killing off a whole roster of beloved icons--AND making it somehow funny all at the same time? THAT I wasn't so sure about. People seemed to have liked what I came up with, but in my own mind, the Fantastic Four Roast is the far better book. It was certainly the easier one to do. The only part of the FHDTMU that I truly had any fun coming up with was the elaborate (albeit fictionalized) framing story about the inter-office shenanigans that led to the whole quirky concept in the first place--and when the book was scaled back from a 48 pager to a more traditional 32 pages, that was the first thing to go! But the good news is, should you be curious, all the excised--and totally completed--pages can be found over on my website, as well as the whole quasi-sordid behind the scenes machinations that led to the quashing of it: http: //www.hembeck.com/Destruction.htm
CCL: Is there a comic cover, or character, you just WON'T draw - or is everyone and everything fair game?
FH: Well, I've only ever turned down a single request--and only to preserve my sanity! I was once asked to redo a wrap-around Alex Ross Crisis on Infinite Earth reprint edition cover! There were, I believe, four thousand five hundred and twenty-six characters on that cover, give or take a few, so I politely passed. But otherwise, I'm game.
CCL: Last year, tragedy struck the Marvel Universe when Captain America was shot. Or maybe it was a Skrull..who knows. You're asked to complete the epitaph on his tombstone. Complete this sentence: "Here Lies Captain America....."
FH: "...But Worry Not, True Believers--Marvel Lies About Captain America!". Hey, just ask Bucky!
CCL: You know, I like to draw and I'm a fairly funny guy. Do I have a shot in this business?
FH: EVERYONE has a shot in this business--the real trick is hanging around for any substantial amount of time! Hey, look--none other than good ol' Vinnie Colletta looked me in the eye and told me I'd never make it in this business when I took my portfolio up to the DC offices back in the summer of '77. And just WHO do you think inked "Fred Hembeck Destroys the Marvel Universe" a decade later? So ANYTHING can happen--I'm living proof! And you're already one up on me--YOU won't have Vinnie to deal with!!
CCL: Thanks for taking a break from laying waste to entire planes of existence to talk with me, Fred.
FH: Best of luck, thank you, and good night!!
For more information on the works of Fred Hembeck, please visit the following sites:
www.hembeck.com
www.comiccollectorlive.com
*(Steve Boyd is Event Coordinator and Researcher for Comic Collector Live. While he buys Aquaman comics regularly, he can see why he’s lame.)