Letterhack

A letterhack is a fan who is regularly published in magazine and American comic book letter columns.

Origin

The term comes from fanspeak, the slang of science fiction fans, and originally referred to prolific writers of letters to fanzines and professional science fiction magazines of the early twentieth century. It was considered to be an important part of fanac ("fan activity").[1][2][3]

Celebrity and recognition

Many letterhacks became well known throughout the industry. Writer Mark Engblom describes the phenomenon this way:

Chosen by the title's editor (or, in some cases, the writer), a few lucky fans would get the opportunity to share their opinion with not only the creators, but a captive audience of fellow fans as well. In fact, some of the most prolific fans had letters printed almost every month in a variety of titles, becoming minor celebrities in their own right.[4]

Jerry Bails — the "father of comics fandom" Olav Beemer — became one of the most prolific Dutch comic book translators Len Biehl Malcolm Bourne Brian Earl Brown Dale L. Coe Augie De Blieck Jr. — claims to have published over 400 letters (184 confirmed through Grand Comics Database)[5] Joe Frank Paul Gambaccini Shirley A. Gorman Elizabeth Holden Paul Dale Roberts — published over 1,000 letters[6] Jana C. Hollingsworth Kashif "Blue Panther" Husain

Guy H. Lillian III — omnipresent 1960s letterhack Marc Lucas T.M. Maple (aka Jim Burke) — published over 3,000 letters[7] Joey Marchese Rich Morrissey "Uncle Elvis" Orten Kent A. Phenis Peter Sanderson Bill Schelly — comic book historian Al Schroeder III Charles J. Sperling Irene Vartanoff— omnipresent 1960s letterhack who ended up working behind the scenes for Marvel in the 1970s and 1980s[8] Delmo Walters, Jr. Melissa Page Brett Downard

David S. Goyer is an example of a fan who later wrote comic book films.[9] Some letterhacks gained entrée into an actual career in comics because of their letter-writing expertise. For instance, Bob Rozakis parlayed his frequent published letters to DC comics during the late 1960s and early 1970s into a job as DC's "Answer Man" and eventually a solid career as a DC writer. Kurt Busiek, Mary Jo Duffy, Mike Friedrich, Mark Gruenwald, Fred Hembeck, Harlan Ellison, Tony Isabella, Paul Levitz, Ralph Macchio, Dean Mullaney, Martin Pasko, Diana Schutz, Beau Smith, Roy Thomas, Peter B. Gillis, George R.R. Martin and Kim Thompson are just a few of the many comic book professionals who got their starts as young letterhacks.

See also

• Comic book letter column
• Fan mail
• Letter to the editor

References

1. Sheidlower, Jesse (28 August 2009). "letterhack n." Science Fiction Citations for OED. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
2. Prucher, Jeff (2007). Brave New Words. Oxford University Press. p. 110. ISBN 9780195387063.
3. Holland, Ralph Merridette (1958). Ghu's Lexicon. p. 12.
4. Engblom, Mark. "The Letters Page = Fanboy Valhalla," Comic Coverage (May 7, 2007). Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.
5. De Blieck Jr., Augie. "Pipeline: A Decade of Siren," Comic Book Resources (Sept. 23, 2008). Accessed Sept. 26, 2008.
6. Paul Dale Roberts, Grand Comics Database. Accessed April 19, 2016.
7. Cronin, Brian. "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed" #92, Comic Book Resources (Mar. 1, 2007). Accessed Sept. 27, 2008.
8. Friedrich, Mike. "Julius Schwartz: The Memorial Service," Challenger: A Science Fiction Fanzine (Summer 2004). Accessed Sept. 28, 2008.
9. Trenholm, Richard (2016-03-30). "How a 'Batman v Superman' writer predicted Marvel's 'Civil War' 30 years ago". CNET. Retrieved 2019-05-11.