The following is an interview with cartoonist Danny Hellman regarding the recent launch of a Zoop crowdfunding campaign for the satirical comic book anthology, Jacked Tracts. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Hellman about his shared creative process in working with a host of talented creators to reimagine the Christian comic booklets of the ’70s, the incredible backer rewards that will be available to readers, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You recently launched a Zoop crowdfunding campaign for Jacked Tracts. For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you share with us about the overall premise of this collection?
Danny Hellman: Like so many cartoonists, Jack Chick’s comic tracts left a deep mark on my psyche as a kid. They were essentially horror comics, drawn in an appealing, mid-century cartoon style. They seemed to be everywhere in the 1970s, on train platforms, in waiting rooms, and on sidewalks. They were inescapable.
Three years ago, it struck me that it would be fun to take a few of those classic comic tracts, ask a varied crowd of talented cartoonists to reinterpret the art as they saw fit, after which I’d write new text to sew the narrative back together.
BD: This project has a Murderers’ Row of comic book talent! How would you describe the process for bringing these individuals together, as well as your approach to reimagining the notorious Christian comic booklets of our youth?
DH: I’ve published three anthology books over the past two decades, (LEGAL ACTION COMICS Volumes 1 & 2 and TYPHON) and as a result, I have a lot of talented pals. Also, I’m a voracious consumer of art on social media, and when it came time to assign art for Jacked Tracts, I wasn’t shy about reaching out to folks I hadn’t worked with previously. When it comes to finding talent for these projects, I let my personal taste guide me.
My approach to reimagine the original tracts was simply to let the artists reinterpret the art as they liked, knowing that I’d end up being tossed a fair number of narrative-busting curveballs. A big part of the fun of this project for me was taking all that wildly-varied art and writing new text that repaired the fractures that had appeared in the narrative. I think the process is similar to William S Burroughs’ “cut-up” techniques, and to the “detourned” comics strips made by the Situationists. In both those processes, existing content was stripped apart, recombined, reassembled, and reinterpreted to reveal all kinds of new meaning that hadn’t been present in the source material.
BD: What can you tell us about your own creative contributions to this collection, and what are you most excited for readers to experience withe the anthology?
DH: I drew the cover for Jacked Tracts, as well as covers for five of the book’s “chapters.” I also drew one or two pages for each of those chapters. Additionally, as I said, I wrote all the book’s text, with the exception of the chapters, “Boo Boos for Beelzebub” by Victor Cayro and “The Chick Tract Discovery” by Mike Diana, (which were written and drawn by Cayro and Diana respectively).
My hope is that Jacked Tracts will put a smile on readers’ faces. I think they’ll enjoy the art (which I think is excellent and varied), and I hope they’ll find my
sardonic sense of humor to their liking.
BD: Are there any specific backer rewards that you’re most excited about with the Zoop crowdfunding campaign?
DH: I made a lot of trinkets and shiny swag to accompany the JACKED TRACTS Zoop campaign. I’m particularly proud of the stand-alone tract version of Victor Cayro’s “Boo Boos for Beelzebub,” which very closely mimics the look & feel of the original Chick tracts. I’m also very happy with the cloisonné pins we made.
BD: Are there any other projects that you want to highlight for readers?
DH: Once the dust settles on the Jacked Tracts Zoop campaign, I’ll be getting to work on a book that collects my artwork for SCREW Magazine, which I drew from 1988 to 2006. The book is tentatively titled The View From SCREW and will be published by Korero Press in a year or so.
BD: Lastly, what would you like to tell fans who want to learn more about Jacked Tracts and your other work?
DH: My website (www.dannyhellman.com) has been in a sad state for years and desperately needs a full makeover. Until that happens, the best way folks can see my work is to follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram, and most of the other social media platforms. I’ve been a degenerate social media addict from the medium’s inception, and I post new and old artwork constantly.
