Re-introducing Rob Hanes Adventures

With the milestone 25th issue of my globetrotting soldier-of-fortune comic-book series, Rob Hanes Adventures, due out this summer, which also marks the 30th anniversary of my imprint, WCG Comics, it's the perfect opportunity to re-introduce the series..…

The series is a fun, mostly lighthearted globetrotting action adventure series about a private eye from worldwide Justice International, who travels the world on assignment facing danger, intrigue and the occasional femme fatale at every turn. Though primarily a classic roaming adventure series, it's also often crossed genres—so in addition to the usual tales of international derring do and the occasional armed revolution, Rob has also appeared in a romance comic–superhero mashup, a drawing room murder mystery, a sports story set on a minor league baseball team, often leavened with humor.

And, in keeping with this episodic approach, every issue is self-contained!

Rob Hanes Adventures was initially inspired by the great syndicated newspaper adventure strips, especially of the 1930s and ‘40s—Milton Caniff’s Terry and the Pirates in particular, but also Roy Crane’s Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy (and, later, Buz Sawyer), Frank Robbins’ Johnny Hazard, and Noel Sickles’ Scorchy Smith. Will Eisner’s Spirit and Alex Toth’s work in the genre, particularly Bravo for Adventure, also are influences. Many of these strips were the forerunners of adventurers like Jonny Quest and Indiana Jones—modern day spy franchises like James Bond and the Mission: Impossible also share the same DNA. The series was initially created to pick up where these strips left off, following in the same tradition, but set in the modern day. 

For the upcoming milestone 25th issue of the series, Rob goes old school and travels back in time to the eve of World War II to pre-war China to team up with some of his adventure strip soldiers of fortune predecessors (or, at least close facsimiles of them!) And in a nod to the series’ roots, each page looks like a complete Sunday comics page!

It’s been quite the journey and my excitement for the series remains as high as ever, with more exciting stories on the way!

In posts to come, stay tuned for more background and fun facts about the series! Meanwhile, all back issues and trade paperbacks remain available at wcgcomics.com.