# Letterhack

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A '''letterhack''' is a fan who is regularly published in magazine and American [comic book letter column](/source/comic_book_letter_column)s.

==Origin==
The term comes from [fanspeak](/source/fanspeak), the slang of science fiction fans, and originally referred to prolific writers of letters to [fanzine](/source/fanzine)s and professional [science fiction magazine](/source/science_fiction_magazine)s of the early twentieth century.  It was considered to be an important part of [fanac](/source/fanac) ("fan activity").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/1864|title=letterhack n.|work=Science Fiction Citations for OED|first=Jesse|last=Sheidlower|date=28 August 2009|accessdate=July 25, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Prucher |first=Jeff |title=[Brave New Words](/source/Brave_New_Words) |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2007 |isbn=9780195387063 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bravenewwordsoxf00pruc/page/110 110]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|year=1958|first=Ralph Merridette|last=Holland|title=Ghu's Lexicon|page=12}}</ref>

==Celebrity and recognition==
Many letterhacks<ref name=century>Century, Sara. [https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-lost-art-of-the-comic-book-letters-page "THE LOST ART OF THE COMIC BOOK LETTERS PAGE,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602212609/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-lost-art-of-the-comic-book-letters-page |date=2021-06-02 }} ''Sy Fy Wire'' (May 23, 2018).</ref> became well known throughout the industry. Writer Mark Engblom describes the phenomenon this way:
{{cquote|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.<ref>Engblom, Mark. [http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2007/05/the_letters_pag.html "The Letters Page = Fanboy Valhalla," Comic Coverage (May 7, 2007).] Accessed Feb. 12, 2009.</ref>
}}

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* [Jerry Bails](/source/Jerry_Bails) <small>— the "father of comics fandom"</small>
* Reed Beebe <small>— over 300 letters published since 2010</small><ref name=harper>Harper, David. [https://sktchd.com/longform/letters-columns-longform/ "Backmatter and the Golden Age of Comic Book Letters Columns: In 2015, what have comic creators had to do make letters columns relevant again?"] ''Sktchd Chronicles'' (September 29, 2015).</ref>
* Olav Beemer <small>— became one of the most prolific Dutch comic book translators</small>
* Len Biehl
* Malcolm Bourne
* Brian Earl Brown
* Dale L. Coe
* Augie De Blieck Jr.<ref name=harper /> <small>— claims to have published over 400 letters (184 confirmed through Grand Comics Database)<ref>De Blieck Jr., Augie. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080926003305/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18169 "Pipeline: A Decade of ''Siren''," Comic Book Resources (Sept. 23, 2008).] Accessed Sept. 26, 2008.</ref></small>
* Brett Downard
* Joe Frank
* [Paul Gambaccini](/source/Paul_Gambaccini)
* Shirley A. Gorman
* Elizabeth Holden
* Paul Dale Roberts <small>— published over 1,000 letters</small><ref>[http://www.comics.org/searchNew/?q=Paul%20Dale%20Roberts Paul Dale Roberts], Grand Comics Database. Accessed April 19, 2016.</ref>
* Jana C. Hollingsworth
* Kashif "Blue Panther" Husain
{{col-break}}
* [Guy H. Lillian III](/source/Guy_H._Lillian_III)  <small>— omnipresent 1960s letterhack</small>
* Marc Lucas
* [T.M. Maple](/source/T.M._Maple) (aka Jim Burke) <small>— published over 3,000 letters</small><ref name="Cronin">Cronin, Brian. [https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-urban-legends-revealed-92/ "Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed" #92, Comic Book Resources (Mar. 1, 2007).]  Accessed Sept. 27, 2008.</ref>
*Joey Marchese
* Rich Morrissey
* "Uncle Elvis" Orten
* Melissa Page 
* Kent A. Phenis
* [Peter Sanderson](/source/Peter_Sanderson)
* [Bill Schelly](/source/Bill_Schelly) <small>— comic book historian</small>
* Al Schroeder III
* Charles J. Sperling
* Irene Vartanoff<small>— omnipresent 1960s letterhack who ended up working behind the scenes for Marvel in the 1970s and 1980s</small><ref>Friedrich, Mike. [http://www.challzine.net/20/20juliemike.html "Julius Schwartz: The Memorial Service," Challenger: A Science Fiction Fanzine (Summer 2004).] Accessed Sept. 28, 2008.</ref> 
* Delmo Walters Jr.
{{col-end}}

[David S. Goyer](/source/David_S._Goyer) is an example of a fan who later wrote [comic book films](/source/comic_book_films).<ref name="trenholm20160330">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/batman-v-superman-writer-david-goyer-predicted-marvels-civil-war-30-years-ago/ |title=How a 'Batman v Superman' writer predicted Marvel's 'Civil War' 30 years ago |last=Trenholm |first=Richard |date=2016-03-30 |website=CNET |language=en |access-date=2019-05-11}}</ref> Some letterhacks gained entrée into an actual career in comics because of their letter-writing experience. For instance, [Bob Rozakis](/source/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. {{citation needed|date=December 2022}}[Kurt Busiek](/source/Kurt_Busiek), [Mary Jo Duffy](/source/Mary_Jo_Duffy), [Mike Friedrich](/source/Mike_Friedrich), [Mark Gruenwald](/source/Mark_Gruenwald), [Fred Hembeck](/source/Fred_Hembeck), [Harlan Ellison](/source/Harlan_Ellison), [Tony Isabella](/source/Tony_Isabella), [Paul Levitz](/source/Paul_Levitz), [Ralph Macchio](/source/Ralph_Macchio_(editor)), [Dean Mullaney](/source/Dean_Mullaney), [Martin Pasko](/source/Martin_Pasko), [Diana Schutz](/source/Diana_Schutz), [Beau Smith](/source/Beau_Smith), [Roy Thomas](/source/Roy_Thomas), [Peter B. Gillis](/source/Peter_B._Gillis), [George R.R. Martin](/source/George_R.R._Martin), and [Kim Thompson](/source/Kim_Thompson) are just a few of the many comic book professionals who got their starts as young letterhacks.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

== See also ==
{{wiktionary|letterhack}}
* [Comic book letter column](/source/Comic_book_letter_column)
* [Fan mail](/source/Fan_mail)
* [Letter to the editor](/source/Letter_to_the_editor)

== References ==
{{reflist}}

Category:Comics people
Category:Fan labor
Category:Fanspeak

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Letterhack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterhack) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterhack?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.