Comedian becomes the star of his own graphic novel

The life of Tony Hancock has been reimagined as a graphic novel.

The 290-page book Hancock: The Lad Himself will be published in April, covering the comedian’s rise to stardom and subsequent decline in an ‘anecdotal slightly stream-of-consciousness narrative’.

Created by writer Stephen Walsh and drawn by Keith Page, the story moves around the timeline of Hancock’s life –even allowing the comedian to encounter his own screen persona at different times.

Walsh said: ‘After reading all the books again and watching all the DVDs, scribbling tons of notes and walking up and down a lot, I was surprised one day at the laptop to hear a voice mocking me for even attempting to capture Hancock in something as piffling as whatever it was I was trying and failing to do.

‘I looked around and, no, the ghost of Hancock wasn’t there. But he’d somehow come to life as a character’ in my head. And he wouldn’t shut up.

‘So, I wrote down everything he said. The voice of Hancock became central to the story that started to emerge. I sent off the first bunch of pages to Keith and he seemed to agree that we were onto something. He quickly staged the scenes I’d written and gave me a look at the pages.’

Hancock: The Lad Himself will be published by B7 Comics, whose associate publisher, said: ‘Tony Hancock’s legacy as a comic performer is still filtering down the generations, refreshing his fan base year on year as he continues to inspire writers and comedians.

‘There are just as many 20 and 30-somethings today who appreciate his work as there were when he was still with us. To be able to tell his story in this new way is both hugely exciting and a great honour’

Its publication follows TV channel Gold’s recent retrospective about Hancock’s work, A Very Nearly An Armful, and the colorisation of some classic episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour.

The graphic novel can be ordered here, priced £34.95.

Published: 22 Feb 2023