Fantax is a fictional
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
character from a
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
comic book series. He was created by writer "J.K. Melwyn-Nash" (aka
Marcel Navarro) and artist "Chott" (aka
Pierre Mouchot). The character was created in 1946 as part of the post-war revival of Mouchot's publishing company.
Fantax was the alter-ego of Lord Horace Neighbour, a
British diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
assigned to the
United States. Fantax did not have any superpowers but was an exceptional athlete and skilled detective. His costume consisted of a half-hood, a cape, and a shirt emblazoned with a large "F". Neighbour also disguised his personality; being as sophisticated as Lord Neighbour and as street tough as Fantax.
Neighbour was assisted in his crime-fighting by Barbara, his fiancée and later wife; Murph, his butler; P'tit Louis, a muscular assistant; and eventually his children, Horace Junior and Barbara. Horace Junior later became the lead in his own series as ''Black Boy'', first as an independent crime fighter and later as an
FBI agent. Mouchot also planned on having Barbara lead her own series in the character of ''Barbara Tiger'' but this series never materialized.
Publication history
The series began as a short-lived
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
in 1946. It was soon moved to a comic book series in July 1946. Navarro left the series in 1948 in a dispute over ownership of the character. (In 1950, Navarro and businessman Auguste Vistel founded their own comic book company,
Éditions Lug.)
The series was then written by Mouchot,
Robert Rocca
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
or
Rémy Bordelet.
A new French
censorship law enacted in July 1949 forced Mouchot to discontinue publishing the comic book. The character was moved to text stories in a
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
format, but this only lasted six issues. Five issues of a new comic book title, ''The New Adventures of Lord Horace Neighbour'' were published in 1950.
In 1955, Mouchot launched the ''Black Boy'' comic book series (some of which was reused material from the earlier Fantax books) and revived ''Fantax'' as a comic book series in 1959.
Mouchot was prosecuted by the government censorship board for the violent content of his comic books from 1955 until he was driven into bankruptcy in 1961.
References
External links
Fantax entry at Cool French Comics
Comics characters introduced in 1946
{{Comics-char-stub