Black Horse Author Profile
THE BEST OF THE BUNCH: VIC HANSON

Steve Holland

Vic J. Hanson was a remarkably prolific and compulsive writer who wrote nearly 200 novels, the last completed only a matter of months before his death at the age of 81. He started writing at school, editing the school magazine, and had his first stories published soon after the end of World War II. For more than 50 years he made a living from his pen.

Born in West Bromwich on October 17, 1920, Victor Joseph Hanson worked as a printer's devil for a church magazine publisher, as a groundsman/gardener, a fairground attendant, and in commercial advertising. He was raised in the Midlands but was always on the move, and had various addresses before moving to Orpington in the early 1950s; he later moved to Warwickshire, then to East Dulwich, and then to South Croydon, where he lived for 16 years. Despite this restless spirit, he never owned a car, and for relaxation he collected cameras, listened to music — he was equally at home with Mozart or Charlie Parker — and, above all else, wrote.

His first novel, a western entitled Lannigan's West, was published in 1949. In 1950, he was put under contract by Scion Ltd. after he submitted a romance novelette (originally written for Curzon Publications, which folded before it could be published). He began writing westerns for Scion but was offered a higher rate for crime novels and, with two daughters to raise, switched from the American West to the American East Side for a series of tough thrillers, although he was never particularly devoted to the genre.

His novels as Brad Shannon were considerably better than most of Scion's American gangster output, and even best-selling gangster writer Hank Janson (Stephen Frances) considered Hanson "the best of the bunch". "I think they were probably better because I used third person narrative when everyone seemed to be using first," recalled Vic. "I don't think they were edited too much as some of the house-name titles were."

When Scion's regular western writer, John Russell Fearn, was contracted to write science fiction, Scion offered Hanson the same, higher rate for Westerns that his gangster novels earned, and he happily switched back and alternated between crime and western. When Stephen Frances left Scion to concentrate on his own publishing venture, Hanson took over the Duke Linton byline and, during a spell when Scion was forced to recapitalise, Frances offered Hanson work at Comyns (as Max Clinten).

The paperback boom faded quickly in 1954, and Hanson wrote for a variety of companies: Gannet Press, Fiction House (as Vern Hanson), Brown Watson, and (as William Shand) wrote crime novels for Herbert Jenkins, which John Creasey glowingly reviewed, saying they would "please hosts of readers who recall the heyday of 'Sapper' and Edgar Wallace with real nostalgia."

During the 1960s he wrote war and romance novels for John Spencer (Badger Books) and crime and horror novels and collections for Digit Books, specialising in thrillers with a macabre twist, which were described by one reviewer as "deliciously nasty." He also wrote Sexton Blake novels for the Sexton Blake Library, comic strips for Western Adventure Library, Cowboy Adventure Library and Combat Picture Library, and stories for Edgar Wallace Mystery Magazine and boys' annuals. Keith Chapman, his editor on many of these latter tales, recalls, "As an editor, I considered him a consistent, reliable contributor, especially strong on characterization and with a very distinctive narrative style. For instance, many years later, when I came across the first Jay Hill Potter book, I knew within a few paragraphs who the author was."

When work was thin on the ground, Hanson also took on a number of jobs, running a bookshop, a jazz club, a typing agency, working as a progress chaser, a commercial traveler, a fairground attendant, and as a general dogsbody in advertising -- experiences that he would feed back into his writing. From 1978 until his death he wrote Westerns exclusively for Robert Hale under his own name and the pen name Jay Hill Potter, enjoying his relationship with the firm ("they don't interfere much").

Hanson was always a fast writer; his early books were dictated to his wife, Frances May Hanson, although he later typed them (two-fingered) himself; he briefly owned an electric typewriter, but didn't get on with it, and quickly reverted to an old manual.

Hanson suffered a stroke on September 21, 2001, and was hospitalized, but -- ever the fighter and despite being paralysed down his left side -- was planning for his return home from the word go, working out the plot for a new novel in his head. Sadly, he caught a chest infection whilst still in hospital and died on December 11, 2001. His last novel, The Devil's Shake by Jay Hill Potter, was published a few weeks later. Shortly after his death his widow arranged with Robert Hale to reprint a large number of his earlier paperback Westerns.

Remarkably, Hanson had never visited America, even when one of his daughters was living in Texas, but was a studious researcher of the West, surrounding himself with reference books and watching western movies, although he was not a big fan of television. His first published story (in his school magazine) was a Western. His favourite character was 'Black Heart' Amos Crowle, who starred in many of his Hale westerns.

Writing in 20th Century Western Writers, David Whitehead said of these, "Hanson writes fast, incident filled westerns in a spare, modern style. He favours short scenes and multiple viewpoints, and sprinkles his dialogue with just enough westernisms to give an adequate 'period' flavour to his speech." Crowle, despite his nickname, is not an anti-hero, and throughout the series tries to bring order to a string of beleaguered towns. As Jay Hill Potter, Hanson wrote the 'Pilgrim' series, which centred around the family ranch of a former Marshal and the exploits of Young Joe, the Marshal's fiery-tempered son, a federal lawman.

I never had the opportunity to meet Vic in person. We corresponded infrequently and spoke to each other on the phone only a handful of times over a period of 15 years. My impression was that he enjoyed his privacy, although he was more than happy to dig out his archives when I asked after the multitude of pen names he had written under. He was modest and accepted praise cautiously, although he had no reason to, because he always wrote to the best of his ability, and his talent put him head and shoulders above most of the writers who ground out stories for the original paperback market.

During the 1950s, Vic was able to make a good living, and -- had the western market not collapsed in the mid-1950s -- I firmly believe that he would have been a major name in the genre; instead, he struggled, writing genre novels for declining paperback houses and unable to find a publisher for more serious work. Thankfully, he found a steady audience with his Black Horse Westerns and, for someone who liked to be left alone to enjoy his writing and his hobbies, that was enough.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY BY SERIES

AMOS CROWLE series by Vic J. Hanson

Black Heart Crowle '78 Belles in an Empty Town '79 Guns of the Black heart '80 The Hands of Amos Crowle '81 Black heart's Bunch '82 Hardneck & Amos '82 The Greenhorn Days '83 The Law of Amos C. '85 Amos Lives '89 A Shroud for Amos '90 The Legend of Amos '91 A Deal for Amos '97

PILGRIM series as by Jay Hill Potter

Call Me Pilgrim '81
Pilgrim's Blood '82
Pilgrim's Trail '82
Young Joe Pilgrim '82
The Pilgrim Raid '83
Bounty for Pilgrim '83
A Coffin for Pilgrim '86
Pilgrim's Revenge '90
Hills of the Dead '91
The Devil's Shake 2001

Lannigan's West (by W.J. Hanson). Glasgow, Muir-Watson, Feb 1949; as by Jake Ross, Hale, Apr 2003.

The Yellow Dust. Scion, Dec 1949; New York, Crestwood, 1949; as by Charlie Potts, Hale, 2003.

Spawn of the Badlands. Scion, Mar 1950; as by Jake Martin, Hale, Mar 2003.

Terror Town. Scion, Jul 1950; as by Al Brady, Hale, Feb 2003.

Gunsmoke Saga. Leicester, Fiction House, Jul 1950.

Border Bullets. Scion, Aug 1950; as The Crooked Marshal by William Shand, Hale, Mar 2003.

Blue Lightnin'. Scion, Sep 1950; as Lightning Killer by Wes Overland, Hale, Jun 2003.

Fighting Gunmen. Hamiltons, Sep 1950.

The Creeper. Hamiltons, Oct 1950.

The Devil's Deputy. Scion, Oct 1950; as by Vic Frances, Hale, Feb 2003.

Gun Toter!. Scion, Oct 1950.

Gun Wolf. Scion, 1950; as Big Tom: Owlhoot by Jay Hill Potter, Hale, 2003.

Roaring .44s. Scion, Dec 1950; as by Josh Richards, Hale, 2003.

Bushwacker!. Scion, Jan 1951; as Crack Shot by Jake Ross, Hale, 2003.

Red Silver!. Scion, Jan 1951; as by Charlie Potts, Hale, May 2003.

Slick Lawman. Scion,. Feb 1951; as by Rick Richards, Hale, 2003.

Smoke In the Valley. Scion, Feb 1951; as by Wes Overland, Hale, Feb 2003.

Troubleshooter!. Scion, Feb 1951; as Secret Mission by Zeke Martin, Hale, Apr 2003.

The Red Trail. Scion, Apr 1951; as by Brad Shannon, Hale, Mar 2003.

The Shotgun Kid. Scion, Apr 1951; as by Josh Richards, Hale, Mar 2003.

Savage Mesa!. Scion, Oct 1951; as by Brad Shannon, Hale, 2003.

The Bishop Riders. Scion, Jan 1952; as by Graham Hawk, Hale, May 2003.

The Gunhawks. Scion, Mar 1952; as Abilene by Vic Frances, Hale, Jun 2003.

Lawless River. Scion, Mar 1952; as by Jake Martin, Hale, Apr 2003.

Black Heart Crowle (Amos). Hale, Dec 1978.

Savage Sunrise. Hale, Mar 1979.

Bells in an Empty Town. Hale, Sep 1979.

Muldare. Hale, Apr 1980.

Guns of Black Heart (Amos). Hale, Oct 1980.

The End of the Kill. Hale, Dec 1980.

The Hands of Amos Crowle (Amos). Hale, Jan 1981.

Men on a Dusty Street. Hale, May 1981.

Amos Crowle, Widow-maker (Amos). Hale, Sep 1981.

Black Heart's Bunch (Amos). Hale, Feb 1982.

Hardneck and Amos (Amos). Hale, Jun 1982.

Call Him Amos (Amos). Hale, Oct 1982.

One More Sundown. Hale, Feb 1983.

The Greenhorn Days (Amos). Hale, Apr 1983.

Black Amos (Amos). Hale, Oct 1983.

Black Amos, Law Bringer (Amos). Hale, Feb 1984.

Damnation Gap. Hale, Jun 1984.

The Old-Time Years (Amos). Hale, Jan 1985.

The Plains Rats (Hardisty). Hale, Aug 1985.

The Law of Amos C (Amos). Hale, Dec 1985.

Assassin's Run. Hale, Oct 1989.

Amos Lives!. (Amos). Hale, Feb 1990.

Hannibal's Jump. Hale, Jun 1990.

Shroud For Amos (Amos). Hale, Oct 1990.

Legend of Amos (Amos). Hale, Feb 1991.

Killer Alone. Hale, Sep 1991.

A Grave for the Gentle. Hale, Jan 1992.

Hell-Ride. Hale, Nov 1992.

Death's Deputies (Amos). Hale, 1993.

Bloodstone. Hale, Jun 1993. The Temperly Trilogy:
Wildwind. Hale, 1994.
Silvo. Hale, 1994.
Death-Drag. Hale, 1995.

Quest. Hale, 1995.

Killer's Harvest. Hale, Jul 1996.

Hardisty's Town (Hardisty). Hale, 1996.

Nighthawk's Moon. Hale, 1997.

A Loner's Revenge. Hale, 1997.

A Deal for Amos (Amos). Hale, Oct 1997.

Owlhoot Nights. Hale, Mar 1998.

Blacksnake Trail. Hale, 1998.

Star-Packer's Luck. Hale, Apr 1999.

Red Dawning. Hale, Oct 1999.

Retribution Guns. Hale, Oct 2000.

The Daybreak Seige. Hale, Aug 2001.

The Violent Breed. Badger (BW40), Feb 1963; as by Graham Hawk, Hale, 2003.

Riverboat Renegade. Badger (LW49), Apr 1963; as Riverboat Revenge by Trev Kincaid, Hale, Apr 2003.

Novels as W. B. Glaston

Chattering Guns. Brown Watson, Apr 1956.

Novels as Vern Hansen

Gunsmoke on the Border. Brown Watson, Nov 1959; as The K.P. Ranch by Rick Richards, Hale, May 2003.

Novels as Vern Hanson

Trail Wolves. Leicester, Fiction House, Jun 1955; as by Vic J. Hanson, Hale, Apr 2003.

Sundown Riders. Leicester, Fiction House, Sep 1955; as Bordertown Killer by Jay Hill Potter, Hale, May 2003.

Colt Harvest. Leicester, Fiction House, Jul 1956; as by Josh Richards, Hale, May 2003.

Guns of Lobo. Leicester, Fiction House, Jul 1957; as El Lobo by Vic J. Hanson, Hale, 2003.

Troubleshooting Johnny. Leicester, Fiction House, Sep 1958; as Trouble-Shooting Johnny by Brad Shannon, Hale, Oct 2003.

Novels as Vernon Hanson

Angry Hooves. Gannet, Jan 1954.

Novels as Wes Overland

Guns of Hate. Brown Watson, Dec 1955; Sydney, Action Comics [Mercury Novels 37], n.d.; as Bound for Boothill by Al Brady, Hale, Jun 2003.

Novels as Jay Hill Potter (series: Joe Pilgrim)

The Long Guns. Hale, Jun 1979.

Black-Horse Moon. Hale, Nov 1979.

Killer's Journey. Hale, May 1980.

Harrigan's Dude. Hale, Sep 1980.

The Bitter Trail. Hale, Jan 1981.

Jasper and Hack. Hale, May 1981.

Call Me Pilgrim (Pilgrim). Hale, Nov 1981.

Pilgrim's Trail (Pilgrim). Hale, Mar 1982.

Young Joe Pilgrim (Pilgrim). Hale, May 1982.

Pilgrim's Blood (Pilgrim). Hale, Nov 1982.

Bounty For Pilgrim (Pilgrim). Hale, Mar 1983.

Requiem For Pilgrim (Pilgrim). Hale, Jul 1983.

The Pilgrim Raid (Pilgrim). Hale, Nov 1983.

A Coffin For Pilgrim (Pilgrim). Hale, Mar 1984.

Gunfighter's Pride. Hale, Aug 1984.

The Pilgrim Kill (Pilgrim). Hale, Jul 1985.

Turkey Shoot. Hale, Mar 1986.

Pilgrim's Revenge (Pilgrim). Hale, Mar 1990.

Restless Town. Hale, Nov 1990.

Hills of the Dead. Hale, May 1991.

Old Man's Gun. Hale, Aug 1992.

Murder Trail. Hale, Sep 1993.

Coyote Bait. Hale, 1994.

Sodal Valley Shoot-Out. Hale, 1994.

Pilgrim's Return (Pilgrim). Hale, 1996.

The Big Hogleg (Pilgrim). Hale, Oct 1996.

Tiller's Watch. Hale, Jun 1997.

The Last Go-Down. Hale, 1998.

The Devil's Shake. Hale, Oct 2001.