Letterhack describes a fan who is regularly published in comic book letter column

Comic book letter column

A comic book letter column is a section of a comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns , letter pages, letters of comment , or simply letters to the editor...

s.

Many letterhacks became well-known throughout the industry by virtue of their letters. Writer Mark Engblom describes the phenomenon this way:

The 1994 Squiddy Awards

Squiddy Awards

The Squiddy Awards, also known as The Squiddies, were the annual awards given by the participants in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.comics through 2004. The awards are named after the humorous typo "Suicide Squid"...

 featured a "Favorite Letterhack" category! Some of the most prolific "LOCers" or "letterhacks" include:

• Jerry Bails
  Jerry Bails
  Jerry Gwin Bails was an American popular culturist. Known as the "Father of Comic Book Fandom", he was one of the first to approach the comic book field as a subject worthy of academic study, and was a primary force in establishing 1960s comics fandom.- Early life :Jerry G. Bails was born June...
  
   — the "father of comics fandom"
• Olav Beemer
• Len Biehl
• Malcolm Bourne
• Augie De Blieck Jr. — claims to have published over 400 letters
• Dale L. Coe
• Joe Frank
• Paul Gambaccini
  Paul Gambaccini
  Paul Matthew Gambaccini is a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...
  
  
• Shirley A. Gorman
• Elizabeth Holden
• Jana C. Hollingsworth
• Kashif "Blue Panther" Husain

• Guy H. Lillian III — omnipresent 1960s letterhack
• Marc Lucas
• T.M. Maple (aka Jim Burke) — published over 3,000 letters
• Joey Marchese
• Rich Morrissey
• "Uncle Elvis" Orten
• Kent A. Phenis
• Peter Sanderson
  Peter Sanderson
  Peter John Sanderson, Jr. is a comic book critic and historian, as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature....
  
  
• Bill Schelly
  Bill Schelly
  Bill Schelly is an author primarily known as a historian of cinema, comic books, and comics fandom. He is also a portrait and comic book artist....
  
   — comic book historian
• Al Schroeder III
• Charles J. Sperling
• Irene Vartanoff — omnipresent 1960s letterhack who ended up working behind the scenes for Marvel in the 1970s and 1980s
• Delmo Walters Jr.

Some letterhacks gained entrée into an actual career in comics because of their letter-writing expertise. For instance, Bob Rozakis

Bob Rozakis

Robert "Bob" Rozakis is a comic book writer and editor known mainly for his work in the 1970s and 1980s at DC Comics, as the writer of Mazing Man and in his capacity as DC's "Answer Man".-Biography:...

 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. Kurt Busiek

Kurt Busiek

Kurt Busiek is an American comic book writer notable for his work on the Marvels limited series, his own title Astro City, and his four-year run on Avengers.-Early life:...

, Mary Jo Duffy, Mike Friedrich

Mike Friedrich

Mike Friedrich is an American comic book writer and publisher best known for his work at Marvel and DC Comics, and for publishing the anthology series Star*Reach, one of the first independent comics...

, Mark Gruenwald

Mark Gruenwald

Mark E. Gruenwald was an American comic book writer, editor, and occasional penciler. Gruenwald got his start in comics fandom, publishing his own fanzine, Omniverse, which explored the concept of continuity...

, Fred Hembeck

Fred Hembeck

Fred Hembeck is an American cartoonist best known for his parodies of characters from major American comic book publishers. His work has frequently been published by the firms whose characters he spoofs. His characters are always drawn with curlicues at the elbows and knees...

, Tony Isabella

Tony Isabella

Tony Isabella is an American comic book writer, editor, artist and critic, known as the creator and writer of Marvel Comics' Black Goliath, DC Comics' first major African American superhero, Black Lightning, and as a columnist and critic for the Comics Buyer's Guide.-Marvel Comics:Before he joined...

, Paul Levitz

Paul Levitz

Paul Levitz is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he has worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles...

, Ralph Macchio

Ralph Macchio (comics)

Ralph Macchio is an American comic book editor and writer, who has held many positions at Marvel Comics, including executive editor. Macchio is commonly associated with Daredevil, the Spider-Man line of comics and the popular Ultimate Marvel line...

, Dean Mullaney

Dean Mullaney

Dean Mullaney is an American editor and publisher whose Eclipse Enterprises, founded in 1977, was one of the earliest independent comic book companies. Eclipse would publish some of the first graphic novels; become the first comics company to publish trading cards; and was one of the first comics...

, Martin Pasko

Martin Pasko

Martin Pasko is a writer and editor in a diverse array of media, including comic books and television.Pasko has worked for many comics publishers, but is best known for his work with DC Comics over three decades. He has written Superman in many media, including television animation, webisodes, and...

, Diana Schutz

Diana Schutz

Diana Schutz is a comic book editor, most notable as editor in chief of Comico during its peak years and for her continuing tenure at Dark Horse Comics, for whom she has worked since 1990...

, Beau Smith

Beau Smith

Beau Smith is anAmerican comic book writer and columnist, best known for hiswork for DC Comics, Image Comics, IDW Publishing and as vice president of marketing for Eclipse Comics.-Early career:...

, Roy Thomas

Roy Thomas

Roy William Thomas, Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor, and Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics, with a series that added to the storyline of Robert E...

, and Kim Thompson

Kim Thompson

Kim Thompson is an American comic book editor, translator, and publisher, best known as vice president and co-publisher of Seattle-based Fantagraphics Books. Along with co-publisher Gary Groth, Thompson has for almost thirty years used his position to further the cause of alternative comics in the...

are just a few of the many comic book professionals who got their starts as young letterhacks.