Sequoia Blankenship and Rob Thompson are a pair of comic and cajeta obsessed animator friends who have teamed up to make picture books and graphic novels. Their first book, Feo the Chupacabra can be pre-ordered now and hits bookshelves April 7, 2026!

But wait… who are Rank and Phyle?

Max Rank and Stuart Phyle are the comedy duo who starred in such Hollywood hits as Needless in a Haystack (1929), The Locksmith Monster (1930), Mutton Bustin’ (1940), and Rank & Phyle Greet the Chupacabra (1950).

They first met in the Army where Stuart Phyle hoped to hone his potato peeling skills and where Max Rank hoped to sidestep a misunderstanding with Tall Tex Rex, the owner of a Forth Worth wheelbarrow supply shop and nightclub.

Quickly seeing that Rank and Phyle’s soldierly talents were dwarfed by their mess hall comedy and doughboy antics, the Army Brass shipped them to France in 1918 where they entertained countless frontline troops. The pair professionally partnered up after the war, taking their comedy act to Vaudeville where they played every dive-bar and lean-to from Powhatan Point to Pittsburg.

While working the Dairy Circuit in Merced, California, they were discovered by Sidney Shanks, a young director who thought the two would be perfect in his Hollywood debut film, Needless in a Haystack. After forty films and counting, Rank and Phyle are proud to join their new friends in their first graphic novel, Feo the Chupacabra!

Rank & Phyle’s Filmography:

(1929) Needless in a Haystack

(1930) The Locksmith Monster

(1931) The Murderous Monks of Marmalade

(1932) Dustbowl Soup

(1933) Army Times & Navy Crimes

(1934) Trench-foot Melodies

(1935) Dairy Aire

(1935) Over Easy and Under Done

(1936) Yorkshire Puddin’

(1937) The Gal with the Ten Gallon Hat

(1937) King Louis’ Jousting Lawyers

(1937) The Great Grumble Bumble

(1937) Bigger than a Breadbox

(1938) In Search of the Wooly Marmot

(1938) Shoulder Angels

(1938) More Dollars than Sense

(1939) What’s that Smell?

(1939) The Stairs Go Down

(1939) Who Cares for the Legionnaires?

(1940) Fifteen Minutemen

(1940) Mutton Bustin’

(1940) Two Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing

(1941) Hold that Roast!

(1941) Heck in a Handbasket

(1942) High Noon’ish

(1942) Rivets & Divots

(1943) Rank & Phyle Greet the Yeti

(1943) The Garden of Eatin’

(1943) Knights of the Brown Table

(1943) Roman Shades

(1944) Gladiatin’

(1944) Chimney Sweepstakes

(1944) Rank & Phyle Greet the Piano Tuner

(1945) Crossing the Dela Where?

(1945) Rodeo Clownin’

(1945) Pork & Beans

(1946) Rank & Phyle Greet the Mummy

(1946) Wagon Pain

(1946) Jarred & Jammed

(1947) Sweetcorn Alabama

(1947) Rank & Phyle Greet the Werewolf

(1948) Rank & Phyle Greet the Invisible Teenager

(1948) It’s Not Ewe, It’s Me

(1949) Flat Tired

(1949) The Potatoes Have Eyes!

(1950) Rank & Phyle Greet the Chupacabra