The Phantom

The Phantom is a long-running American adventure comic strip, first published by Mandrake the Magician creator Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The character has been adapted for television, film and video games.

The series began with a daily newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, followed by a color Sunday strip on May 28, 1939; both are still running as of 2016. In 1966, King Features stated that The Phantom was being published in 583 newspapers worldwide. ^[1] At its peak, the strip was read by over 100 million people daily.^{[2] [3]}

Falk worked on The Phantom until his death in 1999; the comic strip is currently written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Paul Ryan (Monday-Saturday) and Terry Beatty (Sunday). Previous artists on the newspaper strip include Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, Bill Lignante, Sy Barry, George Olesen, Keith Williams, Fred Fredericks, Graham Nolan and Eduardo Barreto. In the strip, the Phantom was 21st in a line of crime-fighters which began in 1536, when the father of British sailor Christopher Walker was killed during a pirate attack. Swearing an oath on the skull of his father's murderer to fight evil, Christopher began a legacy of the Phantom which would pass from father to son. Nicknames for the Phantom include "The Ghost Who Walks", "Guardian of the Eastern Dark" and "The Man Who Cannot Die".^[4]

Unlike other fictional costumed heroes, the Phantom has no superpowers and relies on his strength, intelligence and reputed immortality to defeat his foes. The 21st Phantom is married to Diana Palmer; they met while he studied in the United States and have two children, Kit and Heloise. He has a trained wolf, Devil, and a horse named Hero. Like the previous Phantoms, he lives in the ancient Skull Cave.

The Phantom was the first fictional hero to wear the skintight costume which has became a hallmark of comic-book superheroes, and was the first shown in a mask with no visible pupils (another superhero standard).^{[4] [5]} Comics historian Peter Coogan has described the Phantom as a "transitional" figure, since the Phantom has some of the characteristics of pulp magazine heroes like The Shadow and the Spider, as well as anticipating the features of comic book heroes such as Superman, Batman, and Captain America.^[4]

Publication history

Creation

After the success of Mandrake the Magician, King Features Syndicate asked Falk to develop a new feature. His first effort was to write and draw a strip about King Arthur and his knights.^[6] When King Features rejected the strip Falk developed the Phantom, a mysterious, costumed crime-fighter. He planned the first few months of the story, and drew the first two weeks as a sample.

Fascinated by myths and legends (such as King Arthur and El Cid) and the modern fictional characters Zorro, Tarzan and The Jungle Book's Mowgli, Falk envisioned the character as wealthy playboy Jimmy Wells by day and the crime-fighting Phantom by night. During his first story, "The Singh Brotherhood", before disclosing that Wells was the Phantom Falk changed the setting to a jungle and made the Phantom an apparently-immortal, mythic figure.^[7] Thinking that there were already too many characters called "the Phantom" (including The Phantom Detective and The Phantom of the Opera), Falk considered calling his hero "The Gray Ghost" (later the name of a Batman character, mentioned in the first episode of Phantom 2040). However, he could not find a name he liked better and decided to stay with the Phantom.^[8]

In the A&E American cable TV documentary The Phantom: Comic Strip Crusader,^[9] Falk explained that Greek busts inspired him to omit the Phantom's pupils when the character was wearing his mask. He (incorrectly) believed that ancient Greek busts had no pupils—they were painted on originally, fading with time—which gave them an inhuman, awe-inspiring appearance. In a 2005 interview for Comic Book Marketplace^[10] Falk said the Phantom's skin-tight costume was inspired by Robin Hood, who wore tights in films and onstage.

Newspaper strips

The Phantom began as a daily strip on February 17, 1936^[11] with "The Singh Brotherhood",^[12] written by Falk and drawn by him for two weeks and then by Ray Moore (assistant to artist Phil Davis on Mandrake the Magician). That year, The Phantom was serialized in the Australian Woman's Mirror. A Sunday Phantom strip was added on May 28, 1939.^[13]

During World War II Falk joined the Office of War Information, where he became chief of the radio foreign-language division. Moore also served during the war and left the strip to his assistant, Wilson McCoy. When Moore returned he worked sporadically on the strip until 1949, when McCoy succeeded him.^[14] During McCoy's tenure, The Phantom appeared in thousands of newspapers worldwide and was smuggled by boat into Nazi-occupied Norway during the war; "Phantom" was a password for the Norwegian resistance movement.^[15]

McCoy died unexpectedly in 1961. Carmine Infantino and Bill Lignante (who later drew several Phantom stories for comic books) filled in before a successor was found in Sy Barry.^[16] During Barry's early years he and Falk modernized the strip, laying the foundation for what is considered the Phantom's modern look. Under Barry, Bengalla became a democracy and the character of President Lamanda Luaga was introduced. Barry worked on The Phantom for over 30 years until his 1994 retirement, drawing a total of about 11,000 strips.^[17]

His longtime assistant George Olesen remained on the strip as penciller, with Keith Williams inking the daily strip. The Sunday strip was inked by Eric Doescher until Fred Fredericks succeeded him in 1995.

Falk continued to script The Phantom and Mandrake until his death on March 13, 1999. His last daily and Sunday strip stories, "Terror at the Opera" and "The Kidnappers", were finished by his wife Elizabeth after her husband pulled off his oxygen mask in the hospital to dictate the storyline.^[18] After Falk's death King Features cooperated with European comic publisher Egmont, publisher of the Swedish Fantomen magazine (which changed from publishing Phantom stories in comic-book format to providing the newspaper strip as well) by adapting their own Phantom comic-book stories into the strip format. Fantomen writers Tony De Paul and Claes Reimerthi alternated as writers of the newspaper strip after Falk died, with De Paul handling the daily strips and Reimerthi the Sunday ones. De Paul would later become the strip's sole writer. Some stories were adapted from those originally published in Fantomen.^[16]

Phantom daily strip from 2005; art by Paul Ryan

In 2000, Olesen and Fredericks retired from the Sunday strip. It was continued by comic-book artist Graham Nolan, who had drawn three Fantomen covers. In early 2005 Olesen and Williams left the daily strip after Olesen retired, and artist Paul Ryan (who had worked on the Fantomen comic stories and had been a fan of the character since childhood) took over the daily strip. Ryan succeeded Nolan as artist on the Sunday strip in 2007.^[19] On July 31, 2011, Eduardo Barreto became the Sunday-page artist. He died after only a few months, and Ryan temporarily took over the Sunday page again on January 15, 2012 (which featured a memorial to Barreto). Ryan also did the following week's strip, before Terry Beatty became Barreto's replacement.

Internationally

United States

DC Comics The Phantom vol. 2, No. 2 (April 1989); cover art by Luke McDonnell

The Phantom has been published by a number of publishers in the United States. During the 1940s the strips were reprinted in Ace Comics, published by David McKay Publications. Harvey Comics published The Phantom during the 1950s. In 1962 Gold Key Comics took over, followed by King in 1966 and Charlton in 1969. By 1977, a total of 73 issues were published. Principal Phantom artists during this period were Bill Lignante, Don Newton, Jim Aparo and Pat Boyette.^[20]

DC Comics published a Phantom comic book from 1988 to 1990. The initial May–August 1988 miniseries was written by Peter David and drawn by Joe Orlando and Dennis Janke. A subsequent series, written by Mark Verheiden and drawn by Luke McDonnell, ran for 13 issues from March 1989 to March 1990.^[21] In the series, the Phantom fought racism, toxic dumping, hunger and modern-day piracy. According to Verheiden, the series ended as much because of licensing issues as falling sales.^[22] In the final panels of issue 13, the Phantom marries Diana.

In 1987, Marvel Comics published a four-issue miniseries written by Stan Lee and based on the Defenders of the Earth TV series. Another three-issue Marvel miniseries, The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks (February - April 1995) followed which was written and drawn by David de Vries and Glenn Lumsden; it featured the 22nd Phantom with an updated, high-tech costume. Marvel later released a four-part miniseries (May – August 1995), pencilled by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko, based on the Phantom 2040 TV series.^[23] One issue featured a pin-up by the original two Spider-Man signature artists, Ditko and John Romita, Sr.

Moonstone Books' The Phantom #12 cover, by Joe Prado

Moonstone Books published Phantom graphic novels beginning in 2002. Five books, written by Tom DeFalco, Ben Raab and Ron Goulart, were published. In 2003, Moonstone introduced a Phantom comic-book series written by Raab, Rafael Nieves and Chuck Dixon, and drawn by Pat Quinn, Jerry DeCaire, Nick Derington, Rich Burchett, and EricJ. After 11 issues Mike Bullock took over the scripting, with Gabriel Rearte and Carlos Magno creating the artwork before Silvestre Szilagyi became the regular artist in 2007. Bullock's stories often feature topical issues, based on actual African conflicts. In a 2007 three-part story arc, "Invisible Children", the Phantom fights a fictional warlord called "Him" (loosely based on Joseph Kony).^[24]

In 2006 Moonstone published a retcon of the Phantom's origin, "Legacy", by Raab and Quinn. Three years later the company reintroduced the series as The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks, beginning with issue 0 (a retelling of the first Phantom's origin). The aim was to make the comic darker, grittier and more realistic, similar to the 1930s stories by Lee Falk and Ray Moore. It updated the Phantom, giving him modern accessories, and introduced a number of supporting characters and villains. In the series, the Phantom fights reality-based enemies such as modern terrorists, organ smugglers and Somali pirates.^[25]

Dynamite Entertainment introduced a monthly comic-book series, The Last Phantom, in August 2010.^[26] The series was written by Scott Beatty and drawn by Eduardo Ferigato, with covers painted by Alex Ross.^[27]

In 2013 the Phantom appeared in Dynamite's five-issue miniseries, Kings Watch. In the series, written by Jeff Parker and drawn by Marc Laming, the Phantom joins Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician to fight Ming the Merciless and prevent his attempt to take over the planet.^[28]

In 2014 Hermes Press announced that it would publish a Phantom comic-book miniseries with new content, written by Peter David and illustrated by Sal Velluto,^[29] scheduled for publication in November 2014.^[29] It debuted October 31, 2014.^[30] For Free Comic Book Day 2015, Hermes published a Phantom comic book with art by Bill Lignante and samples of the new miniseries^[31]

Nordic region

Sweden's Fantomen #8 (2003); cover art by Hans Lindahl

Egmont Publications has published original Phantom stories in a fortnightly Phantom comic book in Sweden as Fantomen, in Norway as Fantomet and in Finland as Mustanaamio (Black Mask). The first issue of Fantomen was dated October 1950, and over 1,600 issues have been published. The first story created originally for Fantomen was published in 1963, and there are a total of over 900 Fantomen stories. The average Fantomen story is over 30 pages, compared to 20-24 pages for most American comics. Artists and writers who have created stories for Fantomen include Dick Giordano, Donne Avenell, Heiner Bade, David Bishop, Georges Bess, Jaime Vallvé, Joan Boix, Tony DePaul, Ulf Granberg, Ben Raab, Rolf Gohs, Scott Goodall, Eirik Ildahl, Kari Leppänen, Hans Lindahl, Janne Lundström, Cesar Spadari, Bob McLeod, Jean-Yves Mitton, Lennart Moberg, Claes Reimerthi, Paul Ryan, Alex Saviuk, Graham Nolan, Romano Felmang and Norman Worker, and they have been nicknamed "Team Fantomen".^[32] The team have begun experimenting with the character and his surroundings, with Singh Brotherhood member Sandal Singh taking over as President of Bengalla^[33] and the Phantom and Diana having marriage problems.^[34]

Australia

In Australia, the Australian Woman's Mirror began publishing the strip in 1936 and Frew Publications has published a fortnightly Phantom comic book since 1948, celebrating 60 years of uninterrupted publication in September 2008.^[35] Although Frew's comic book primarily contains reprints from the newspaper strips, Fantomen (translated into English) and other Phantom comic books, it has occasionally included original stories drawn by Australian artists such as Keith Chatto. The editor-in-chief was Jim Shepherd until his death. Frew's The Phantom is the longest-running comic-book series with the character in the world,^[36] and Australia's bestselling comic book. ^{[37] [38] [39]} Frew Phantom comics appear in a number of Sydney Royal Easter Show, Melbourne Show and Perth Royal Show showbags.^[40]

New Zealand

King Features sold The Phantom to a number of New Zealand newspapers, included The New Zealand Herald. The Phantom also appeared in a successful comic from the Wellington-based Feature Publications during the 1950s. ^[41] The Frew comics are also available in New Zealand.

India

In India, The Phantom first appeared in The Illustrated Weekly of India in the 1950s. In 1964, the Indian publisher Indrajal Comics began publishing a Phantom comic book in English. ^[42][43] Later Indrajal would also publish The Phantom in several Indian languages.^[42] Over the years, other Indian publishers have printed Phantom comic books, the most prominent being Diamond Comics, Euro Books (formerly Egmont Imagination India), and Rani Comics. ^[44] The Telugu regional daily Eenadu published translated versions of Phantom comics during the early days of it's sunday supplements.

Other countries

Italian publisher Fratelli Spada produced original Phantom stories for their L'Uomo Mascherato (The Masked Man) series of comic books during the 1960s and 1970s.^[45] Contributing artists included Raul Buzzelli, Mario Caria, Umberto Sammarini ("Usam"), Germano Ferri, Senio Pratesi, Angelo R. Todaro, Mario Caria and Romano Felmang. Ferri, Usam, Felmang and Caria later worked for Fantomen. Brazilian publisher RGE and German publisher Bastei produced original Phantom stories for their comic books; in Brazil, the Phantom is known as o Fantasma.^[46]

In 1939, the Phantom appeared in the second story of the Yugoslav comic Zigomar, "Zigomar versus the Phantom", as an opponent and then an ally of the title character.^[47] In South Africa, The Phantom ran in Afrikaans newspapers as Die Skim.^[48][49]

Reprints

The entire run of the Phantom newspaper strip was reprinted in Australia by Frew Publications, and edited versions of most stories have been published in the Scandinavian Phantom comics. In the United States, the following Phantom stories (written by Lee Falk) have been reprinted by Nostalgia Press (NP), Pacific Comics Club (PCC) or Comics Revue (CR):

• "The Sky Band", Ray Moore, 9 November 1936, CR
• "The Diamond Hunters", Ray Moore, 12 April 1937, PCC
• "Little Tommy", Ray Moore, 20 September 1937, PCC
• "The Prisoner of the Himalayas", Ray Moore, 7 February 1938, NP
• "Adventure in Algiers", Ray Moore, 20 June 1938, CR
• "The Shark's Nest", Ray Moore, 25 July 1938, PCC
• "Fishers of Pearls", Ray Moore, 7 November 1938, CR
• "The Slave Traders", Ray Moore, 30 January 1939, CR
• "The Mysterious Girl", Ray Moore, 8 May 1939, CR
• "The Golden Circle", Ray Moore, 4 September 1939, PCC
• "The Seahorse", Ray Moore, 22 January 1940, PCC
• "The Game of Alvar", Ray Moore, 29 July 1940, PCC
• "Diana Aviatrix", Ray Moore, 16 December 1940, PCC
• "The Phantom's Treasure", Ray Moore, 14 July 1941, PCC
• "The Phantom Goes to War", Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy, 2 February 1942, PCC
• "The Slave Markets of Mucar", Sy Barry, 21 August 1961, CR

Photo of Phantom on shield

In its October 2009 issue, Comics Revue began reprinting the Sunday story "The Return of the Sky Band" in color.

As of May 2015, Hermes Press has reprinted eight volumes of Phantom dailies and three volumes of Phantom Sundays, with more planned.^[50] In 2011 Hermes began reprinting the Gold Key and King Phantom comics side by side.^[51] The following year, it began reprinting the Charlton comic books.^[52]

Tribal pop art

During World War II, U.S. Soldiers received care packages containing comics. The soldiers stationed in Papua New Guinea shared these comics with natives there, and the Phantom became extremely popular among the tribes. The Papuan people who could read English would read the stories and share the images with others. The character's image is often painted on ceremonial shields or alongside other tribal art.^[53] This is sometimes referred to as "tribal pop art."^[54]

References

External links

• The Phantom at the Internet Movie Database