Phantom# R-06
1973
King/Charlton Comics
Cover: Sy Barry/ Bill Lignante
Script: Uncredited (original script by Pat Fortunado)
Pencils/Inks: Bill Lignante
According to the GCD (Grand Comic Book Database) :
"The King Comics Reading Library were previously published stories but re-writtten to be accessible to younger readers or readers with limited reading skills. Giveaway to schools. Printed by Charlton, produced by King Comics." - Sort of the same principle as Spidey Super Stories.
This story was reprinted from Phantom #20 (King), 1966. The dialog has been greatly simplified and, in some cases, footnotes define "big" words for you.
So, sit back, regress to a third-grade reading level and enjoy "The Adventures of the Girl Phantom".
I don't know how much the dialog was changed, but the idea that The 21st Phantom's great-aunt fought crime in a world with airplanes and cars seems a little anachronistic. But hey, the puzzles and the fantastic house ad on the back make it all worth while.
>> "Cover: Sy Barry?"
ReplyDeleteThe Phantom on hero sure looks like Barry, but the female Phantom on the brown horse is Lignante... I would say we have a composite cover here, ie. art from both, stitched together. - Anthony
Dad Who Walks: I would say you are right on the money. The GCD lists the cover credit as "Sy Barry?", but not only is the Girl Phantom in the Lignante style, she's cut off right above The Phantom's elbow, suggesting that this cover was a paste-up. Nice catch!
ReplyDeleteYep, I agree, that is sure a Lignante no-nonsense-noble Phantom on cover! I liked this comic a great deal and found the fact that it was geard (particularily in the script) for a young audiance very cool. That is much harder to do well than many think. The story was thrilling, the art had the simple shapes (still well done) that appeal to the young without being simplistic, and the character of the girl Phantom was very strong. She even had her own animal sidekick (a big cat) that I thought very clever. I like. I like. -- Mykal
ReplyDeletei have like 6 of these... does anyone know mow much there worth if to sell?
ReplyDeleteI had both #20 and #30 when they were new. I remembered that Charlton had an issue with Julie, but I'd forgotten that they changed her from a brunette to blond. I don't see any huge changes in the dialog, but the comics were probably written at a 3rd-4th grade level to begin with. (That is not a criticism; most comic book fans at that time were 8-12 years old.) IIRC, in #20, after the villains go over the waterfall, she originally also said something like, "It is as if fate intervened to protect the secret of the Skull Cave." But my memory could be playing tricks after 40+ years. I may even have it mixed up with a Batman story where a villain accidentally got killed after discovering the location of the Batcave.
ReplyDeleteAs for the price, any comic is basically worth whatever the buyer is willing and able to pay for it.
ReplyDeleteThe original cover for #20 showed Julie judo-tossing a bad guy, and a caption that said something like, "In this issue, the story of the girl Phantom!" I don't know who the artist was, but, IIRC, it looked the same as the interior art.
ReplyDeleteHi,congratulations on the site.
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