The Ghost Who Blogs

New Lee Falk book

2011-09-13T17:12:00.001-04:00

On April 28th,2011 Phantom and Mandrake the Magician creator LEE FALK would have been 100 years old. To celebrate his centennial, the Scandinavian Chapter of the Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorers club (with worldwide assist) have put together a tribute book, entitled LEE FALK – STORYTELLER.

The 348(!) page book collects interviews with Falk, pieces of his own writings (short stories, excerpts from play and comic scripts etc), articles about him and his creations, and memorials from family and friends.

The Book will be released at the Gothenburg Book Fair on September 23rd and is available in TWO versions: Swedish and English.

More information can be found here:
http://latestphantomnews.blogspot.com/2011/09/lee-falk-storyteller.html

To order the book or request more information, send an e-mail to boken@schapter.org

Note: If you order and pay before the fair, you will get the book for the special introduction price it's sold for at the fair (200 SEK)!

Happy Centennial, Lee Falk!

2011-04-28T08:52:00.003-04:00

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Phantom creator Lee Falk's birth.

The Scandinavian Chapter of the Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorer’s Club have published a book, commemorating the event. Details can be found at

Thanks to Andreas Eriksson and Pidde Andersson for giving me the "heads up".

Random Phantom Panel #14

2011-02-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

Random Phantom Panel #13

2011-01-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Random Phantom Panel #12

2011-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Random Phantom Panel #11

2011-01-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

Random Phantom Panel #10

2011-01-25T08:00:00.001-05:00

Random Phantom Panel #9

2011-01-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Maybe Bengali could use a few more cell towers?

A Swedish Perspective on the Australian DVD of a Canadian-Made American Phantom for TV...

2011-01-22T19:48:00.006-05:00

Guest Blogger and Jungle Patrolman Pidde Andersson has provided us with this fabulous review of SyFy's The Phantom TV Movie:

About twenty years ago, I was talking to my friend, the late Fantomen editor Mats Jönsson, who for some reason asked me if I was the one who had suggested doing a Frank Miller style revamp of The Phantom. No, it wasn’t me -- but it could have been, and I had been thinking about suggesting writing one. However, Mats said they weren’t the slightest bit interested in that, you can’t do something like that with a character like The Phantom.

But then just a couple of years later, Team Fantomen -- headed by writer Claes Reimerthi -- did an ill-fated revamp anyway. They did their best to modernize the comic, both storywise and the way it’s told. The readers didn’t appreciate the effort, though, and Fantomen was back to normal within no time.

This year it’s 35 years since I started reading Fantomen. I still like the character but I can’t say I’m a very faithful reader. Last year I didn’t buy one single issue of the book. Still, I leaf through every new issue when stopping by the comics rack in supermarkets and at tobacconists. That book meant a lot to me growing up, that character meant a lot to me. He’s part of my life.

Like most Phantom fans -- at least the Scandinavian ones who know who the guy is -- I got rather upset when I the other year saw the concept art for the then upcoming Phantom mini-series from Syfy, and when I read the storyline. It seemed to be a re-imagination in which they’ve altered just about everything. Why bother? Why not just create a new character if they’re going to change everything that is The Phantom?

I like the Phantom movie from 1996 starring Billy Zane. It’s a bit sloppy and the Phantom of that movie isn’t really my Phantom -- but it’s still the Phantom, sporting his tights and mask, jazzing around the jungle along with Hero and Devil, and punching bad guys with his skull ring. Heck, I even like the Phantom of the fun 1940s serial! But this new one from Syfy seemed to be absolutely awful!

Then the series aired, if not here in Sweden, and was released on DVD in Australia -- and it got surprisingly good reviews. Several hardcore Phantom fans claimed it was good. No, that just can’t be -- or can it?

Now I’ve seen this 2009 Canadian production, directed by Paolo Barzman, veteran of lots of Canadian TV shows like “Highlander”, “Largo Winch”, “Relic Hunter” and “The Dead Zone”. And you know what? This two-part, three hour series is actually pretty damn good!

Ryan Carnes is 24-year-old Chris Moore, a daredevil and hothead, living in New York with his foster parents, when he’s one day approached by the mysterious Abel Vandermaark (Jean Marchant, who kind of looks like Ghandi’s evil brother). It turns out that Chris Moore really is Kit Walker, son of Diana Palmer and, uh, Kit Walker, and that he’s supposed to become the 22nd Phantom.

Chris thinks that’s bullshit, he’s more interested in cute paramedic Renny (Cameron Goodman), but when the Singh Brotherhood strikes and kills Chris’s foster parents, the poor guy has no choice but following Abel to a mysterious island that in this version of the story is called Bengalla (and not Bengali or Bangalla). There he’s lead to the Skull Cave, which is quite a nifty place, and he’s introduced to Guran, who’s as far from a fat little African man you can get -- this Guran is a tall, gorgeous brunette played by Sandrine Holt.

It turns out that the Phantom has a whole team working for him. This Phantom is some kind of superhero version of James Bond. Chris Moore accepts to become Kit Walker after having read the journals of his forefathers, but he’s still just an immature kid who needs training before he can don the costume, so Kit practices target shooting and is forced to run around half-naked in the woods. And when he’s ready, he refuses to put on the Phantom costume, which he finds silly. Fortunately, one of the team has developed a prototype of a new, bulletproof costume, which comes in handy when it’s time to fight Rhatib Singh (Cas Anvar) and the Singh Brotherhood.

You see, the Singh fellas, along with mad scientist Dr. Bella Lithia (Isabella Rossellini looking unusually creepy) have a sinister plan. Inspired by the pilot episode of the short-lived 1970s Spider-Man series starring Nicholas Hammond, or that episode of “The Persuaders”, or that Charles Bronson movie “Telefon”, they have programmed a bunch of people to commit murders when they’re triggered by a phone call. So, the Phantom goes to work along with his high tech team...

Syfy’s “The Phantom” is basically a combination of our beloved Ghost Who Walks and “Alias”; the great Jennifer Garner spy show. And there’s much to appreciate here -- but let me first mention what I didn’t like about this mini.

The Phantom works alone. He’s his own boss. If he needs help, he maybe contacts the Jungle Patrol or some friend, but he really shouldn’t be part of a team.

Ryan Carnes isn’t a very fun actor and the guy’s way too boyish for the part. He isn’t very well built and he appears to be rather short. And he’s never Mr. Walker. He still shows his eyes after having become the Phantom, and he wears what looks like a silly purple Smurf hat. Not good.

The old, classic Phantom costume might look ridiculous if worn in real life, but the new uniform isn’t much of an improvement. It actually looks like … I dunno … Judge Dredd’s pajamas? And Carnes is too tiny to look cool and threatening wearing it.

...And this Phantom wears the skull ring on the wrong finger; on the ring finger of the right hand (okay, so did Ray Moore’s Phantom in the first few strips), and none of the bad guys get punched on the chin and skull marked. They don’t even mention this important part of the Phantom lore.

But otherwise, some of the ideas in this series should have been adopted for at least Team Fantomen’s version a long tome ago to modernize the character.

The skull cave is furnished like a real home. It has electricity, antique furniture, a computer with Internet, and everything the modern man needs.

I really liked that the Singh Brotherhood is a well-known corporation nobody knows really is a crime syndicate; they’re right out of a Bond movie.

I liked that this Kit Walker actually had to go through a “Phantom training school” before he puts the costume on, most other superheroes just don a costume and immediately know how to fight crime.

The origin of the Phantom is told in a short animation, which I found pretty neat, and even though the makers of this show has updated the character and altered quite a lot, there are quite a few references to the familiar Phantom we all know and love.

Slight spoiler: I’ve no idea if there ever will be a series or at least another TV-movie, but this mini builds up to a continuation, since it ends with one of the good guys becoming the new leader of the Singh Brotherhood. End of spoiler.

“The Phantom” is surprisingly gory, I thought it would be more family oriented. Both episodes tend to become a tad draggy, but as a whole I found this mini-series very entertaining. It’s not really The Phantom, but it’s a good action show with a decent story and, as mentioned, several great ideas.

Pidde Andersson

ATTENTION JUNGLE PATROL!

2011-01-09T14:35:00.002-05:00

I just received a Monkey Mail from a very talented reader, a Mr. John Picha :

Hello

my name is john picha. i recently discovered your falkonthewildside blog and
have enjoyed it very much. in fact, i used a lot of the reference found on your
site to build a 3d model of our favorite jungle hero and upload it to youtube.
you can see it here if you're curious.

if you'd like to add the video to the falkonthewildside collection, please feel
free to embed it.

keep up the great work and thanks for the time and effort you put into your
site!

john picha

Well, John, that's just about the niftiest thing I've seen in a long time! I wish there was a Phantom Video game out now that featured your Phantom.

Thanks for sending this in.

Random Phantom Panel #8

2010-10-21T09:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks, Toots. You're not so bad yourself!

Random Phantom Panel #7

2010-10-19T19:52:00.000-04:00

And THIS is why we needed a Health Care Reform bill!

Random Phantom Panel #6

2010-10-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Wait, is THIS what he was doing with that tiger in Random Panel #2?

Random Phantom Panel #5

2010-10-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

I think this one speaks for itself.

Random Phantom Panel #4

2010-10-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Take THAT, Batcave!

Phantom #43- Charlton, Part Two

2010-10-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Phantom#43
April 1971
Charlton Comics
Cover: Pat Boyette
Script: ?
Pencils/Inks: Pat Boyette

"Paid in Full" is the second of our "Complete Action Jungle Adventures" as promised on the cover. I don't care HOW English you are, NO-ONE wears a bowler hat and ascot into the Bengali jungle unless they're John Steed.

This plot struck me as a little bit reminiscent of a (probably better) Uncle Scrooge plot.

Random Phantom Panel #3

2010-10-08T08:00:00.003-04:00

The Ghost Who Swims?

Happy Anniversary Fantomen !

2010-10-07T12:00:00.002-04:00

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Fantomen, Sweden's Phantom comic. I know Nancy and Sluggo are also still popular in Sweden, but I have my doubts about the staying power of Hopalong Cassidy and Knockout Charlie.

You will notice that The Ghost Who Walks is attired in the dark blue color he wears in Northwestern Europe to this day. His trunks, however are a decidedly American baby blue and black stripe, unlike his current red and black ones.

Thanks to Pidde for reminding me of this important event and you should all be sure to check out the wonderful commemorative book at:

http://www.schapter.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A5n_lila_v%C3%A5lnad_till_bl%C3%A5gul_hj%C3%A4lte

Random Phantom Panel #2

2010-10-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

The Ghost Who... SAY! Just What IS He Doing To That Tiger !?

Random Phantom Panel #1

2010-10-06T09:30:00.001-04:00

The Ghost Who Enjoys Delivering a Good, Sound Spanking?

Phantom #43- Charlton, Part One

2010-10-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

Phantom#43
April 1971
Charlton Comics
Cover: Pat Boyette
Script: ?
Pencils/Inks: Pat Boyette

In the early 1970's, Charlton seemed to have a penchant for packaging 2-3 short Phantom stories per issue. Some covers, like the one above, use this as a selling point-promising "3 Complete Action Jungle Adventures" That comes out to a nickel per story, for you thrifty Phans at home!

Here, from 1971, we present "Test of an Idol"

Funny how Dianna never even crossed The Phantom's mind... Maybe he should work on being The Ghost Who Walks The Line!

The Ghost Who Feels Naked...

2010-10-04T19:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, my beloved Skull Ring was destroyed. I had just gotten it stretched to the point where it would fit (almost) comfortably on the middle finger of my right hand. I had been wearing it nearly every day for the last 3 or 4 months. It had become a regular part of my daily attire.

And then, yesterday it happened. It must have fallen off of the shelf by my printer and been rolled over by the wheels of my desk chair. One side was bent all the way up under the face of the ring. I tried in vain to stretch it back with a pair of needle-nose pliers, but alas it snapped!

I feel like my right hand is uncharacteristically light and bare.

Oh, well, it's not like they're rare or anything.

Still, it was my first one, and I miss it.

The Living Legend- Phantom #30- Charlton

2010-10-01T20:59:00.003-04:00

And, just like that, a four-year degree in Liberal Arts is cast aside in favor of blind superstition. Great job, O' Ghost Who Walks!

Phantom #30- Charlton

2010-09-28T08:00:00.001-04:00

Phantom#30
February 1969
Charlton Comics
Cover: Frank McLaughlin
Script: ?
Pencils/Inks: ????

Charlton comics tosses its hat into the ring with Phantom #30, picking up from right where King Comics left off. Except it's not. See, King's last issue was #28 which begs the question "Where's #29?" Perhaps it still lurks somewhere in the treasure rooms of the Skull Cave, waiting to be discovered.

At any rate, they're off to a great start with a story that features pirates, Girl Phantom and the ubiquitous tiger attack.

Enjoy!

Sweden Celebrates 60 years of Phantom!

2010-09-26T08:00:00.004-04:00

Yes, yes, we all know that The Phantom turned 60 back in 1996. But his publishing history in Sweden- a great bastion of Phantom Fandom- has just reached it's 60th anniversary and so the The Scandinavian Chapter of the Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorers Club has produced a commemorative book "From Purple Ghost to Blue-Yellow Hero".

Highlights of this book (which I haven't seen, nor did I receive an advance copy for review purposes-what's up with THAT ?) include a beautiful cover (pictured above) by Phantom fan fave and all-around nice guy Sal Velluto as well as a fascinating tale of his childhood connection to The Phantom, and commentary by such diverse contributors as Phantom great Romano "Roy" Felmang:

Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt:

And journalist,film-critic, movie producer, actor and comics nerd-Pidde Andersson.

I was assured by Andreas Eriksson (Who graciously provided me with the above sneak-peek excepts of the book) that though this book is primarily in Swedish, it contains at least 10% English-language content (which he also stated was 10% more than any previously-published Swedish book about The Phantom)

A detailed list of contents (aimed at curious international collectors) can be found here:

http://www.schapter.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A5n_lila_v%C3%A5lnad_till_bl%C3%A5gul_hj%C3%A4lte

International collectors who are interested in this book can send an inquiry to:
boken@schapter.org

To tie in with the release of this exciting new tome, I briefly interviewed two of the book's contributors, cover artist Sal Velluto and Pidde Andersson who contributed an essay. An essay which I previously published here.

As an added bonus, I'm also including a previously unpublished interview with Felmang.

First up, Sal Velluto:

GWB: So, out of all the living artists to portray The Phantom, you were the one chosen to do the art for the cover of this book. You must have been very excited.

Sal: I resisted the idea of being the cover artist. I believed, and still believe, there are other artists who are more qualified than me to represent 60 years of Fantomen in Sweden. The fans know who I'm talking about.

GWB: How did this come about?

Sal: The folks from The Scandinavian Chapter asked me to contribute an interview and some artwork. They ended up liking the artwork enough to choose it for the cover.

GWB: Were there any special requests from the publishers or were you pretty much free to do your own thing?

Sal: Since my contribution was offered on a pro-bono basis, I was given the freedom to draw whatever I wanted. I like freedom....

GWB: Apart from the cover, can we expect to see any further Sal Velluto art in this book?

Sal: There will be an exclusive interview. Among other things I explain the mysterious circumstances that led me to The Phantom...

GWB: Were you asked to and/or did you contribute, any commentary to the book itself.

Sal: No. I think they ended up with too much material anyway.

GWB: Any plans to do the 100th Anniversary cover?

Sal: If I'm still around, on February 17, 2036 (that's when The Phantom will celebrate his 100th birthday) I'll lobby for a cover collage of the best covers from the past 100 years.

Next up, pop culture geek and friend of this blog, Pidde Andersson:

GWB: Who approached you about contributing to this book and how did you become involved with this project?

Pidde: One of the guys behind the book, Arne Olin, runs a comic book store here in Malmö. I read in a newspaper that Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt had written a piece for an upcoming book about the Phantom, and I mentioned this to Arne. He simply asked me if I'd like to contribute as well.

GWB: Were there any special requests from the publishers or were you pretty much free to do your own thing?

Pidde: I had already written a rather nostalgic article about the cover art of Fantomen in the 1970s on my blog, which in turn was inspired by a thing I wrote for Sal Velluto's blog, and this article was perfect for the book. I reworked it a little before sending it to them.

GWB: What was your connection to The Phantom, growing up?

Pidde: The Phantom, and even more so the Swedish comic book than the character, meant a lot to me. The Phantom stories themselves were most of the time thrilling, I was fascinated by the character's history and world, and many of the adventures - especially the ones produced by Semic - had this heavy, mysterious atmosphere. Dark, lots of shadows - things that disappeared when they started publishing in color. But the thing with the Swedish book, was that they kind of respected the readers. The book offered lots of info about the people making the comics, about the inspirations for the adventures and to on. And they have always crammed the book with wonderful back up comics - they still do. Blueberry, The Spirit, Bernhard Prince, Johnny Hazard, the list goes on and on and on... Fantomen made me interested in comics as a medium and art form, as did Knasen; the Beetle Bailey book, which always featured interviews with- and articles about the cartoonists.

GWB: You've said before that the Swedish Comics scene is on shaky ground, yet The Phantom has stayed in continuous publication for six decades. What do you think is the key to The Phantom's enduring success in Sweden?

Pidde: There are a couple of titles that "have always been around"; they are considered classic titles, so I guess Egmont do their best to keep them alive. I'm not sure who reads these titles, maybe it's the ones who "have always bought them". Meaning, adult, rather old people. I don't know who reads Fantomen today - probably very young kids and their 40+ parents, while teens and 20-somethings don't read comics at all, or stick to alternative stuff. Egmont publishes several thick, hardcover collections with popular comics; the complete Beetle Bailey and so on, and these expensive books are clearly aimed at middle-aged people who read the comics while growing up.

GWB: The Phantom is really quite different in Scandinavia than he is in the U.S.. Would you say that Sweden has a sort of proprietary feeling about the character?

Pidde: Yeah, I think we do. Maybe he's like the Statue of Liberty; nobody cares about the French, small one in Paris, when the Americans have a much bigger and cooler one in New York. And of course, everybody knows who The Phantom is over here, everybody can refer to the character, he's part of the Swedish heritage. Okay, I'm not sure about young kids, of course. Kids today don't think of Batman and Spider-Man as comic book characters, but movie heroes.

GWB: I know that sometimes Scandinavian comics fans don't care for American Phantom comics, even the ones published during Lee Falk's lifetime. Why do you think that is?

Pidde: Well, very few of them have been published over here, almost none. I, as a fan, have of course bought some of the different American incarnations, as have other fans, and they just didn't feel right. I always get the impression the people behind them don't really know the character and his world. Sometimes the art was a bit odd, not different in a cool way, like when a fan fave takes over a Marvel or DC title. Americans also seem to think they need to change the character whenever the title is revived; the old, beloved version won't do. However, since Fantomen is published every other week, 26 issues a year, lots and lots and lots of awful episodes have been produced by Semic/Egmont.

GWB: Do you expect The Phantom to see a 100th anniversary?

Pidde: Short answer: No. Will people read any comic books, printed on paper, at all in 40 years?

GWB: Thanks for your time on this.

Pidde: My pleasure.

And last, but by no means least, My much awaited (by me, anyway) interview with Felmang:

GWB:When and how did you first become interested in art?

Felmang: Since I was a child (5 or 6 years) I spent the great part of my time drawing, in the rest, as many other children I was playing with my two friends (girls of course) Marisa and Floriana.

GWB: Were you a fan of The Phantom before you became a Phantom artist?
Felmang: 2- Mainly not. Since 7 years old I was a fervent reader of the comic art, something of Walt Disney, and especially Italian comics (called strips) with kids as main characters as example Tony Boy, Il Piccolo Sceriffo, Sciuscià (coming from the world Shoe shine), Nat of Santa Cruz, Forza John! and also comic book like Pecos Bill and Pantera Bionda (a sort of Sheena made in Italy). At ten years old I discovered the weekly magazine Intrepido and continued to collect it until the moment I start to cooperate as artist with the same magazine(1970: 750000/ 850000 copies a week,a real record!).I became a Phantom fan at 22 years in the F.lli Spada era, reading the very first adventures drawn by Raymond Moore and the new by Sy Barry.

GWB: Do you prefer The Phantom in Red, Blue or Purple?

Felmang: I'm Italian and of course always I saw the Phantom in red, probably is easy to discover him if hidden in the Jungle, but red is a good color for this character, red put him always in evidence respect the other characters of the strip.

GWB: One morning at the end of 1963 I noticed issue 51 of Il Vascello Mandrake at the newsstand. It was the Un mondo scomparso made by the Italian artist Domenico Mirabella. I bought it and found that Fratelli Spada Publications were produced in Rome.

Felmang: I considered the possibility of pursuing seriously a cartoonist's career. After telephoning the next day after, with my bronze face (as I had at the time) I went to via Enea 77, offices of the Fratelli Spada press, and presented myself as an illustrator of comics, with zero experience.

Daniela, a beautiful girl (niece of mr.Giuseppe Spada) working there in the redaction, gave me a issue of L'Uomo Mascherato from the American Adventures Series. The issue was 60 Le mani sull'isola (Sy Barry's The Island of the Dogs) - saying:

This is a recent story of the Phantom from the United States; the production is syndicated, but it's not enough to cover our weekly requirement. For this reason we need illustrators who imitate Sy Barry, the leading artist of the American comic-strips. Make us a couple of trial panels in this style!

During the following days I tried several times to draw The Phantom of Sy Barry, but the results were very poor. I could not confront such a demanding character tout de suite and succeed in imitating an artist, whom I considered the best at that time. So I had to practice and wait for a later opportunity.

In 1966, after my military service, the editor of F.lli Spada commissioned me I my first 8 pages Phantom story :Kaniska. He accepted the finished story which was also lettered but never published. I made my debut as a Phantom artist soon after, drawing a full length story called I Ladri della tomba del Gran Re . Some more Phantom stories in 1997 and various covers for Fratelli Spada and Editions des Remparts for Mandrake, The Phantom, Rip Kirby and Secret Agent.

GWB: Who (besides yourself) is your favorite Phantom artist?

Felmang: My favourite Phantom artist, except Sy Barry is without any doubt Ferri, he is really the best. I’m one of his fan since the first time I saw a Ph-comic drawn by him: Le anime di pietra. His Phantom comics drawn for F.lli Spada untill 1971 , about 40 adventures, are the best produced by this company. He left the comic field around the year 1971/72 for doing another job.

When in 1991 the Gammelredax asked me to produce more Phantom pages I called him. He was not interested to come back to the comic word and said no. But I insisted a lot and at the end he accepted to cooperate with me after about twenty years far away from the comics world. I am proud to had involved him to cooperate with me in many PH-episodes.

GWB: Who has influenced you artistically?

Felmang: Sy Barry and Germano Ferri, of course.

GWB: What's your favorite comics project you've worked on?

Felmang: I’m human and of course imperfect, and was practically impossible to create a masterpiece of every episode I did. Furthermore I tryed to do my best every time, for this reason all the episodes are my favourite.

GWB: How do you feel about the current state of the comics industry? What, if anything, would you do to improve it?

Felmang: The comic industry of to day is very poor respect the 60’s and 70’s, it is only for an “elite” of readers and fans.

The comic industry of today is confused (please see the not professional Ph.strips in the first years after Sy Barry, and many American comic books of the same Phantom) it needs not only good artists, but also good scriptwriters with new great ideas, and this is not easier to achieve.

GWB: What advice would you give to an aspiring comics artist?

Felmang: I always suggest to the aspiring comic artists to (drop) sic this idea and start to think to another job.

Phantom #22-King, Part II

2010-09-20T20:27:00.004-04:00

Phantom#22
May 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Bill Harris
Pencils/Inks: Bill Lignante

This was supposed to be posted last Wednesday. Unfortunately, Life reared its ugly head and I now have to contribute 10 hours of Overtime each week from now until Christmas. Which is great financially, but certainly eats into my blog-time.

And now, the dramatic conclusion to "The Secret of Magic Mountain":

Phantom #22- King

2010-09-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

Phantom#22
May 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Bill Harris
Pencils/Inks: Bill Lignante

Folklore plays a very important role in Phantom stories and this one is no exception. Folklore is the source of the Phantom's power. It is the belief of the various indigenous peoples of Bengali that the Phantom is an immortal, a spirit in the flesh. It is because they believe this that he is able to keep the peace between the various tribes.

From time to time, someone (usually a disgruntled or power-mad witch doctor) tries to exploit the power of folklore to discredit and Usurp the Phantom's power over the hearts and minds of the local tribes. This is one of those stories. Here's part one of "The Secret of Magic Mountain"

Friday: Part Two.

Just Another Mandrake Monday- "Arsonist and Old Rags"

2010-09-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Phantom #22
May, 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Uncredited
Pencils/Inks: Bill Ziegler?

I was very pleased that this newly acquired Phantom purchase also included a Mandrake back-up. In this punchy little 4-pager, Mandrake and Lothar aid the Police and Fire Departments.

Enjoy "Arsonist and Old Rags".

Coming Attractions!!

2010-09-07T19:36:00.003-04:00

Your old pal, The Ghost Who Blogs, has scored some fresh, vintage Phantom. And that means, you'll have some more classic, Phantom action to look forward to:

First up, in issue #22, we have "The Secret of Magic Mountain" (not the amusement park). This one's a two-parter, so it's nearly book-length! But wait! It also includes a Mandrake back-up "Arsonist and Old Rags"... can a Mandrake Monday be far off?

Next up, we have The Phantom's Charlton debut, #30 (whatever happened to #29, I wonder?) with "The Secret of the Golden Ransom" (add one to the "Tiger" score) and "The Living Legend" plus selected short subjects.

Finally, we have #43 which promises "3 Complete Jungle Adventures" right on the cover! "Test of an Idol", "The Rain Stopper" and "Paid in Full".

I hope you're all as excited as I am to see the Ghost Who Blogs Cannot Die!

Dynamite Phantom Reviewed... Suspicions Confirmed!

2010-08-20T16:39:00.002-04:00

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2563

The Ghost Who Goes on Hiatus...

2010-06-16T11:39:00.002-04:00

ATTENTION JUINGLE PATROL!

I've got a lot on my plate these days, what with raising two kids and starting a new job, so I find myself strapped for time. Although I dearly love this blog, I find that I have less and less time to devote to my three and a half comics blogs these days, so I have to cut back.

Don't worry, The Ghost Who Blogs is not being retired! As soon as I get my hands on some new Gold Key, King or Charlton Phantoms (and I DO have a good lead on a few) , I'll post them for you. I just can't keep up the day-to-day phantom news and commentary I once provided. When/If I buy the Dynamite Phantom and Mandrake, I'll post a review.

Stay tuned, I will be back!

Sincerely,

The Ghost Who Blogs (aka Aaron Bias)

Phantom #25- King- Conclusion

2010-06-04T12:01:00.003-04:00

Phantom#25
September 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Giovanni Fiorentini (uncredited)
Pencils/Inks: Senio Pratesi (uncredited)

Here it is, the conclusion of "The Cold Fire Worshippers".

Phantom #25- King

2010-06-01T00:00:00.000-04:00

Phantom#25
September 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Giovanni Fiorentini (uncredited)
Pencils/Inks: Senio Pratesi (uncredited)

End of Part One.

Want To Own an Original Piece of Phantom Art?

2010-05-25T22:46:00.004-04:00

ATTENTION JUNGLE PATROL!

Right now, if you act quickly, you can commission your very own drawing by Team Fantomen artist Sal Velluto!

Visit Sal's blog "The Ghost Who Draws" for details. Sal lists his commission rates here.

Don't let this rare opportunity pass you by!

An Interview With Antonio Lemos

2010-05-24T00:00:00.002-04:00

Today, I am very privileged to bring you another interview with a Phantom creator- Mr. Antonio Lemos. Antonio has been the regular cover artist for Australia's FREW Comics' Phantom since 1993. He has dozens of Phantom covers to his credit. Antonio agreed to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to do a short, e-mail interview with me:

Ghost Who Blogs: When and how did you first become interested in art?

Antonio Lemos: I remember drawing since I was in primary school, in Uruguay, but I think it was only when I started high school that I contemplated "doing something about it". Paid tuition in any shape of form was out of the question; my mother, my six siblings and me were barely surviving ,so, no chance in hell of diverting any money I could make into pursuing artistic endeavours. It would even look very odd as no one in my family had any interest in art, and probably regarded my constant drawing as some sort of juvenile fancy that will certainly pass when the raw realities of life and its challenges, started to bite.

I travelled to the capital Montevideo before finishing high school and applied for an apprenticeship at a Naval school. I failed my first attempt, as I couldn’t complete the physical tests on the allocated time. But eventually I was admitted and thus my life as a sailor began. Little I knew it was going to last for …23 years!

It was during my time in the navy when I met a journalist from one of the largest newspaper in Uruguay, and was fortunate enough to be offered a spot in the same newspaper as a freelance illustrator. In between my trips with the navy and some long periods patrolling at sea, I continue to work in that capacity, and then started publishing a comic strip of my creation, called Rocco.

But all this time, although reading art books and copying other artists as we all do in the beginning, I tried to teach myself to draw and improve my technique to reach new levels in my job. Self taught? You bet.

GWB: Were you familiar with The Phantom when you lived in Uruguay? Were you a fan of The Phantom before you became a Phantom artist?
AL: I don’t remember being a Phantom fan when I lived in Uruguay. I was familiar with the character, sure, but not very fond of the artists doing it at the time.

GWB: What drew you to Australia?
AL: I reached an early peak in my naval career. And I knew that if I stayed in Uruguay I’ll eventually have to retire on an ever diminishing pension and I wanted to explore other options for me and my family’s sake. I found out that there was a Uruguayan guy in charge of a Spanish newspaper in Sydney, and I sent him a comic strip that we have done with Eduardo Barreto, whom you surely know from The Titans and Judge Parker. They published the strip for one year in the newspaper, and at the end of it sent me a work contract.

GWB: Do you prefer the Phantom in red, blue or purple?

AL: I am more familiar with the purple uniform. I think the blue looks good too, but again, to me the right colour is purple. They used it on the movie, so it might have been Lee’s favourite colour too.

GWB: How did you come to draw The Phantom professionally ?

AL: I met the man who was doing the lettering for The Phantom in 1993. He told me that the artist doing the covers had passed away, and prompted me to apply for the job. I did, and the rest, as they say, is history. As for doing it professionally, remember I had a number of years of work in newspapers and books, so by the time The Phantom came I was quite ready to meet the challenge.

GWB: Who is your favorite Phantom artist?

AL: No favourite Phantom artist. There are certain things that I admire in some and certain things that I admire in others. And artists from all kinds of mediums have influenced me, not just comic book artists. I try to be the best I can in every job, but I do not aim at duplicating the work of greats such as Felmang or Barry or my good friend Sal Velluto.

GWB: Do you know a lot of your fellow Phantom artists?
AL: I spent an evening with Felmang at his studio in Rome once, and I met Sy Barry here in Sydney a few years back. I corresponded with Lindhal in Sweden and stayed with other artists in Madrid but didn’t meet Carlos Cruz, as he lives somewhere in the east coast of Spain.

GWB: Favorite comic project?

AL: The next one.

GWB: Have you been approached by Dynamite Entertainment about doing any art for their newly-acquired Phantom comics?

AL: No, I have not been approached to do the Phantom outside Australia. There have been what could be regarded as opportunities but I have been a bit reluctant to act on them, as I do not want to live by deadlines again. I love travelling and there where a few places I wanted to see before my 70th birthday, and I did. Greece is the last one on my list, and God willing, I’ll be there in October this year.

GWB: How do you feel about the current state of the comic industry? What, if anything, would you do to improve it?

AL: I think that things changed dramatically since the Golden Era of comics in the fifties, but the genre will continue to exist, no matter what. It is evolving into something different, and the multitude of movies made with characters from comic books speaks by itself of the popularity of the medium. Artists will have to evolve, too, and move with the times, to accompany the metamorphosis.

GWB: What advice would you give to aspiring comic artists?
AL: The one I painfully learned by myself; practice, practice practice. Whether you are studying with the best in the business or battling it alone in the wilderness , nothing will take the place of discipline, observation and hard work. Don’t ever think that you have “arrived”; there is always something new to learn, and different ways to express what YOU feel.

GWB: What would you most like others to know about yourself?

AL: That I always try my best. Some might like the end results, some might think it’s awful. But I try to show that no one could be a harder critic than myself.

I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to Antonio for granting me this interview, and also to Jungle Patrolman Sal Velluto who graciously put me in touch with Mr. Lemos.

Antonio was also kind enough to send me a hand-picked gallery of his work for our enjoyment...

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 9 "The Fire Princess"

2010-05-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

Phantom was in danger, blah, blah, blah, escaped deathtrap, etc. Enjoy :

Curiouser and curiouser...

2010-05-21T14:11:00.002-04:00

Well, after that sock in the jaw, looks like Jimmy's going "home". Guess he won't be around when The Phantom shows up.

Meanwhile, good ol' Achmed introduces us to his own personal torturer.

Sinister Goings-on...

2010-05-20T11:30:00.000-04:00

Sorry it's been a while between posts, but The Ghost Who Blogs was on a brief vacation with his family (Yes, we had a lovely time-thanks for asking!)

Today we pick up where we left off last week. Prince Achmed reveals his true colors. Interestingly enough, that useless, wealthy playboy type, Jimmy Wells seems to have grown a backbone. Could he be the mysterious Phantom? Only time will tell...

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 8 "In Quest of the Keys"

2010-05-15T00:00:00.002-04:00

Falling down a well isn't enough to stop The Ghost Who Walks. Or is that The Ghost Who Treads Water Really Well?

Ambergris! That's the stuff they use to make perfume, isn't it?

2010-05-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going to interrupt our story here for the benefit of any readers who don't know what Ambergris is.

from Wikipedia (the sum total of ALL human knowledge):

Ambergris (Ambra grisea, Ambre gris, ambergrease, or grey amber) is a solid, waxy, flammable substance of a dull gray or blackish color produced in the digestive system of and regurgitated by sperm whales.

Freshly produced ambergris has a marine, fecal odor. However, as it ages, it acquires a sweet, earthy scent commonly likened to the fragrance of rubbing alcohol without the vaporous chemical astringency. The principal historical use of ambergris was as a fixative in perfumery, though it has now been largely displaced by synthetics.
Ambergris occurs as a biliary secretion of the intestines of the sperm whale, and can be found floating upon the sea, or in the sand near the coast. It is also sometimes found in the abdomens of whales. Because giant squids' beaks have been found embedded within lumps of ambergris, scientists have theorized that the whale's intestine produces the substance as a means of easing the passage of hard, sharp objects that the whale might have inadvertently eaten.

Ambergris is usually passed in the fecal matter. Ambergris that forms a mass too large to exit via the anus is expelled via the mouth, leading to the reputation of ambergris as primarily coming from whale vomit.^[1]

Ambergris can be found in the Atlantic Ocean; on the coasts of Brazil and Madagascar; and on the coast of Africa, of the East Indies, The Maldives, China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand and the Molucca islands. Most commercially collected ambergris comes from the Bahama Islands and Providence Island in the Caribbean.

Um... yuck?

Now, back to Diana and her treasure trove of stinky whale puke...

More Phantom, plus Moore's Phantom

2010-05-13T14:28:00.002-04:00

Today we have the debut of Ray Moore as the regular artist on The Phantom. Lee Falk realized that he was not going to be able to write Mandrake The Magician and The Phantom and also draw The Phantom. Falk decided to bring on artist Ray Moore, who had been working as an assistant on Mandrake.

Moore's art is moody and creepy and while not dissimilar to Falk's art, Moore would bring a new level of sophistication to the art which would remain a halmark of the strip until Moore's assistant, Wilson McCoy took over in the 1940's, putting his own, "cartoonier" stamp on The Phantom.

Now, on with our story.

Our story continues...

2010-05-12T16:47:00.001-04:00

We pick up today right where we left off. At this point, the strip is still being both written and drawn by Lee Falk. In tomorrow's post, we will see the first of the strips drawn by Ray Moore.

For Those Who Came In Late...

2010-05-11T11:26:00.004-04:00

I thought I'd treat everyone to THE original Phantom yarn. So, sit back and enjoy "The Story of the Singh Brotherhood" by Lee Falk, art by Lee Falk and Ray Moore.

All Right, Smart Guy! What Would YOU Do?

2010-05-08T20:57:00.002-04:00

I really hadn't wanted to get into this sort of thing. I mean, I'm a blogger, so I guess that means I'm sort of an opinion factory but, I really don't relish the idea of proposing my alternate approach, only to sound like an armchair quarterback.

But, then again, Hell, it's my blog and I have the floor, so to speak.

So,

IF I WERE IN CHARGE OF RE-LAUNCHING THE PHANTOM FOR A U.S. MARKET:

I would start at the beginning. I would re-tell the original "Story of the Singh Brotherhood" storyline from 1934. I haven't decided yet if I'd make it a period piece or make it modern day. There are distinct advantages to both.

If I made it modern, I'd obviously have to change all the stuff about ambergris to something else of value and interest (oil?) since using whale product is no longer in vogue.

I would, regardless of time-frame, reset the locale. Instead of Africa, I'd move us back to the Indian Ocean. Maybe combine Bengali with the original story's setting of the island of Luntok and call it "Bengali-Luntok" or something. Things there would have a distinct feeling of Southern Asia intermixed with Pacific Island cultures. Elements of both have persisited in modern day "Bangalla" even into the 80's and 90's.

From that storyline, I would let things take their course.

I would get King Features involved in a two-pronged marketing campaign, taking advantage of their vast, newspaper and internet news connections and really talk this re-launch up in advance.

The thrust of my publicity would resonate with the first half of the storyline (Which I would spread out over the first 12-24 issues)- Who IS The Phantom? I'd make the whole thing very mysterious and make it seem a lot more credible that Jimmy Wells could be the Phantom. Using benefit of hindsight, I'd weave the folklore part in a little earlier. Have more scenes of Singh operatives in NYC trembling with rumors that The Ghost Who Walks has followed them from the So. Pacific...

Well, you get the idea. Anyway, that's how I'd do it. Heck, KFS usually only licenses their properties to a comics publisher for 2 years at a time, maximum. Maybe I'll apply for the license next.

Well, I can dream, can't I?

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 7 "The Mystery Well"

2010-05-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Looks like the Phantom is about to get it from that shotgun booby trap the bad guys left...or is he??

A Sneak Peek at Dynamite's Phantom.- Follow-up

2010-05-07T10:05:00.005-04:00

I now feel moved to speak. However, my comments are too long and Blogger is having a brain fart. So here's my comments in a separate post.

Lysdexicus: The first thing I thought of when I saw this was "Predator". I am pretty sure that is just body paint, however and not blood.

Bengali Indrajal Comics: Yeah, I don't care much for the looks of it, either.

Pidde: Ha! "Lee Falk spinning in this grave" Classic.

Anonymous(whoever you are when you're at home): " People should not jumping and throwing stones before watching what is really in store. So far this image seems to want to touch heavily on the Supernatural aspect of the character, which is fair game, its one of the three main aspects of the Phantom as a heroic character."

Fair enough.

What has to be understood about the reactions Phans have to this sort of thing is this: Australia, New Zealand, India and Scandinavia take an almost proprietary interest in the Phantom. While the US has thousands of superhero comics, in the aforementioned places, the Phantom is THE hero. In Australia and New Zealand, most readers only consider Phantom stories written by Lee Falk as "official" and the rest is only okay if you can't get the real stuff. Sweden, Norway and Finland are a little looser about that, as they began writing their own direct-to-comics material a long time ago, but even there there is little deviation from Falk's formula (although the popular influence of espionage comics is pretty obvious- but I digress).

So, yeah, you go messin' around with how the Phantom looks or how the mantle is passed or where he lives and you get a pretty strong outcry from readers. "Alex Ross never deviated heavily when designing iconic characters like these"- well, no disrespect to Alex Ross, why would anyone bother to redesign The Phantom's costume? At all? It is what it is. It's a superhero costume. In fact, it's the prototype for the superhero costume! I cannot for the life of me understand people who approach superhero comics from the viewpoint that they would be better if they were more "realistic". To me, that's just asinine. It's like the people who made the Punisher movie with Dolph Lundgren. Stan Lee went down to see the filming and asked why the Punisher was wearing a biker outfit and didn't even have a skull on his shirt. He was told it was "Too cartoony". Who the F*** do these people think their audience IS?

Add to all of that the fact that Dynamite has already expressed a desire to change the locale to New York city. Hmm. Okay, I tell you what. I'm writing a new Superman series. I think it will be great, because Superman is a great character that's been around for years and millions of people love him worldwide. And I'm going to make him even better. I'm going to get rid of that cape. And I'm going to hire Simon Bisley to design a new costume. Maybe something in leather? Oh! And there are only so many stories you can do set in Metropolis, so I'm going to relocate the series setting to Dubai. Now, why wouldn't everyone want to read that?

Pidde, Sharp and Anonymous: as to the track record of American publishers-

I think the best run ever was still the Gold Key/King/Charlton run. And it lasted for 74 issues over 15 years. Maybe not 60 years, but pretty impressive for a comic book running congruent to a daily comic strip everybody was getting in the paper when people still read the paper! And why did it work? Because it was still recognizable as The Phantom. any changes to the character were homogeneous and happened naturally over time. You can't just force a new version of a character down the world's collective throat and expect it to say "thank you".

No disrespect to Moonstone, their Phantom wasn't a bad comic. It just wasn't all that "phantom-y". It was a joke in Sweden and Norway, from whom I heard time and time again that readers thought Moonstone's changes and new directions were both arrogant and puzzling. Didn't these people know there were still people publishing The Phantom?

Still Scandinavians and Aussies bought Moonstone's Phantom, just like they bought DC's Phantom and Marvel's Phantom. But only because they felt they had to to complete their collections.

FINAL WORD

"Think of this as the perhaps the "Dark Knight Returns" for the Phantom, with hopefully no pre teen sidekick and a murdering spree, since that would take it way far, and would be a character and writting FLAW, that got really little to do with his look."

I cannot calculate the damage done by that one Frank Miller mini-series in the time I have right now. But, I will say this-

If you want an American audience to like The Phantom, introduce them to The Phantom. Not a "this-year's-model, flavor-of-the-month version of the Phantom drummed up by whatever creative team brought in the biggest sales last quarter. If people like the Phantom, it's because he's the Phantom, not because he's a Phantom you went out of your way to re-engineer for maximum sales return.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Make Your Own Phantom Comic!

2010-05-05T09:30:00.005-04:00

I recently obtained this little gem (Thanks, Jermayn) which was included with FREW #1094. FREW Publisher Jim Shepherd teamed up with Glenn Ford (The Illustrator, not the country-western singer and "True Grit" co-star) to produce this nifty booklet about how to write and draw the Phantom. The last two pages are a handy guide to the Phantom's publishing history. At least as far as 1995.

So, here you have it, in a scant 14 pages you will know all you need to know to make your very own Phantom comics!

A Sneak Peek at Dynamite's Phantom.

2010-05-03T21:12:00.002-04:00

I obtained this image through my usual diligent reporting and research. Okay. I swiped it from Chronicle Chamber's blog.

This is our first look at what Dynamite Entertainment has in store for The Phantom franchise.

I'm not going to sit here and editorialize and tell you all what to think about this. I'll just let this image speak for itself. I await your comments.

The Good Mark! New recipients!

2010-05-02T00:00:00.005-04:00

I feel moved to hand out some more good marks today!

First of all, I'd like to award a Good Mark to Sal Velluto. No, I'm not kissing up so he'll send me a Christmas card (although that would rock! hint, hint). Sal agreed to take time out of his busy schedule let me interview him for my blog. In addition, Sal really strikes me a a genuinely good egg, and so, I award him, The Good Mark!

SAL VELLUTO

Next, I'd like to award a Good Mark to Mr. Jermayn Parker of Australia. Jermayn and I recently traded some comics. I helped him complete his run of Marvel Indiana Jones comics and Jermayn hooked me up with a stack of FREW Phantoms. But more than that, Jermayn sent The Ghost Who Blogs a bonus... An official Skull Ring! Now, you may find this hard to believe, but I didn't already have one!! I know, right? So, for being a first class comics swapper and for giving me a piece of Phantom paraphenalia I sorely lacked, you get The Good Mark!

JERMAYN PARKER

Also, I want to send a Good Mark shout out to Mr. Walker (of Calcutta) and PBC of Indrajal Online for welcoming me into their community and for providing me the chance to post an entire, fabulous Indrajal Phantom!

MR. WALKER

PBC

And last, I want to throw a Good Mark out there to Pidde Andersson. Pidde has provided me with a whole post, saving me a lot of time and effort. So, here you go Pidde:

PIDDE ANDERSSON

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 6 "Jungle Whispers"

2010-05-01T10:22:00.003-04:00

Boy! I really thought The Phantom bought it last week when that bridge fell, but it looks like there's still more Phantom to go!

Pop some more popcorn and enjoy!

Interview with Sal Velluto!

2010-04-29T10:40:00.010-04:00

Today, The Ghost Who Blogs is very fortunate to present an interview with "The Ghost Who Draws"- Mr. Sal Velluto! Sal graciously agreed to let me interview him for my blog. The first part of the interview appears here, and the second part will be available over at Sal's blog The Ghost Who Draws.

GWB: When and how did you first become interested in art?

SV: I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t doodling pictures in general, or superheroes in particular. My older sister happened to be my kindergarten teacher. I can still remember how she decorated her classroom with giant renditions of Disney characters she had drawn and painted herself. I spent endless hours watching her draw and color. As she encouraged me to help her out with some of her artwork, I gained more and more confidence in the ability of expressing myself artistically. When I was 10, I started drawing my first comic book series on notebook pages and trade them with my friends for a donought. I even tried to sell them by subscription. When I turned 12, the Italian Batman comic book published one of my little drawings. At that point I started dreaming of becoming a professional comic book artist, someday.

GWB: How long have you been a fan of The Phantom?

SV: I’ve been reading the Phantom (or “L’Uomo Mascherato” as he was known in Italy) since the late ‘60s, but I can’t say I was that big of a fan of the character as much as I was of the artists who drew it. At that time there was a substantial production of Phantom stories “Made in Italy” whose artists tried to mimic the Sy Barry/ Alex Raymond style. Since I already was a big fan of Raymond, I found myself attracted by the Phantom, just like I was for so many other comics, from an artistic point of view, no more, no less. Almost 45 years later, when I was faced with the task of drawing The Phantom, I rediscovered my appreciation for the character and for his lore; this time in a deeper, more consistent, more personal way.

GWB: How did you come to draw The Phantom professionally?

SV: Soon after Paul Ryan left “Team Fantomen” to work on The Phantom daily and Sunday strips, I learned that Egmont might have been looking for another artist. Consequently, I started exchanging emails with Gammelredax Ulf Granberg who gave me a chance to do a couple of try-out pages. Instead of interior pages, I decided to illustrate a couple of covers, which Mr. Granberg approved for publication and were later voted #1 and #2 Best Fantomen cover of 2007. Needless to say, I got the job.

Best Fantomen Cover of 2007

GWB: Who is your favorite Phantom artist?

SV: I can’t play favorites with my fellow-artists. In each one of them, with no exceptions, I find something that I like, respect and appreciate.

GWB: What's your favorite comics project you've worked on?

SV: This is a tricky question to which I always give this tricky answer “My favorite project is the one I’m working on, right now.”

GWB: You may be best known for your previous work on Marvel's critically acclaimed Black Panther.

†Since T'Challa and The Phantom are both jungle-based heroes with nifty thrones, did your admiration for The Phantom have any influence on your approach to Black Panther?

SV: Black Panther bears a few similarities with The Phantom: the dynastic line, the immeasurable wealth, and an incredible treasure cave. Besides that, there were big differences in narrative style (Both story and pictures), Nonetheless, I remember of drawing at one point a huge battle scene in which the Black Panther was flanked by some warriors who might have come from a Bandar tribe…

GWB: How much input does King Features Syndicate have in their licensed comic books?

SV: That is a good question to ask a publisher and/or an editor. When a script arrives on my desk, all the syndications concerns have been taken care of. The only thing I have to worry about is delivering good visual story-telling in a timely manner.

GWB: You've made passing remarks in previous interviews that you like Westerns- Tex Willer comes to mind- is that why you chose to move to Utah?

SV: Tex Willer is probably the best known character of Italian comics and I’ve expressed interest in illustrating one of his annuals. There have been several famous international artists ( i.e. Alberto Giolitti, Victor de la Fuente, JosË Ortiz, Colin Wilson, Joe Kubert) who have worked on these special issues, but so far, none of them has lived, like I do, in the lands where the adventures of Tex Willer take place. In the world of The Phantom, my situation would be equal if not better than Wilson McCoy visiting far off African Jungles and living with the Ituri pigmy tribe.
On the other hand, my choice of settling down in Utah was not comic-related, nonetheless it ended up being a great adventure. In Utah I met my wife , to whom I’ve been happily married for almost 25 years and raised my family, which consists of four wonderful kids.

GWB: Having worked in the comics industry for almost 25 years, I'm sure you've witnessed many changes in the way things are done. For instance, you can do your art and then send it to New York and Stockholm electronically and never have to leave Utah. †Do you see this as changing the overall flavor of comics? Do you anticipate a greater global awareness of styles and artists in the near future?

SV: I think things have changed quite a bit already. The global awareness is already here and we are witnessing it.
The computer and internet revolution, like other revolutions of the past (industrial, transportation, communication, energy resources) can continue to affect not just the well being of the world of publishing, but the well being of the world in general, if it is allowed to thrive in a free market environment and a climate of continuous innovation. We are witnessing the times when comics (as well as other media) are expanding on the internet and the iPad. We are witnessing the times when comics are on the verge of being created, distributed and experienced -in a coordinated fashion- across different media platforms. This feels like that scene in the 1998 Godzilla movie where Matthew Broderick is looking for the monster’s footprints only to discover that he is standing inside of one.

GWB: What, if any advice would you give to aspiring comics artists?

SV: Here’s my secret formula:

Choose to find a way to do it, instead of one hundred excuses not to do it.
Bring yourself to the same level of talent, knowledge and technique of those who have already made it in the business. Demonstrate, practically, that you know how to do your job. If you want to play in the Pro-League, learn to play like a pro player!
Study history, geography, science, technology… anything that pertains the stories you work on. Make yourself and your work credible.
Act in an ethical and professional manner.
Accept criticism with gratitude (especially constructive criticism) when it comes from someone who’s been successful in the business. Don’t listen to those who failed.
Put first things first. Don’t sacrifice your family, your health or your ideals on the altar of your profession.
Take two Aspirins and call me in the morning…

GWB: Will you be attending any comic conventions this year?

SV: Maybe San Diego, this summer.

GWB: What would you most like others to know about yourself?

SV: I’d like my neighbors to know that the fact that I spend all day around my house, unshaven, in my slippers and t-shirt doesn’t mean that I’m unemployed.

Sal was also kind enough to send over these beautiful samples of his work for Fantomen.

The Ghost Who Sits By The Fire

2010-04-28T00:00:00.001-04:00

This fantastic Phantom photo was included in an e-mail from our good friend, Pidde Andersson. It was so funny, I felt I needed to share it with all of you.

My best translation of this is "Alone in the woods sits the Phantom's sly brother. He tells the truth about the Phantom"

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 5 "The Ghost Who Walks"

2010-04-24T10:49:00.003-04:00

I guess The Phantom escaped being gassed, because he's back for episode 5!

By the way, that Tom Tyler can sure throw a Hell of a punch!

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 4 "The Seat of Judgment"

2010-04-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

This week, we pick up right where we left off- with fisticuffs, gratuitous gunplay and a hand grenade!

Indrajal #10- English version

2010-04-16T10:37:00.011-04:00

Indrajal Comics #10
, 1964
Times of India
Cover: Govind Brahmaniya
Script: Lee Falk
Pencils/Inks: Wilson McCoy

A few months ago, I reached out to a fellow blogger, Mr. Walker (not to be confused with our Jungle Patrol member Mister Walker) about trading scans of American Phantoms for one of his scans of an Indrajal Phantom. Well, Mr. Walker graciously offered to send me a scan without asking anything in return. In the meantime, behind the scenes, Mr. Walker and others were busy creating the Indrajal superblog Indrajal Online. To help cross- promote the new Indrajal blog and to create an interesting side-by side posting, I am posting Indrajal #10 here in English and I am also posting Indrajal #10 in Hindi at Indrajal Online.

For those of you unfamiliar with Indrajal Comics,

Indrajal Comics was a series launched by the publisher of The Times of India, Bennet, Coleman & Co in March 1964. The first 32 issues contained Lee Falk's The Phantom stories, but thereafter, the title alternated between various King Features characters, including Lee Falk's Mandrake, Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Rip Kirby and Phil Corrigan, Roy Crane's Buz Sawyer, Allen Saunders' Mike Nomad and Kerry Drake and Steve Dowling's Garth. Later it also published Bahadur, an Indian comic hero created by Aabid Surti.

Unlike Australia's FREW or Sweden's Semic, Indrajal published their Newspaper reprints in color. And what color! The vibrant color palette featured in these comics is unique to Indian comics and is often breathtaking.

The covers for the early issues were provided by Govind Brahmaniya.

So, enjoy "The Phantom's Ring" by Lee Falk, drawn by Wilson McCoy, complete with the original back-up features and advertisements.

And thanks again to Mr. Walker who scanned this and to Prabhat Kumar Singh (aka PBC) who did initial cleanup on the scans and sent me the files.

Defenders of the Earth #1, Conclusion

2010-04-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Defenders of the Earth#1
January, 1987
STAR (Marvel) Comics
Cover: Alex Saviuk/ Fred Fredericks
Script: Stan Lee (With Bob Harras)
Pencils/Inks: Alex Saviuk/ Fred Fredericks

I'm not saying ALex Saviuk swiped from George Perez (although who wouldn't?) but there is a striking similarity between that first panel on p. 19 and a certain famous cover...

Defenders of the Earth #1

2010-04-14T00:00:00.001-04:00

Defenders of the Earth#1
January, 1987
STAR (Marvel) Comics
Cover: Alex Saviuk/ Fred Fredericks
Script: Stan Lee (With Bob Harras)
Pencils/Inks: Alex Saviuk/ Fred Fredericks

What can I say about this? It seems like a brilliant idea for a team book. Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar... And the creative team on this book is an amazing lineup. The script was by Stan "The Man" Lee, the pencils were by Spiderman Daily (and future Moonstone Phantom) artist Alex Saviuk with inks by Mandrake artist Fred Fredericks! Why are these usually solo heroes drawn together as a team? Because the Earth is threatened by Flash Gordon's old nemesis, the diabolical Ming the Merciless!! I'm sure anyone who saw this on paper would have thought it was a home run. But it's lousy.

For one thing, Marvel published this through their new children's label, STAR Comics. The Phantom doesn't even have his guns in this. But don't worry, they gave him some sort of "Jungle Lore" powers.

For another, the heroes are paired up with their children. And, if a bunch of badly written children weren't lame enough to crush your hopes that this was going to be a cool team book, there's Zuffy. Zuffy is a small, cute, purple alien creature so toyetic I'm surprised he's not advertised on the back of this comic instead of Popples.

Also, for some reason, Ming is green and has exaggeratedly pointed ears. I have my suspicions that somewhere along the way, it was discussed that the Emperor of Mongo looked a little too Asian the way Alex Raymond presented him. At the Time Flash Gordon debuted, "Yellow Menace" villains like Fu Manchu and The Yellow Claw were in vogue. Ming was never a charicature like the Claw, but I bet someone felt somebody somewhere might find him offensive.

At any rate, I found this issue in my never-ending quest for more Phantom comics and I'm putting it up here for you to read and judge for yourself. So, with all due apologies in advance here's part one of Defenders of the Earth #1:

Indrajal Online is Up and Running

2010-04-13T08:26:00.003-04:00

What happens when 18 bloggers who love India's Indrajal comics combine their talents and their collections? You get Indrajal Online ! Indrajal Online is presenting over 500 issues of Indrajal (most in English, some in Hindi) with plans to add more soon.

So stop by and see The Phantom thru the eyes of Indian Phans. And tell them The Ghost Who Blogs Sent You!

Just Another Mandrake Monday- Mandrake #2- Specter from Space!

2010-04-12T13:32:00.006-04:00

Mandrake The Magician#2
November, 1966
King Comics
Cover: Andre LeBlanc
Script: Uncredited
Pencils/Inks: Andre LeBlanc

This little number is kind of odd. Mandrake never uses any of his "magic" in this story. In fact, it feels like you could remove Mandrake and insert nearly any hero. It would have made a good story for Strange Adventures. The aliens are fairly neat looking and their spaceships seems to have been stolen from the planet Mongo.

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 3 " A Traitor's Code"

2010-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, as I'm sure you all recall, last week we left The Phantom at the mercy of his second greatest foe, a Great Cat! A Lion, this time (Man! Alligators, Lions, where the heck IS this place? The Central Park Zoo?

The Phantom: A Ghost For All Seasons- Special Guest Post!

2010-04-09T00:00:00.005-04:00

Hey, gang! I have a special treat for you today. And, since I don't really have to write anything, it's a special treat for me as well! Our "Swedish Correspondent", writer Pidde Andersson recently wrote an arts and entertainment piece on The Phantom and he agreed to let me post it on my blog. (Thanks, Pidde!) So, after persuading Pidde to translate his article from Swedish to English (Google Translator's version was vaguely coherent and highly -but unintentionally-humorous) here we go...

The Phantom: A Ghost For All Seasons

A couple of weeks ago, I ended up at a friend's place after some beers in the pub. This guy is a huge fan of The Phantom - the comic strip character. It was in the middle of the night and he took out an album from the 1960s with Swedish artist Robert Broberg. On the LP was a song called "Fantomen" ("The Phantom") and the lyrics were printed on the convolute. My friend had actually asked Broberg about this song when he performed here in Malmö recently, but Broberg had absolutely no memories of writing and recording it. Before I went home, we played the song a second time and sang the lyrics along with Broberg. Robert Broberg's "Fantomen" begins "Fantomen han har en trikå som är blå", which means (my translation and interpretation to fit the melody): "The Phantom, he's wearing tights that are blue".
But it's only in Scandinavia he has blue tights and red pants. Phantom creator, writer Lee Falk himself had never really thought about what colors his hero should wear when he created the character as a black and white daily strip in 1936 with art by Ray Moore. Sometimes I've read that Falk imagined some kind of camouflage suit, sometimes just a gray one. But when it was time for the full color Sunday pages to see the light of day, The Phantom showed up dressed in purple tights and blue pants.
I may be wrong, but after what I've heard, they had problems printing these colors in Sweden - and he ended up blue. In the beginning he was baby blue, but the color has gotten darker by the years.
The Phantom is the most well-known and popular action-adventure character in Scandinavia and especially Sweden. The Swedish comic book; Fantomen, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2010. What's interesting with this book is that since the last 40 years, it mainly features Phantom comics produced in Scandinavia.

The very first issue I bought was number 18/1976 - I couldn't resist the extremely cool cover (I'll get back to that one a little later in this article). But I actually had a Fantomen publication before that; the 1972 Christmas special (dated 1973 on its cover). I don't know where I got it from, but it contained two American Sunday adventures with art by Sy Barry. I found one of them - the one about the Goola-Goola witch - very thrilling. Not to mention the cover by Rolf Gohs. As a little kid, I thought it was rather scary. Just look:

Old covers of Fantomen often make me nostalgic. Even the ones for issues I never had and therefore haven't read. Each year, they had - and still have - the Best Cover of the Year contest, and in the issue with the ballot, they reprint all of the covers. I looked at them and my imagination went wild, some of those adventures must be extremely cool. Take this issue, for example - take a wild guess if I wanted to get hold of this one:

I liked The Phantom, I liked Westerns. What could be better than the Phantom as a gunslinger? But I don't think I ever got hold of this issue.

The cover that was voted Best Cover of 1976 was reprinted as a poster that came with an issue during 1977. Even though I hadn't read that adventure, I had the poster on my wall. It's a beautiful piece of art and I still wonder what Mr. Walker was up to in that story. Who's that hot chick he's picked up in the desert?

During 1977 I bought Fantomen regularly while saving money for a subscription. I remember one cover from this year very well. it was extremely suggestive and a bit creepy. However, back in 1977 I didn't get the title of the episode; "Kalisekten" - The Kali Sect. I didn't know who Kali was and what a sect was. And I didn't know how to pronounce it.

The cover for the adventure that tells the story of how The Phantom got his skull ring is a classic that has been reused several times. This cover was voted best of 1977 and ended up on my wall next to the Son of the Desert. I got this issue one day when I was going to sleep over at my grandparents. I remember lying in their twin bed in their rather dark home. It smelled of tobacco and I read this dark, atmospheric episode.

I was always looking forward to the next issue of my favorite comics when I was a kid. I found the ads for the next issue very tempting. Sometimes I could hardly wait. I remember the little ad for an adventure called "Skelettkusten" ("The Skeleton Coast"). A picture of The Phantom tied up on a beach while giant crabs crawled towards him. Whoah! That's the coolest thing I've ever seen! I remember actually telling other people how incredibly cool the next issue of Fantomen should be. Nobody gave a shit. Here's the über-cool cover:

I've actually no memories of Fantomen 5/1978 and the story "Schakalen" (The Jackal") - apparently, it's about the foreign legion. But the amazing cover was voted Best of the Year and ended up on my wall. By this year, I was subscribing.

Okay, let's have a look at Fantomen 18/1976, the first issue I bought. Now, this is one tough cover painting! And the adventure it's illustrating, "Vråkar över Vacul" ("Vultures over Vacul") by Norman Worker and Jaime Vallvé, was a dark, moody and a little scary story. Here's the Swedish cover:

...And here's the amazingly crappy cover for the Australian edition:

As you maybe know, The Phantom is incredibly popular in Australia. The Australian comic is published by a company called FREW and contains among other things the material produced by Team Fantomen in Sweden. I've never hold an actual copy of FREW's comic in my hand, but everybody says it's a cheaply made product with lousy printing on lousy paper. Most of all, the edition often has really ugly covers - quite often, they've just enlarged or copied (badly) a panel from the issue's episode. Okay, this cover is pretty fun:

As you can see, The Phantom is purple in Australia, just like he is in the U.S.A., but his pants seem to be purple as well.

Even if The Phantom is an American comic, the character is more or less forgotten in his home country. Every now and then throughout the decades, attempts have been made to put out comic books with original material on the American market, but none of them have been very successful. Quite often, the stories have been rather odd; it's like the writers don't know the character, it's obvious they didn't grow up having The Phantom as one of their favorite characters. And the artwork has often been weirdly awkward - unlike the artist hired by Team Fantomen, the ones working for the American books have had problems drawing The Phantom himself and his pretty strange costume. The Phantom often looks extremely funny.
When the good, old publisher Gold Key put out their Phantom comic, they had really nice covers. Painted and attractive. It's just that The Phantom is funny looking on them. Here's one example:

And he looks hilarious on this one:

Note that The Phantom on the cover above wears the skull ring on his ring finger, something he actually did in the very first adventures - back in the 1930s.

Here's a third cover, on which the Ghost who Walks (with strangely visible ears and the stripes on his pants going in the wrong direction) has ended up in the same situation as Conan in the first Conan movie, in other words: he's chained to the Wheel of Pain:

After Gold Key, it was classic publisher Charlton's turn to give The Phantom a try. Well... I really don't know what to say about this:

But this cover is really cool and would've made a great poster for my room when I was a kid:

It almost reminds me of Tarzan - but I was never a huge Tarzan fan. The Phantom was much, much tougher. Hmm. Come to think of it, this could also be the cover of an issue of The Savage Sword of Conan.

In the late 1980s, DC Comics got the idea of putting out their own version of The Phantom. They tried the title out by publishing a four issue mini-series. The artist of choice was Joe Orlando. Orlando was a classic comics artist who in the 1950s worked for legendary EC Comics and their line of horror comics. But when it came to The Phantom, well ... Orlando just couldn't handle the mission.

This mini-series was rather crappy, but it sold well enough to generate an ongoing, monthly Phantom comic. Here's the first issue:

Maybe it's just me, but doesn't this look kind of like, well ... "The Ghost Who Takes a Dump"?

The DC book was short lived, but after a few years, comics giant Marvel Comics stepped in. They had earlier in the 80s published the silly comic Defenders of the Universe, based on a Saturday morning cartoon. I remember that I 25 years ago or so asked the comic book store Metropolis in Stockholm to send me the worst comic they had. I received an issue of Defenders of the Universe. In this comic, The Phantom, Mandrake, Lothar, Flash Gordon and their children (!) fight Flash's arch enemy Ming of Mongo.

In the 1990s, another Phantom cartoon appeared on TV, one that also took place in the future: Phantom 2040. I used to catch it and it was decent, but it sure wasn't "my" Phantom, the real one. Marvel put out a comic book based on the show - and The Phantom looks like he's escaped from a freak show!

Later on, Marvel started an ongoing comic starring "our" Phantom, the "real" one. But this was of course Marvel's very own interpretation of The Phantom. Within short, the title went belly up and this cover says it all:

The publisher putting out The Phantom in the States right now is Moonstone, but they'll soon lose the rights to Dynamite, who threatens to alter the character dramatically. But the stuff Moonstone has put out is nothing to write home about. The comics are often curiously amateurish; they've tried to make a modern action comic and the results don't feel at all like The Phantom. And as usual, the artists have had problems drawing our hero. I don't know what the hell to say about this version (check out his Dumbo ears!):

...Or this Frazetta inspired piece of art:

It's not exactly ugly, but it isn't The Phantom, so to speak...

Okay: in Scandinavia, The Phantom is blue with red pants. In the U.S.A. and Australia, he's purple. What does he look like in the rest of the world? Like this, for example:

Yup, in Italy - where he's called L'Uomo Mascherato (The Masked Man) - he's red with light blue pants. He's looking like a damn traffic light running around in the jungle! Apparently he's red in England as well. Here's another Italian example.

The sadistic killer The Crimson Executioner (Mickey Hargitay) in the Italian B-movie classic BLOODY PIT OF HORROR seems to be heavily inspired by the Italian Phantom.

Rather surprising, The Phantom is extremely popular in India, of all countries. It seems like his Indian comic is published both in Hindi (or whatever it is):

...and in English (and talk about "bad"):

But seriously, what kind of strange cover is this? "The Playmate"? It sure sounds kinky... What the hell are they up to over there in India?

_ Pidde Andersson

You can also read this and other articles and reviews by Pidde at Xomba.com:

http://www.xomba.com/phantom_ghost_all_seasons

More Side-By-Side Don Newton- Phantom #68

2010-04-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

This was inspired by an e-mail I received from Jungle Patrol member Michael Wurl, aka: The Apocolyte. Michael wrote me the following:

"In my webby travels I came across this beautiful Don Newton cover painting that I thought you may enjoy, or perhaps post.
You're under no obligation to post it, but when I saw it I naturally thought of you!"

Well, first of all, it warms the heart of The Ghost Who Blogs to know you're thinking of me when you see Phantom art. But besides that, you've inspired me to do another post highlighting the contrast between the beautiful paintings Don Newton did for Charlton, vs. the printed piece.

The point of all this is not to dump on Charlton, but rather to highlight how much more beautiful the original paintings were than the kick-ass covers they became.

So, here's to you, Michael Wurl! For providing me with fodder for yet another post, you receive The Good Mark!

MICHAEL WURL

Phantom #26- King

2010-04-07T17:16:00.005-04:00

Phantom#26
October, 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Bill Harris
Pencils/Inks: Bill Lignante

Here's the second feature from King's Phantom #26, "The Pearl Raiders". Enjoy.

Spectergirl's Crypt of Post-Code Horror

2010-04-04T23:46:00.004-04:00

Life not horrific enough? Stop by...

Spectergirl's Crypt of Post-Code Horror

We've dusted off a mouldering short-box of penny-dreadfuls from the Bronze Age of FEAR!

It's TERROR only the Comics Code Authority would DARE approve!

My Talk With Pidde-

2010-04-04T11:13:00.004-04:00

Hey, gang! I've been having an ongoing conversation since yesterday with screenwriter, film critic, comics writer, blogger, super-Phan and all-around-nice-guy, Pidde Andersson. We've been talking about The Phantom, the differences between American Phantom comics and their Swedish cousins from Team Fantomen, Phantom artists, Bengali, etc.

If you'd like to subject yourself to this scholarly discourse, you can find it on this blog and at Mykal Banta's Gold Key Comics blog. To follow along, I recommend you start here (we're in the "comments" section:

http://www.goldkeystories.com/2010/02/phantom-blind-mans-bluff.html

We are also chatting it up on my blog under the following posts:

http://falkonthewildside.blogspot.com/2010/02/just-where-is-bangalla-anyway.html

http://falkonthewildside.blogspot.com/2010/04/lions-tigers-and-leopards-oh-my-part.html

and Pidde's awesome blog can be found at :

http://www.toppraffel.tk/

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 2 "The Man Who Never Dies"

2010-04-03T00:00:00.004-04:00

I'm not sure why the Phantom is wearing oversized gym shorts and no pants in the above poster, but I don't want to mock a guy with a big knife.

Well, I guess The Phantom didn't get eaten by that alligator last week after all, because here's part two:

Lions, Tigers and Leopards Oh My! Part two: Finland

2010-04-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

I recently discovered an index of Finnish Phantoms (or Musta-Naamio , as he is called) and, once again, we see that Jungle cats are second only to pirates in their enmity for The Ghost Who Walks.

Frankly, I find that circus clown even scarrier than the tiger.

The Art of Phantom Paperbacks

2010-04-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

The covers to these Lee Falk Phantom novelizations are simply wonderful examples of paperback cover illustration. I'm 99.9% sure that these were painted (for the most part) by George Wilson- although I have been unable to verify that. Wilson was a prolific illustrator who also painted hundreds of covers for Gold Key comics. Oddly enough, Wilson's art profile never mentions his comic book work.

Phantom #26- King

2010-03-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

Phantom#26
October, 1967
King Comics
Cover: Sy Barry
Script: Bill Harris
Pencils/Inks: Bill Lignante

Yeesh! How many tribes are there in Bengali?

Just Another Mandrake Monday- "The Cape Cod Caper"

2010-03-29T10:46:00.005-04:00

Mandrake The Magician#5
May, 1967
King Comics
Cover: Fred Fredericks
Script: Uncredited
Pencils/Inks: Ray Bailey

Mandrake takes a page from The Phantom in this story and puts his skills to work battling pirates!

I'm not exactly sure how a post-hypnotic suggestion could give a pirate telepathy, but I love that Mandrake sees the message like a home movie!

On an historical note: Henry Morgan WAS a pirate. However, he was also frequently a privateer, a sort of legal pirate, licensed to take enemy ships and towns in a time of war. Morgan was taken to England to be tried for his piracies and was instead knighted and appointed as the governor of Jamaica. So, the idea that he "failed" is pretty laughable.

Sadly, Sir Henry never quite adapted to civilized life. He became bored and depressed as Governor and turned to drinking. I have always found it painfully ironic that a man who drank himself to death has a brand of rum named after him. Tasty, tasty rum.

On a biological note, Moby Dick was a sperm whale. Sperm whales have teeth, not baleen.

The Good Mark!

2010-03-28T20:46:00.006-04:00

This is the first time I, The Ghost Who Blogs, have awarded the Good Mark to anyone. Perhaps I will make it a regular thing?

First of all, I want to hand out a Good Mark to my friend, Jungle Patrol member Mykal Banta. Mykal has generously offered to supply The Ghost Who Blogs with a wonderful piece of Phantom media and I want him to know I sincerely appreciate it. So, here it is Mykal, your Good Mark:

Mykal Banta

Secondly, I want to extend sincere thanks to an unknown Phan. A Phan who posts on the Phantom Phorum under the handle "Sjefen" (which means "commander" in Norwegian). Sjefen felt that it was an injustice that I had never read any of the fantastic comics currently coming out of Scandinavia. He asked me to e-mail him my mailing address and presto! a week and a half later I recieved an envelope with 5 recent issues of Fantomet in it. He asked nothing in return. Perhaps just as amazing, this mysterious "commander" sent the comics to me in an Egmont mailing envelope! How cool is that!

So Sjefen, whoever you are, you get a Good Mark from The Ghost Who Blogs! Thanks for the comics!

Sjefen

Don't worry, I have my eye on some more of you who may be in the running to receive the Good Mark. But that is for another day.

R.I.P. Dick Giordano

2010-03-27T22:01:00.003-04:00

From Comic Book Resources:

"Venerable creator Dick Giordano has passed away at 77. A longtime inker, editor, and illustrator for DC Comics, Giordano worked on such projects as Neal Adams' Batman and helmed DC editorial initiatives such as Watchmen and Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Giordano began working for DC in the 1960s and became the Executive Editor of DC Comics in 1983. He worked on many classic DC tales such as Green Lantern/Green Arrow and the always amusing Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali. "

To me, Dick Giordano was like a permanent fixture in the world of comics. I grew up with his covers, his inking, his editing and his being in charge of DC. When I discovered the Charlton Superheroes (long after they had packed it up and gone to be DC's step-children) I was thrilled to know that they had existed at all, largely due to Dick Giordano.

Knowing that there will be no future projects undertaken by Dick Giordano brings me a profound and inexplicable sadness.

Saturday Matinee- The Phantom (1943) episode 1 "The Sign of the Skull"

2010-03-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

This cinematic gem from Columbia Pictures stars Tom Tyler as the Phantom, Jeanne Bates as Diana Palmer and Rex the Wonder Dog as Devil. As with all movie serial versions of your favorite heroes, many of the names of people and places have been changed for no apparent reason. Don't let it throw you that The Phantom's alter ego is Geoff Prescott or that The Phantom lives on the island of Sai Pana. Just pop some popcorn and turn your suspension of disbelief way up for the next 30 minutes or so.

Phantom #70- Charlton

2010-03-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

Phantom#70
April, 1976
Charlton Comics
Cover: Don Newton
Script: Bill Pearson
Pencils/Inks: Don Newton

It's funny, just Monday night I was watching The Maltese Falcon on TCM and I already had this comic scheduled to post this week. Writer Bill Pearson seems to like old Bogart movies as much as I do, if this story is any indication. As the splash will show you, at it's heart the story is sort of a tribute to The Maltese Falcon. But it takes a few detours through The African Queen, High Sierra and, of course, Casablanca. Be on the lookout for not only Bogie and Bacal in the cast of this adventure, but such stalwart supporting actors as Claude Raines, Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet and Tom Fadden.

Ladies (like there are any women reading this) and Gentlemen, I present "The Mystery of the Mali Ibex".

What's Happening In Phantom Today

2010-03-22T15:00:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to take a minute and let folks know about a few goings on in the world of Phantom blogging. Over at Charlton vs. Mighty MLJ, The Shadow is giving a review of Phantom #30, Charlton's first Phantom offering. Over at The Ghost Who Draws, Sal Velluto is continuing with his "My First Phantom" series, today starring yours truly. And, over at The Return of Indrajal Comics, blogger Mr. Walker brings you three, count'em THREE vintage Phantom stories from India's beloved Indrajal Comics, stop by and tell them The Ghost Who Blogs sent ya!

Also, The results of the poll are in: It seems (out of the nine people who bothered to vote) that Phans prefer Bengali 2 to 1 over Bangalla. I have to say, I may be leaning that way myself.

My First Phantom- a multi-blog special

2010-03-22T08:00:00.005-04:00

This entry is part two of a joint post. The first part of this entry can be found over at Phantom Artist (and Jungle Patrol member) Sal Velluto's blog, The Ghost Who Draws. Sal has been running a series where he invites Phans to write him with their own stories about their first experience reading The Phantom. So, I shared my story with Sal, and he felt we should share the post. Once you've read part one, come back and read part two.

Part 2:
Even though I had been intrigued by The Phantom as a small boy, I forgot about him until 1985 when- hot on the heels of DC comics' "Super Powers Collection" and Marvel's "Secret Wars" 5-inch action figure lines, King Features Syndicate jumped into the game with "Defenders of the Earth" featuring Mandrake, Flash Gordon and The Phantom. The figures were only so-so and I considered myself too old for super hero toys (although I still shamefully purchased the occasional GI Joe figure) and The Phantom once again faded into my subconscious.

In 1996, The movie "The Phantom" was released. My wife, Amy and I went to see it second-run (we paid $1.00 each to get in). Although I thought the movie was kind of campy at the time, I liked the idea of this mysterious guy who was supposed to be immortal. I liked the exotic locale. I liked the Skull Cave. I remembered being 7 and trying to draw The Phantom, laying on my stomach on the TV room floor, fat pencil in hand, carefully trying to draw the shapes on my drawing tablet.

When Christmas time rolled around, we began getting the Sunday paper for the sale ads. Here- in Columbus, OH- they run the Phantom Sunday strip. I finally got to see the Phantom in his own context. For about 4 or 5 weeks. Then we dropped the paper. I forgot about The Phantom again.

The Phantom lay dormant in my mind until the day I read "The Belt" at the Gold Key Comics blog.

After reading that I read the three Phantom stories at Diversions of the Groovy Kind. After that, I beagn searching the net for other scanned Phantom stories...

I went out one Saturday to my local comics shop and scoured all the "P" boxes in their bargain basement. I turned up two Charlton Phantoms and a few DC Phantoms. After I had read them all, I re-read the Charltons. Somehow I had to share these comics. But how?

Well, I already had a comics blog, Silver Age Gold, but these comics were practically bronze age. Also, all I do on Silver Age Gold is break down the oddities and quirks of the comics I love. These Phantom comics needed to be read by people who had never seen them!

So, with about six Phantom comics to work with, I impetuously started a whole blog dedicated to The Phantom: "The Ghost Who Blogs". Now I spend a lot of time and money I don't have trying to obtain vintage Phantoms to post to keep it going.

So, What was my first Phantom? Well, even though my earliest memories of The Phantom center around trying to draw that mysterious-looking guy as a kid, I have to say "The Belt" (Gold Key Phantom #8) was, for all intents and purposes, my first Phantom comic. Thank you Mykal for giving me access to the fantastic world of The Phantom. And thanks to Sal Velluto for encouraging me to share this story.

Harvey Hits #26 - The Wild Girl, Part Two- conclusion

2010-03-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

And now, Part Two of "The Wild Girl" by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy:

Harvey Hits #26 - The Wild Girl, Part One

2010-03-19T09:20:00.008-04:00

Harvey Hits#26
November, 1959
Harvey Comics
Cover: Wilson McCoy
Script: Lee Falk
Pencils/Inks: Wilson McCoy

Prior to licensing The Phantom to Gold Key, King Features Syndicate licensed the property to Harvey Comics, home of Casper The Friendly Ghost. Unlike the later comics which were original stories outside the newspaper continuity, Harvey opted to reprint storylines from the daily newspaper strips, re-formatted and presented in color. I suspect the stories were probably slightly abridged as well, as four months of dailies crammed into 24 pages seems a tight fit.

Enjoy part one of "The Wild Girl"

Tune in tomorrow for Part Two!

Mysterious Photo

2010-03-18T15:47:00.003-04:00

This controversial photo, taken in 1936 by a "D. Palmer" is said to be of the mysterious "Ghost Who Walks" - a local legend in the tiny, coastal nation of Bengali. This is the only known photograph of the legendary apparition. Eye witness accounts of sightings and local legends about his mysterious figure can be traced back to the 1500's. Local folklore has it that this same man has appeared in the jungles and coasts of Bengali for over 400 years.

Skeptics are quick to point out that this "ghost" seems to be armed with a brace of contemporary pistols, colt M-1911 automatics. Locals insist that the "Ghost Who Walks" inhabits an inaccessible part of the forest know locally as "The deep woods". Expeditions into this region are typically forced to turn back, as the "deep woods" are the home of a particularly hostile tribe of pygmies, the Bandar or Bandari. These pygmies are feared for their powerful poisoned blow-darts and have a local reputation as cannibals.

"If it is a hoax, " says Dr. Dodd of New York, NY "it's a very old one. I, myself saw the Phantom in 1866".

Dodd, who passed away in 1953, is one of numerous people, respectable and otherwise, who claim to have seen this alleged phantom. Still, sightings or not, the photgraph itself has been the subject of debate for decades.

While the photographer, well known 1930's socialite and explorer Diana Palmer was certainly a famous adventuress, it is thought by some that she may have staged this photo to amuse her society friends, or, more likely to break throught the gender barrier of that old-boys' club, The Explorers' Club. Palmer, a woman ahead of her time, disappeared mysteriously in the Orient while serving as a nurse for the United Nations.

Forensic analysis of the photo shows that it was, in fact taken with a fixed-focus Kodak Brownie box camera of the type available in 1936. The paper and chemicals used are consistant with the photo's alleged age and the ink on the back is a type of fountain pen ink easily dated by its iron content. Most telling, there are minute particles of pollen, spores and fungus consistant with flora found on the Western coasts of the Bay of Bengal.

The mysterious "Phantom photo" currently resides in the archives of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

Phantom #69- Charlton Concluded

2010-03-17T00:00:00.003-04:00

Compare the cover to the original painting (which I shamefully lifted from The Art of Don Newton)

And now, the conclusion of "The Shining City".

Again with the tigers.

Phantom #69- Charlton

2010-03-16T00:00:00.001-04:00

Phantom#69
February, 1976
Charlton Comics
Cover: Don Newton
Script: Joe Gill
Pencils/Inks: Studio Recreo

Although Don Newton did the painted cover for this issue, the art chores for the interior were left to Studio Recreo of Barcelona, Spain. I have been unable to learn which artists did this issue in particular. Studio Recreo did a lot of work for Disney comics in Europe.

Enjoy part one of "The Shining City".

Tomorrow, Part Two

Just Another Mandrake Monday

2010-03-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Mandrake The Magician#5
May, 1967
King Comics
Cover: Fred Fredericks
Script: Uncredited
Pencils/Inks: Ray Bailey

Nothing says 1967 quite like a mix of space travel and international politics. Unless , of course, it would be an uber-theatrical magician and his hulking African sidekick!

The Ghost Who Talks Comics

2010-03-12T14:32:00.006-05:00

This coming Monday, March 15, 2010 I will once again be chatting live on Comic Chatcast-starting at 8 PM, EST.

Please stop by and talk comics. Hope to see you there!

Aaron

Phantom #67- Charlton, Conclusion

2010-03-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

And now, Part Two of "Triumph of Evil" :

Once again, Nazi War Criminals are foolish enough to set foot in the land of the Ghost Who Walks. When will those Nazis learn?