Random Phantom Panel #7

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

Curiouser and curiouser...

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...

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...

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

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

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.

Phantom Artist Profile- Ray Moore

Raymond S. Moore
1905?-1984

Moore drew sixteen separate storylines for the dailies and eight separate storylines for the Sunday strip from 1936 until 1949 when he retired as the result of a war injury he received as a pilot during WWII.

Moore started as an art assistant to Phil Davis on Lee Falk's adventure strip Mandrake The Magician. When Falk realized he was not going to be able to handle drawing The Phantom on a regular basis, he hired Moore to take over the art chores.

Moore's period on The Phantom is known for it's moody and atmospheric- if sometimes simplified- quality.


Falk was pleased with Moore's work and was especially impressed with his ability to draw beautiful women. It's for this very reason that Falk wrote several stories featuring gangs of women criminals, such as "The Sky Band".

Mr. Moore passed away of natural causes in 1984.

(images swiped from Google images)