By Pat Boyette, Joe Gill, Giovani Fiorentini, Mario Pedrazzi, Sante D’Amico, Frank Bolle, Jim Aparo & various (Hermes Press)
ISBN: 978-1-61345-090-1 (HB/Digital edition)
This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. This book also includes Discriminatory Content included for dramatic and literary effect.
In the 17th century a British sailor survived an attack by pirates. Washed ashore on the African coast, he swore on the skull of his murdered father to dedicate his life and that of all his descendants to destroying all pirates and criminals. The Phantom still fights crime and injustice from a base deep in the jungles of Bengali, and throughout the continents is known as the “Ghost Who Walks”. His unchanging appearance and unceasing war on injustice led to his being considered an immortal avenger by the desperate, the credulous and especially the wicked. Down the decades one hero after another has fought and died in an unbroken family line, and the latest wearer of the mask, indistinguishable from the first, continues the never-ending battle.
Lee Falk created the Jungle Justice dealer at the request of his syndicate employers who were already making history, public headway and loads of money with his initial action strip sensation Mandrake the Magician, and although technically not the first ever costumed hero in comics, The Phantom’s astounding popularity wearing later demi-compulsory skintight bodystocking and mask with opaque eye-slits made him the prototype costumed comics paladin. He debuted on February 17th 1936 (Yep! Ninety nonstop years!!) in an extended sequence pitting him against global pirate confederation the Singh Brotherhood. Falk wrote and drew the daily strip for the first two weeks before handing over illustration to artist Ray Moore. A hugely successful Sunday feature began in May 1939. However, for such a long-lived and influential series, in terms of compendia or graphic collections, The Phantom has been very poorly served by the English language market; except in Australia where he has always been accorded the status of a pop culture god.
Numerous companies had begun releasing books of the strips – one of the longest continually running adventure serials in publishing history – but in no systematic or chronological order and never with any sustained success. Even if only of historical value (or just printed for Australians), surely enigmatic Mr. Kit Walker is worthy of a definitive chronological compendium series? Happily, and perhaps because of the tights and mask, his comic book adventures have fared slightly better – especially in recent times. From November 1962 through July 1966, all new adventures were published by West Coast giant Gold Key Comics after which King Features Syndicate dabbled with a comic book line of their biggest stars (Popeye, Blondie, Flash Gordon, Mandrake and The Phantom) between 1966 – 1967. When they gave up the ghost (Tee. Hee.), plucky dependable, cheap ‘n’ cheerful Charlton Comics were there to pick up the slack…
The Phantom was no stranger to funnybooks, commanding his own title all over the world. In the US he had appeared since the Golden Age in titles like Feature Book and Harvey Hits, albeit only as reformatted newspaper strip reprints. Gold Key’s efforts were tailored to a big page and a young readership, a model King Features maintained for their own run, but which was tweaked when Charlton acquired the license.
This fourth full-colour compilation gathers the contents of The Phantom #57-64 (cover-dated August 1973 through March 1975) and opens with another fact- & picture-packed Introduction by Daniel and Eileen Sabrina Herman. Here, in ‘The Phantom’s Charlton Years Continue’ amidst a wealth of original art pages, they detail the abrupt but brief transition to Italian pick-up tales supplied by publisher Edizioni Fratelli’s L’Uomo Mascherato and the background on contributors Joe Gill and Frank Bolle who close this book and usher us into the next era in the next collection…
Here and now, though, we resume with Pat Boyette still crafting jungle tales as cover-dated August 1973, The Phantom #57, opens with an organised mercenary assault on the Bandar villagers and theft of life & soul sustaining idol Lo-Piki. International investigation reveals murderous Gorilla & Snake are working for avaricious elitist one percenter La Contessa in ‘Part One: The Phantom Fails!’ but once the Ghost faces his foes it is psychology not force of arms that sets things right in ‘Part Two: Prisoner of Beauty!’ Closing the issue is a short cautionary tale about jumping to conclusions as The Phantom seeks to banish one more conniving witch doctor, only to be seriously schooled into ‘Taking His Medicine!’
Cover-dated October, #58 offers another 2-chapter lead saga with ‘Part One: The Swamp of Death’ finding the Jungle Judge following fugitive Mikhail Varsarfski into a miasmic bog that renders him helpless; poisoned by the toxic refinery the villain has secretly built there. Thankfully the hero’s juvenile assistants Rex & Tomm (and their monkey Jaja) devise a way to save “ Uncle Walker” in ‘Part Two: The Man Who Peddled Death!’ and the nations-extorting monster receives his just desserts…
Closing tale ‘Diana’s Ransom!’ again sees The Phantom’s intended abducted by thieves demanding the hero hand over the Bandar’s legendary treasures, and this time Rex & Tomm are allowed to help catch them, before #59 (December 1973) sees Joe Gill return to script Boyette’s last issue. In ‘Prisoner on Shark Island’, headstrong, globe-girdling archaeologist Diana is again kidnapped – and for the same motive! However, even though the tribe willingly surrenders their wealth for her return, new chancer Rozzman plans a diabolical double-cross… just like The Phantom and wily Bandar headman Guran…
Then in bustling African coastal boomtown Bangalla, white entrepreneurs orchestrate the “legal” theft of Bandar mineral rights and resources, but ‘The Despoilers’ and their ruthless agent Peel have never faced opposition like The Ghost Who Walks and are soon defeated, after which Mr Walker and Diana take a trip to the Bermuda Triangle to rescue old friend Dr. Kriss when he is ‘Caught in the Devil’s Cauldron’…
The title went on a short hiatus and #60 – cover-dated June 1974 – didn’t appear until March of that year. Sporting a Jim Aparo cover, edited by George Wildman and lettered by Frank Bravo ‘Assault on the Phantom’s Treasure’ was the first of a tranche of translated Italian reprints. Crafted by writer Giovanni Fiorentini & illustrator Mario Pedrazzi, this one originated in May 1967 in Avventure Americane-L’Uomo Mascherato #10 and again focused on the Skull Cave and Bandar wealth, whilst introducing a new archenemy for the hero…
Hook-handed, eye-patched evil scientist Strangol was descended from generations of pirates punished by previous Phantoms and his assault was as much for vengeance as profit. Strangol and his sultry accomplice Linda here united with another Phantom foe – arms dealer Steinkopf – to attack the hero’s home in a supertank, but their technology ultimately proved no match for the hero’s ingenuity and Bandar solidarity…
In #61 (August 1974) Fiorentini and artist Sante D’Amico delivered ‘A Dead Man’s Promise’ after an earthquake wrecks the regional prison and frees extremely dangerous inmates. As they maliciously prey on the local tribes, The Phantom realises that one of them bears a grudge. Tragically, it is not actually with him, but his father who sent the brute to jail twenty years previously and now events confirm that it was a huge miscarriage of justice, one that framed an innocent man and left his baby girl in the hands of the true villain all her life. How can the Ghost Who Walks possibly make amends?
Behind a Frank Bolle cover, #62 (November, by Fiorentini & Pedrazzi) sees the return of Strangol & Linda who break jail to unleash all their resources in a campaign of murder. ‘The Trap’ fails over and again and ends with their capture… but only until the next issue (#63, January 1975) wherein Fiorentini & Pedrazzi detail their attempts to kill their foe as ‘The River Pirates’. Whilst the Phantom strives to re-educate cruel, profligate potentate Gluma Rajah, he is inadvertently aided by the villains in their new submersible supertank who want his gold as much as the Phantom’s death. In the end they get neither.
On sale December 10th 1974 and cover-dated March 1975 ,the final issue here is #64, signalling a return to US originated tales. Written by Gill and illustrated by Bolle ‘Duel with Death’ sees The Phantom targeted by manic murder-merchant Colonel Death and his “close ally” Desert Flame, leaders of terrorist cell The Death Group. Sadly for them training tactics and overwhelming ordnance are no match for the determination and resources of Diana, loyal wolf Devil and the Ghost Who Walks…
With Africa all over contemporary news and “emerging nations” commanding headlines everywhere, politics was paramount and old standbys of rawhide and grass-kilted natives were vanishing on the pages of the world’s most popular strips jungle strips (Tarzan too!). However, action drama and mystery are never out of style and these yarns prove that the glamour and appeal of The Phantom is self-sustaining and ever-renewing.
With covers by Boyette Aparo, Mario Pedrazzi, Bolle and packed throughout with pages of Boyette and Bolle original art, this is another riotous rip-roaring, nostalgia-drenched delight: stripped down, nonstop rollicking action-adventure which has always been the staple of comics fiction and the Ghost Who Walks. If that sounds like a good time to you, this is a traditional action-fest you must not miss.
The Phantom® © 1973-1975 and 2015 King Features Syndicate, Inc. ® Hearst Holdings, Inc. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.