{"id":27187,"date":"2022-12-11T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2022-12-11T09:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=27187"},"modified":"2022-12-09T19:25:38","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T19:25:38","slug":"the-phantom-sundays-archive-volume-1-full-size-newspaper-strips-1939-1942","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2022\/12\/11\/the-phantom-sundays-archive-volume-1-full-size-newspaper-strips-1939-1942\/","title":{"rendered":"The Phantom Sundays Archive volume 1 – Full-Size Newspaper Strips: 1939-1942"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Lee Falk<\/strong> & Ray Moore<\/strong>: introduction by Daniel Herman <\/strong>(Hermes Press)
\nISBN: ?978-1-61345-081-9 (HB\/Digital edition), ?978-1-61345-091-8 (Limited Edition)<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Landmark and Lovely Comics Adventure\u2026 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Born Leon Harrison Gross, Lee Falk created the Jungle Avenger at the request of his King Features Syndicate employers who were already making history, public headway and loads of money with his first strip sensation Mandrake the Magician<\/strong>. Although technically not the first ever costumed champion in comics, The Phantom <\/strong>became the prototype paladin to wear a skin-tight body-stocking and the first to have a mask with opaque eye-slits\u2026<\/p>\n

The Ghost Who Walks debuted on February 17th<\/sup> 1936 in an extended sequence pitting him against an ancient global confederation of pirates. Falk wrote and drew the daily strip for the first two weeks before handing over illustration to artist Ray Moore. The spectacular and hugely influential Sunday feature gathered here began in May 1939.<\/p>\n

For such a long-lived, influential series, in terms of compendia or graphic collections, The Phantom <\/strong>has been quite poorly served in the English language market (except in the Antipodes, where he has always been accorded the status of a pop culture god).<\/p>\n

Numerous companies have sought to collect strips from one of the longest continually running adventure serials in publishing history, but in no systematic or chronological order and never with any sustained success. That began to be rectified when archival specialists Hermes Press began offering curated collections\u2026<\/p>\n

This particular edition is a lovely and large landscape hardback (but also available in digital formats), displaying a complete full colour Sunday per page. Released in May 2015, it was printed on matt paper to mimic the original newsprint experience: 160 pages measuring 310 x 430 mm, and also in a Special Limited Edition of 1000 copies, should you require your reading matter to double as an antiquarian artefact\u2026<\/p>\n

It’s still readily available in digital form and – stuffed with sumptuous visual goodies like movie posters, comics covers and original art – Daniel Herman\u2019s \u2018Introduction: The Phantom\u2019s First Foray into Color\u2019<\/em> – tells all you need to know about the character, his creators, and predecessor\/co-star before the vintage magic begins\u2026<\/p>\n

It opens with a recapped origin: showing how 400 years previously, a British sailor survived an attack by pirates, and – washing ashore on the African coast – swore on the skull of his father\u2019s murderer to dedicate his life and that of his descendants to destroying all pirates and criminals. The Phantom<\/strong> fights crime and injustice from a base deep in the jungles of Bengali<\/em>, and throughout Africa and Asia is known as the \u201cGhost Who Walks\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

His unchanging appearance and unswerving war against injustice led to his being considered an immortal avenger by the uneducated, credulous and wicked. Down the decades, one champion after another has fought and died in an unbroken family line, with the latest wearer of the mask indistinguishable from the first and proudly continuing the never-ending battle.<\/p>\n

\u2018The League of Lost Men\u2019<\/em> spanned May 28th<\/sup> to October 15th<\/sup> 1939, detailing how a gang of white thugs led by untutored brute Twitchy<\/em> began teaching rural tribes the concept of the \u201cprotection racket\u201d. With villagers killed and entire communities aflame, the Ghost took action just as white entomologist Professor Thrush<\/em> and his beautiful, dutiful daughter Helen<\/em> stumbled into the army of criminals whilst searching for skull-emblazoned Death\u2019s Head moths\u2026<\/p>\n

With the scientists as hostages, the Phantom was reduced to playing a waiting game, but detective work revealed his enemies comprised hundreds of convicts escaped from a foundered prison ship. Gravely outnumbered, our hero and lupine assistant Devil<\/em> (that\u2019s a wolf. Yes, in Africa. Just go with it\u2026) employ psychological warfare, using those skull moths and combat skills in a war of attrition bringing the legion to doom or reincarceration\u2026<\/p>\n

International espionage and environmental terrorism informed \u2018The Precious Cargo of Colonel Winn\u2019<\/em> (October 15th<\/sup> 1939 March 10th<\/sup> 1940) as the Phantom fails to save an aging British agent and takes over his identity and mission: delivering a crucial coded message to India. As a consequence he soundly scuppers a scheme to blow up a major dam, drown hundreds of people and kill millions more through thirst\u2026<\/p>\n

Every saga featured powerful, capable and remarkably attractive women as both heroes and villains, but Falk & Moore went a step further with \u2018The Fire Goddess\u2019<\/em> (March 17th<\/sup> – July 21st<\/sup> 1940). Restored to Africa, the hero faced mass uprisings and the end of \u201cThe Phantom\u2019s Peace\u201d when the Mesabi people took up their belligerent old religion. Some diligent investigation uncovered another get-rich-quick scheme by white crooks and an elderly Mesabi seer who jointly conned and compelled a beautiful red-haired nightclub dancer into being their personal war deity.<\/p>\n

Once the Ghost finally liberated Manna Day<\/em> from her captors and inflicted his brand of justice, he assumed he\u2019d seen the last of her but she was back immediately as \u2018The Beachcomber\u2019<\/em> (July 28th<\/sup> – December 29th<\/sup> 1940) found her rescuing deranged hobo Whitey<\/em>, slowly expiring on an African shoreline.<\/p>\n

Befriending the degenerate, she uncovered a horrific tale of injustice as her fellow American revealed how he was a fugitive: perfectly framed for murder by his own lawyer. Manna decided it was a case for her masked friend\u2026<\/p>\n

After dragging Whitey across the continent to the fabled Skull Cave, she convinced the hero to head for the USA where \u201cKit Walker<\/em>\u201d made them extremely conspicuous in New York, drawing the attention of a slick murder-for-hire mob, assassinating powerful people and duping innocents into carrying the can \u2013 just as they had with Whitey\u2026<\/p>\n

Infiltrating the group, Walker uses his new position to save an honest Judge before deftly dismantling the killer corporation.<\/p>\n

Heading home, he was barely out of the judge\u2019s house before the next escapade began as he overheard plans of \u2018The Saboteurs\u2019<\/em> (January 5th<\/sup> February 23rd<\/sup> 1941) at a railway station. With Devil beside him, The Ghost Who Walks tumbled into an escalating sequence of stunning action set-pieces involving trains, planes, automobiles – even oil pipelines and roller coasters! – as he wiped out the seditious enemy agents.<\/p>\n

The remainder of this initial outing features movie-length extravaganza \u2018The Return of the Sky Band\u2019<\/em> (running March 2nd<\/sup> 1941 to February 22nd<\/sup> 1942). The first clash had been The Phantom<\/strong>\u2019s second published case (originally published in black-&-white Daily form from 9th<\/sup> November 1936 to April 10th<\/sup> 1937): pitting the Grim Ghost against merciless aviators plundering passenger planes and cargo flights.<\/p>\n

His crusade against cloud bandits ruthlessly raiding passenger planes and airships throughout the orient only shattered the gang – comprised solely of women – after his manly charms inadvertently drove a fatal wedge between deranged and deadly commander The<\/em> Baroness<\/em> and her ambitious second in command Sala<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

Now as the hero reaches home, news comes of more air piracy and The Phantom volunteers his services to an embattled air clipper company. All too soon, he\u2019s matching wits with Sala again, hunting the new Sky Band\u2019s secret island base. And once again he ends up in jail accused of masterminding their crimes\u2026<\/p>\n

However, before he can escape police custody, the air pirates make a fatal error, allying with an enemy power. Very soon the women learn that they are far from the apex predators they consider themselves. When the Phantom escapes, he\u2019s not sure if he\u2019s shutting them down or saving them.<\/p>\n

Sala\u2019s deputy Margo<\/em> has no doubts or qualms though, delivering their potential saviour to the enemy military, only to have the Ghost Who Walks wreak awful vengeance on their sailors as they flee in a submarine\u2026<\/p>\n

However, even with a secret invasion foiled and Sala and Margo arrested, the danger is not over, and their attempts to get away leads to a horrific act of sabotage as the enemy submariners also break free\u2026<\/p>\n

Only another unlikely alliance saves the day, and sees a return to relative stability in a world teetering on the edge of another global war\u2026<\/p>\n

To Be Continued\u2026<\/p>\n

Taken from America\u2019s immediate pre-war period, these brief encounters are uncomplicated fare, full of lost kingdoms and savage tribes, very bad guys and fallen but still redeemable dames; but thrilling yet reassuring entertainment for all that. Finally rediscovered, these lost treasures are especially rewarding as the material is still fresh, entertaining and addictively compelling.<\/p>\n

But, even if it were only of historical value (or just printed for Australians – who have long been manic devotees of the implacable champion) surely the Ghost Who Walks is worthy of a little of your time?
\nThe Phantom\u00ae \u00a9 1939-1942 and 2015 King Features Syndicate, Inc. \u00ae Hearst Holdings, Inc.; reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Introduction \u00a9 2015 Daniel Herman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lee Falk & Ray Moore: introduction by Daniel Herman (Hermes Press) ISBN: ?978-1-61345-081-9 (HB\/Digital edition), ?978-1-61345-091-8 (Limited Edition) Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Landmark and Lovely Comics Adventure\u2026 9\/10 Born Leon Harrison Gross, Lee Falk created the Jungle Avenger at the request of his King Features Syndicate employers who were already making history, public headway … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Phantom Sundays Archive volume 1 – Full-Size Newspaper Strips: 1939-1942”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,78,75,255,251,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-comic-strip-classics","category-crime-comics","category-environmentalism","category-the-phantom","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-74v","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27187"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27189,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27187\/revisions\/27189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}