{"id":33265,"date":"2025-07-06T13:05:50","date_gmt":"2025-07-06T13:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33265"},"modified":"2025-07-06T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-06T13:05:50","slug":"the-phantom-the-complete-sunday-archive-volume-five-1953-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/07\/06\/the-phantom-the-complete-sunday-archive-volume-five-1953-1956\/","title":{"rendered":"The Phantom: The Complete Sunday Archive volume Five 1953-1956"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Lee Falk<\/strong> & Wilson McCoy<\/strong>, & various (Hermes Press)
\nISBN: 978-1-61345-169-4 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Born Leon Harrison Gross, \u201cLee Falk\u201d created the Ghost Who Walks 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>was 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 generational champion debuted on February 17th<\/sup> 1936, in an extended sequence pitting him against an ancient global confederation of pirates called the Singh Brotherhood<\/em>. Falk wrote and drew the daily strip for the first fortnight before handing over illustration to artist Ray Moore. The spectacular and hugely influential Sunday feature began in May 1939.<\/p>\n

For such a long-lived, influential series, in terms of compendia or graphic collections, The Phantom <\/strong>was quite poorly served in the English language market (except for the Antipodes, where he\u2019s always been accorded the status of a pop culture god). Many 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 launched their curated collections\u2026<\/p>\n

This fifth fabulous festival of rain forest romances and jungle action is a landscape hardback (or digital) tome, displaying alternately complete full colour Sunday episodes or crisp monochrome instalments shot from press proofs and digitally remastered. Released in December 2018, its 208 pages are stuffed with sumptuous visual goodies and documentary materials like panel and logo close-ups, comics covers and original art, and opens with publisher Daniel Herman\u2019s Introduction \u2018The Phantom Sundays Continue…\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This recaps all you need to know about the ongoing feature and discloses how reproduction of such an ancient and venerated features offers its own unique problems…<\/p>\n

For those who came in late:<\/em> 400 years ago, a British mariner survived an attack by pirates, and – after 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 evil and injustice from his fabulous lair deep in the jungles of Bengali<\/em>, revered and feared throughout Africa and Asia 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 heroic son after another has inherited the task, 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. In his first published exploit, the Phantom met and fell for wealthy American sophisticate Diane Palmer<\/em>. His passion for her was soon reciprocated and returned and she became a continuing presence in both iterations of the series as ally, partner, sounding board, a means of reader identification and naturally a plot pawn and perennial hostage to fortune. She was also a handy conduit as the hero occasionally shared four centuries of Phantom history, hearing tales of ancestral Ghosts Who Walked in earlier eras. As was the fashion of the feature almost every saga included powerful, capable and remarkably attractive women as both heroes and villains.
\n\"\"
\nHowever as the ultra-conservative 1950s unfolded, that femme fatale policy was increasingly downplayed. For Falk & Wilson McCoy\u2019s opening tale \u2018Madcap Miriam\u2019 <\/em>(running from (May 31st<\/sup> to October 18th<\/sup>, 1953), that results in a bored multi-millionairess deciding only the \u201cmost romantic man of Earth\u201d is good enough for her and sends faithful personal secretary Steve to scour the globe for him. When he at last returns with a photo of the Ghost Who Walks all Miriam\u2019s wealth and wiles are turned upon him…to no effect.<\/p>\n

When everything else fails, Miss Miriam tracks him to the jungle and hires thugs to abduct him, before The Phantom loses his patience, crushes her brute squad and makes Miriam his skivvy in the Skull Cave. The miracle of honest toil, being relentlessly bullied and close proximity soon works its unique romantic magic on the captive when Steve arrives to rescue her…<\/p>\n

Running October 25th<\/sup> 1953 to January 31st<\/sup> 1954, \u2018The Imaginary Playmate\u2019<\/em> sees the Jungle Guardian befriend a lonely lad stuck alone on a busy plantation. With his parents too preoccupied to pay attention, Conley Wright<\/em> is happy to find a fantastic adult willing to indulge in his games and stories. However, as Dad grows more concerned about his boy being lost in fantasy, a gang intent on acquiring the plantation offer incontrovertible proof that the kid\u2019s playmate is all too real and very protective…<\/p>\n

February 7th<\/sup> to June 6th<\/sup> 1954 encompassed an epic tale of vengeance as the current Ghost Who Walks finally faced the traitor who betrayed his father when that worthy sought to end the Singh Brotherhood and returned without his equipment, only to die. Now at last The Phantom\u2019s justice lands on mini-tyrant Rama<\/em>: the villain who killed his father and stole \u2018The Belt\u2019<\/em>. A decade later this yarn was retooled for Gold Key\u2019s Phantom<\/strong> comic book.<\/p>\n

The same is true for \u2018The Master Spy\u2019 <\/em>(June 13th<\/sup> – October 10th<\/sup> 1954) which focuses on the Jungle Patrol<\/em>: a peacekeeping paramilitary force secretly established and run by the Phantom to police the many tribes and intruders seeking to exploit them. When they are approached by \u201chistorian\u201d Dr. Heg<\/em> they have no idea that he is employed by a colonising totalitarian state to undermine the stable society. He benefits greatly from the covert nature of the force, as \u201cThe Patrol\u201d are worthy soldiers have truly no idea who their mysterious \u201cCommander\u201d is. When Heg subverts an ambitious but well-meaning new recruit the efficient system goes awry and chaos almost destroys everything until the Phantom takes a firm grip of the situation…
\n\"\"
\nContemporary politics gives way to timeless fantasy next as \u2018Alexander\u2019s Cup\u2019 <\/em>(October 17th<\/sup> 1954 – February 27th<\/sup> 1955) reveals how History\u2019s greatest treasures are stored in the fabulous Skull Cave. After saving fever-wracked explorer Wells<\/em>, the Phantom foolishly shows him The Diamond Cup of Alexander the Great (also owned by Xerxes, Jules Caesar and other great men before vanishing from public gaze) and accidentally triggers a greed-fuelled rampage by eager criminals and ambitious chancers like Wells\u2019 explorer colleague Lorgen<\/em>. Eventually, however, the stolen chalice is restored, but only after one of the most spectacular recovery operations the Ghost Who Walks has ever attempted…<\/p>\n

A brief, palate-cleansing all action clash with protection racketeers \u2018The Gibs Brothers\u2019<\/em> (March 6th<\/sup> – April 3rd<\/sup>) segues into extended warfare against a society of murderers as \u2018The Crescent Cult\u2019 <\/em>sees the Jungle Ghost crushing an assassination gang determined to murder their country\u2019s new Maharani. The assaults are constant and the cult of Kratan is riddled deep in every stratum of the kingdom, so the Phantom\u2019s first move is to kidnap and hold prisoner the intended victim. From there it\u2019s just mopping up, really…<\/p>\n

The USA\u2019s rapidly growing dose of UFO fever manifested next as from August 14th<\/sup> through November 6th<\/sup>, a tribal headman teaches the village children of the time when the Ghost Who Walks repelled \u2018The Horned Star Demons\u2019.<\/em> What follows is a wry spin on a classic plot as alien scouts pick The Phantom as the \u201ctypical earthling\u201d to test their prowess and superior technology on, prior to deciding to invade or not…<\/p>\n

An always fruitful recurring subplot involved Diana Palmer\u2019s stinking rich family continually seeking to discredit her true love and get her married off to money. Now her grandfather had his shot at ending the romance by finding her \u2018A Proper Husband\u2019<\/em> (November 13th<\/sup> 1955 – February 13th<\/sup> 1956). Bigwig H.H. Palmer\u2019s grand idea is to apply business methods and interview an army of tough guy types, but of course no one measures up and are completely useless when kidnappers join the festivities. Lucky The Phantom and Good Boi Devil<\/em> aren\u2019t too far away…<\/p>\n

Penultimate peril \u2018The Jungle Tourneys\u2019<\/em> (February 19th<\/sup> – May 20th<\/sup>) then reminds readers that tribal rivalries are settled by Phantom-instituted combat sports days, which culminate with the African last man standing allowed the honour of battling the Ghost Who Walks. Sadly this year an unlucky prison escapee who finds the Phantom\u2019s clothes is stuck fighting a native gladiator in a centuries-old grudge match… and loses.<\/p>\n

With legends shattered, the prestige of victory goes to the head of Woban of the Wambesi<\/em> whose triumph sparks chaos and disruption until the real Phantom restores the status quo of The Phantom\u2019s Peace…
\n\"\"
\nClosing this graphic safari, \u2018Pirate Day\u2019 <\/em>(May 27th<\/sup> – August 19th<\/sup> 1956) finds the port city of Bengali-Town celebrating its own version of trick or treat. Unfortunately, as adults, citizens and kids pick up swag sacks and go marauding like jolly corsairs and buccaneers, real crooks use the festivities to rob a swank ball. When they villains are separated all the loot goes into one sack, and that one is accidentally confused with a candy-stuffed satchel that passed around with astounding frequency, before the Ghost Who Walks settles the matter to everyone\u2019s satisfaction. Well, not the robbers, of course. The Phantom hates pirates…<\/p>\n

If the kind of fare you\u2019d encounter in a 1940s Tarzan<\/strong> movie or noir thriller might offend, you should consider carefully before starting this book, but if you\u2019re open to oldies with inherent but honest historical and cultural challenges there\u2019s a lot to be said for these straightforward pioneering thrillers. Finally rediscovered in this hemisphere, these lost gems are especially rewarding as the material is still fresh, entertaining and addictively compelling. However, even if it were only of historical value (or just printed for Australians – manic devotees of the implacable champion from the get-go) surely the Ghost Who Walks and fianc\u00e9e\/wife-who-waits is worthy of a little of your time?<\/p>\n

The Phantom<\/strong>\u00ae \u00a9 1953-1956 and 2018 King Features Syndicate, Inc. \u00ae Hearst Holdings, Inc. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lee Falk & Wilson McCoy, & various (Hermes Press) ISBN: 978-1-61345-169-4 (HB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Born Leon Harrison Gross, \u201cLee Falk\u201d created the Ghost Who Walks at the request of his King Features Syndicate employers who were already making history, public headway and loads of money … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Phantom: The Complete Sunday Archive volume Five 1953-1956”<\/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":[191,280,78,75,255,108,225,148,107,251,156],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-animal-antics","category-comic-strip-classics","category-crime-comics","category-environmentalism","category-miscellaneous-superhero","category-mystery","category-romance","category-science-fiction","category-the-phantom","category-world-classics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8Ex","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33265","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=33265"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33271,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33265\/revisions\/33271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}