The Ghost Who Walks

Explore the jungles of Bangalla with us as we unearth the secrets of The Phantom!

Created by Lee Falk, The Phantom started in 1936 as a daily newspaper strip syndicated by King Features. At its peak, The Phantom was read by 100 million people per day, and had a similar spirit to pulp hero characters such as Doc Savage and The Shadow.

Kit Walker was the civilian identity of The Phantom, a 300-year lineage stretching back to 1536. The first Phantom was the son of a sailor, attacked by pirates, who swore to fight against evil. Each father in turn passed the mantle on to their own son, making The Phantom a character that never dies. The base from which he operates is a cave in the jungle of Bangalla, a fictional country located somewhere in Africa.

The journey from comic strips to comic books was a natural one, with no less than ten different publishers taking a turn at the character, including Dynamite most recently. The first comic books were simply reprints of the newspaper strips, published by Harvey Comics in the 1950s. Gold Key gave The Phantom a try in the 1960s, but despite the talent of Russ Manning, The Phantom was never a commercial success and they gave up after seventeen issues. King Comics managed even fewer, eleven comics total, in their 1966 run. Some of the more successful Phantom comics were those produced by Charlton in the late 1960s, with writer Steve Skeates and artist Jim Aparo having some notable issues before leaving to work for DC. Don Newton issues of the Charlton series were fan-favorites, featuring a Humphrey Bogart lookalike and other period detail before the artist's unexpected death in 1984.

The Phantom had two short runs at the big two publishers. The first of which showcased art by Joe Orlando, and the legendary Steve Ditko drew a short Phantom 2040 series for Marvel which came and went. Various other publishers have released their own tales of the ghost that walks, including Moonstone, Hermes Press and most recently Dynamite with their “King” universe that included most of the popular King Features characters. In an interesting twist, writer Brian Clevinger and artist Brent Schoonover had Lothar, former strongman sidekick to Mandrake, temporarily take over the role of the Phantom until the actual descendant of Kit Walker can be found. It’s a fun read and a nice homage to The Phantom’s pulpy roots.

While all is quiet in the Bangalla jungle cave right now, we like to think that we haven't heard the last from The Phantom, the pulp hero in purple, also known as the ghost who walks!

KING THE PHANTOM LIMITED SERIES

Brian Clevinger (W) • Brent Schoonover (A)

Dynamite had a recent nice run that featured the King Features Syndicate characters under the shared “King” banner. As part of this line, they released a four-issue series starring The Phantom by Brian Clevinger and Brent Schoonover with a cross-series connecting cover by comic legend Darwyn Cooke!

PHANTOM: DANGER IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY HC

Peter David (W) • Sal Velluto (A)

This mini-series triumphantly returned The Phantom to comic books and is collected together as a graphic novel. This tale pits The Phantom against the Singh Brotherhood and their metal-handed leader who are intent on plundering an ancient fabled City of Gold. Only The Phantom, Diana and a new-found ally can stop them!