Roy Thomas Presents Classic Phantom Lady Vol. 2

Roy Thomas Presents

by Various

graphic novel

Genres: Comics

312 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2013

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Carl Waluconis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The reproduction is lacking, especially compared to other mainstream reprints. In addition, these days there is the wonderful Digital Comic Museum site, where the reproduction is better. But you will have to pick through many issues to do what this volume does, which is gather from many sources, such as All-Top and Wonder Boy, and gather not full issues, but focus on Phantom Lady stories. Phantom Lady was never top-rung, drifting from small company to small company. She is most famous for fabulous Matt Baker artwork, though not most of that is in Volume 1 of this series. She also has a rarity for 40's and 50's comics, a woman writer, Ruth Roche. Phantom Lady's "Lois Lane" is a blundering boyfriend of Sandra Knight, PL's alter ego. Her power is athleticism and a gizmo, a dark light that blinds people. It is never explained how this works. Also, unexplained is how, though identical except for the sexy uniform, no one recognizes that Phantom Lady and Sandra Knight are identical - not her father, the Senator, nor her boyfriend who ogles Phantom Lady ("Gee, if you were only like her."). Add to this, no matter where she goes, everyone who sees her - i.e. mostly police and crooks - recognizes Phantom Lady, yet no one sees the Sandra Knight resemblance. Ah well - an unexplained power. To enjoy this book, you are not reading for verisimilitude, but for the old unabashed comic book outrageousness. When the series is done by Ajax, the figures in the art become totally disproportional in terms of perspective. This may have been a result of pasting drawings in from other stories, but the effect is like dropping into a slightly off dimension. I always seek out unique, interesting reading experiences, and this book provided that in a fun way.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book with low expectations. Everything I had read about the Phantom Lady focused on her being a prime example of Golden Age Good Girl art and her rather infamous cover poses. I was surprised therefore, to find her an extremely capable, self-assured, intelligent crime fighter who was well respected by the police and the general public. The stories are short and often ridiculous, but that makes them fun. I mean who else, but the Phantom Lady is going to fill in for the entire U.S. Olympic team when they are drugged by international hoodlums bent on embarrassing the country? Unfortunately, the stories begin to change around 1949. The Phantom Lady begins to experience more and more self-doubts. She comes across as a much weaker character and women in general are portrayed in a less favorable light. Some of the stories include overtly racist stereotypes. All in all, I would give 70% of this book 5 stars, but I would have to give the rest 1 star (or less if I could).