The Phantom... For Those Who Came in Late!

by Lee Falk, Sy Barry (Illustrator), Wilson McCoy (Illustrator)

Four hundred years ago, a man was washed up on a remote Bengali shore. He had seen his father killed and his ship scuttled by Singh pirates.

He swore an oath on the skull of his father’s murderer. He was the first Phantom, and the eldest male of each succeeding generation of his family followed in his footsteps.

As the unbroken line continued through the centuries, the world believed it was always the same man! So the legend grew!

The Phantom... the Ghost who Walks... the Man who Cannot Die..!

The legend lives on in these timeless tales that have enthralled and entertained generations of devoted fans from all over the world for the past 80 years. Collected here, for the very first time in colour, are all of the significant stories: the first Phantom and his Skull Cave; the origin of the Skull Ring; Hero, his horse; Devil, his wolf and faithful companion; his first, childhood meeting with Diana, who will become the love of his life and the mother of his children... and more... all of them an important part of the timeless tale that is... the legend of the Phantom!

Genres: Comics

212 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Lee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999), was an American writer, theater director and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strips The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. At the height of their popularity, these strips attracted over 100 million readers every day. Falk also wrote short stories, and he contributed to a series of pulp novels about The Phantom

Reviews

[Catsalive · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have definitely outgrown The Ghost Who Walks but, as I did come in late, it was interesting to find the Phantom's origins with the Bandar. You can see some of these are early comic strips by the drawings, there are subtle differences as they progress through the years & artists.

The Childhood of the Phantom - Lee Falk & Wilson McCoy: 11th Phantom Sunday paper story, 2/7/44-7/1/45

The Two Signs - Lee Falk & Wilson McCoy: 70th Phantom Daily newspaper story, 5/5/58-23/8/58. (Pub. in Australia as The Carlyle's Good Mark)

The Story of Hero - Bill Harris & Bill Lignante: King Comics The Phantom #27, 1967

Walker's Table - Lee Falk & Sy Barry: 75th Phantom Sunday story, 5/1-20/4/69

The First Phantom - Lee Falk & Sy Barry: 96th Phantom Sunday story, 18/5-10/8/75

The Ring - Ulf Granberg & Jaime Vallve: Semic Press as "Ringen" in Fantomen #11, 1977 (Sweden)

Devil's Story - Donne Avenell & Georges Bess: Semic Press as "Sagan om Devil" in Fantomen #23, 1979 (Sweden)

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essential reading for anyone who did indeed come in late. Most of the stories included are exceptional, but there's a couple that are quite average. I won't go into detail since I have a separate fan page for that lol

[Jacinta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! It was great to read the stories from the start..it help answer a few questions I had. Really enjoyed it. Would recommend it to anyone.