The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks #1 (1995)

Ah, the 90's, an interesting time for comics! A mixed bag, really. After the last few adventures, I wanted to move up in time a bit, and look at something a little different. I settled on this 1995 Marvel Comics mini-series for a couple reasons...it was published about 30 years after the Gold Key adventures I'd been covering and, to be very honest, like many 90's comics I had mixed feelings about it at the time. Now with 20 years between its publication (and my first reading) let's see how I feel about "The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks" #1, written by Dave deVries and drawn by Glenn Lumsden.

Gold Key The Phantom #04

Who's ready for another trip to the jungles of Bangalla and adventures with the Ghost Who Walks? Then let's dive right into Gold Key's "The Phantom" #04! From writer Bill Harris and artist Bill Ligante we once again get not one, but two tales of the Phantom, "Oogooru" and "The Goggle-Eye Pirates"...and another beautiful painted cover by George Wilson!

Apologies, delays...and a brief hiatus

Phantom Fans, due to some things both good and bad in my life, I've had to make the tough call to take a brief hiatus from blogging. 

The bad? My full time job is for a large telecommunications company. My office is currently going through some growing pains, and as a result my schedule has become...well challenging. Longer than normal shifts coupled with frequently changing hours and days off has made it difficult for me to keep up with some basic stuff around the house, let alone maintaining Kord Industries and the Phantom's Skull Cave.

The good? My time outside of that swirling storm that is work has been dedicated to planning my future! I'm engaged, wrapping my head around an upcoming wedding...and looking into going back to school!

Fear not...I'm not abandoning you or the blog! For the last few years I've used October, December and April as sort of skip months. Traditionally that has meant covering Halloween and Holiday themes in fall and winter, and random topics in spring. 

This year though I'm going to take those months off...well at least October and December. I'll be back in November to cover more of the Gold Key Phantom adventures, and The Phantom: Danger in the Forbidden City from Hermes press in the new year!

Keep an eye out here and on Facebook for more updates...and thanks for your support and understanding!

The Phantom by Joe Jusko

So while perusing DeviantArt for some pics of the Phantom, I came across this piece by Joe Jusko that blew me away! It's a piece he did for the trading card set to the 1996 film starring Billy Zane...and I think it's amazing!

The Phantom on TV

Welcome back friends of the Phantom! Did you know there was a failed TV pilot for the Phantom? No, I'm not talking about the SyFy Channel "event". (I'll save that for another time.) I'm talking about a 60's attempt that would have predated the popular "Batman" show from 1966. That's right, the Ghost Who Walks almost had his own television show...in 1961! 

Gold Key The Phantom #03

After taking a look at the Phantom in "Defenders of the Earth" the last couple months, I figured it was a good time to head back to the beginning...or at least back to where I started with the blog. From writer Bill Harris and artist Bill Ligante we once again get not one, but two tales of the Phantom, "The Diamond Cup" and "The Cry Baby"...and another beautiful painted cover by George Wilson in Gold Key's "The Phantom" #03!

Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues!: Mars Attacks The Phantom!

I love, love, love Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues by Ross Pearsall! Ross is a genius at taking two different characters and creating a fnatastic "What If...?" style cover. So I figured before I moved on from the sci-fi Phantom kick I've been on the last couple months, I thought I'd share this...

Super-Team Family: The Lost Issues!: Mars Attacks The Phantom! If you don't already, be sure to check out Ross' page!

Defenders of the Earth 01x04: A House Divided

Two months ago we looked at 1963's Gold Key "The Phantom" #2, which included an unusual story involving the Phantom taking on aliens. That got me thinking about other examples of the Ghost Who Walks in a scif-fi element which led me to look at an issue of Marvel/Star Comics "Defenders of the Earth" series. I had flip flopped on whether to cover the comic or the cartoon, and chose the comic...until I noticed an episode of the cartoon with a very similar story. So sit back and get ready for another brother versus brother battle as the Phantom faces N'Dama again, for the first time, in the fourth Phantom focused episode of "Defenders of the Earth" titled "A House Divided".

Star Comics Defenders of the Earth #3

So after last months Gold Key story that had the Phantom facing off against some aliens, I wanted to take a look at another Phantom story with a sci-fi twist. I found a couple possibilities, but this one won out...in fact I think I can make this a two-parter! 1986 saw the debut of the animated series "Defenders of the Earth" which teamed the Ghost Who Walks with fellow King Features heroes Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar. Marvel Comics, through its imprint Star Comics, even produced a short lived comic series based on the cartoon. So today I bring you the story "Family Honor", written by Michael Higgins, and with art by Alex Saviuk and Fred Fredericks.

Gold Key The Phantom #02

Welcome to the first official recap of the Phantom's Skull Cave! Based on the feedback I got back in October at my other blog, Kord Industries, I decided to start looking at the Ghost Who Walks, the Man Who Cannot Die...the Phantom! Since I already covered Gold Key's first issue over at Kord Industries, we'll start with #2 here. From writer Bill Harris and artist Bill Ligante we get not one, but two tales of the Phantom, "The Rattle" and "The Test"...and a gorgeous painted cover by George Wilson!