The Phantom: The Complete Sundays, Vol. 1

The Phantom: The Complete Sundays #1

by Lee Falk, Ray Moore (Artist), Daniel Herman (Editor)

The long-anticipated reprint of the entire run of Lee Falk''s full-color Phantom Sundays, with art by Ray Moore begins Fans of "The Ghost Who Walks" have waited years for a complete series of hardcover volumes featuring the complete Phantom Sundays - and this is the first book in the series. As with Hermes Press'' complete reprint of The Phantom dailies, this book contains every strip, digitally reconstructed to perfection. Presented in Volume 1 are the first eight storylines of the strips which encompass the first continuity: "The League of Lost Men" (May 28-October 15, 1939) to "Castle in the Clouds" (October 18, 1942-April 18, 1943). In addition to the strips, this volume contains documentary material and a detailed essay.

Genres: Comics, Superheroes, Comic Strips

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 29, 2012

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

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd never read any Phantom comics before, which is weird because he's often recognized as the first costumed super hero, predating Superman even. I'm going to read some '70s ones next and hope they tone down the blatant racism a bit.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first volume of Sunday strips of the Phantom's adventures contains seven storylines: "The League of Lost Men" where a band of criminals wreak havoc in the Deep Woods, "The Precious Cargo of Colonel Winn" where the Phantom is ensnared in a spy plot with a ridiculous code at its centre, "The Fire Goddess" has a redheaded woman embodying a more sinister version of the Phantom's shtick, "The Beachcomber" shows the Phantom clearing the name of a wrongfully accused hobo, "The Saboteurs" is a short adventure where the Ghost Who Walks protects a vague military apparatus, "The Return of the Sky Band" marks a sequel to a classic early Phantom story, and "The Imposter" where a fugitive murderer steals the Phantom's costume and sends the Deep Woods into chaos.

Ray Moore's art is fairly typical of adventure comic strips from the era as are the cringe-worthy moments of casual sexism and colonialism.

[John Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art hasn't aged well, but the stories are fun. Some of these tales were used in both the 40s serial and the 1996 movie.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victory through graphical superiority