Phantom Road Volume 3

Phantom Road #11-15

by Jeff Lemire, Gabriel H. Walta (Illustrator), Jordie Bellaire (Colorist)

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 21, 2025

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.

Reviews

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third volume of Jeff Lemire's graphic novel series Phantom Road is mostly a flashback to 1997, fleshing out events and characters merely mentioned in the previous volumes. We discover more about Operation Jacknife---an open FBI file involving a chain of rest stops, spiritual ley lines, and a string of 20-year-old unsolved murders---and Theresa learns that her missing dad is still alive... just not in this world. Fun, creepy sci-fi/horror that harkens back to early X-Files. I just wish Lemire would give a move on and publish these volumes quicker.

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting! A bit confusing on the timeline since it's been a while since I read the previous volume. A series that would benefit from a rereading on a shorter period when it will be all out!

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third volume of Phantom Road flashes back to give us some context, and even some answers, as to what's actually going on here.

I'm glad that we're leaning into the whole magic aspect of things - I'm tired of things that look like magic being revealed as technology. Granted, we're still talking about alternate dimensions, but there's leylines and weird eggs, and zombie souls and...yeah, good shit.

[Mateo V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far my favorite volume in the series. Loved how we got more fleshed out of James Harold and Theresa's father, Jack and seeing how far back this business with Project Jackknife. Seeing both Weaver and Harold work together felt like a true crime show and with the added supernatural layer, it makes it a much more compelling and layered story. This kind of makes me wish that the series started off with this then do a time jump with Dom and Birdie continuing where it was left off. Speaking of which, when are we getting more from the series? I'd be a shame if it went on a hiatus with such a cliffhanger. Anyways, this installment is, again, my favorite compared to the other two. The dialogue between characters feels slower paced and the characterization of these individuals make them more likeable, compared to Dom and Birde (no offense to those two). Hugo Hamm seems like a run-of-the-mill rich villain seeking out the McGuffin for nefarious purposes, but he's still enjoyable to read. I do hope the creators are working on whatever the next chapter of this series, but I understand if they're too busy with other projects. I hope that the ending of this series makes the story of it all worthwhile.

[Darius Ostrowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something that looked interesting at the library, so I picked it up. Good guess on my part.

This one is mostly backstory. We learn about the origins of Operation Jackknife, back in 1997, about how the truck stops follow ley lines in the earth, about the opening to the Other Place. We also meet Theresa’s dad the FBI agent, how he gets involved with the agent in the Hawaiian shirt, how Hugo Hamm gets Theresa involved as a little kid. Probably the best of the series so far.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when I was starting to get tired of unexplained weirdness, the story actually takes a break to do a flashback and start to fill in some things. It's still weird, but maybe there's an explanation for all of this? Excellent artwork by Walta. I just wish this was moving along a bit faster.

[Jonathan Crabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third volume of this series continues to be quite good. It explains a bit of the backstory which was presented in Vol 2, but didn't move the story ahead much beyond that. I hope the series continues as it is a fun one and I would like to see the end of the story.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 4 out of 5]

De muy ágil lectura, este volumen, explica casi todo lo previo, y creo que debiese cerrar en el volumen siguiente. Recomendable si te gustan los x-files.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

About a 100 pages of backstory and fluff.

I think ole jeffry might milk this one dry.

3.3✨🌟

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the flashback and how it incorporates into the main threads going forward.

[Kirsten Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far my favourite of the series so far. A great explanation of some of the things that have happened. When I’m reading these t feels like I’m submerged in a TV series and it’s great!