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The Story of the Phantom #12
The Vampires and the Witch
The Phantom Vampires and the Witch
144 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1974
2 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Lee Falk
1,666 books68 followersLee 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
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 10, 2021
This is the twelfth book in Avon's series of prose novels that featured Lee Falk's iconic hero from newspaper comic strips. This is the last of the four that were written by Falk himself, based on one of his comics scripts. It's an unusual story, with a fairy tale feel and a somewhat ambiguous conclusion. The Gooley-Gooley/Hanta/vampires/witch/queen story was definitely something different from slavers and pirates.
September 8, 2021
For a character known as "The Ghost Who Walks", most of Kit Walker's exploits involve battling pirates, tricking sultans, and beating the living daylights out of slave traders. Perfect antagonists, all. However, with such a macabre name and nickname following the Walker lineage for so long, my favorite hero from the Golden Age of Comics surely had to have tussled at least once with foes a tad more...spooky.
The strangely titled "The Vampires and the Witch" (I'm no grammar expert but wouldn't "The Witch and the Vampires" flow a bit better?) is equally strange in its execution. If you're aware of The Phantom's rollicking, swashbuckling (but always based in reality) adventures, it's no spoiler to imply that the intial threat of a literal witch and literal vampires might not be all that it seems.
I like this. It allows the character to have a fun, supernatural romp without it suddenly making the series “jump the shark” with the introduction of actual magic, an often all-solving plot crutch usually forgotten after being introduced and treated as a fleeting villain's power but without recognizing or addressing the major ramifications that would have on any series.
For those who came in late, fear not. This supernaturally titled entry is still the pleasantly distracting and competently told tale you'd expect. It's still the gritty (but not the internet buzzword, "grimdark". This is gritty realism but with hope! And optimism! Even when gritty, the Phantom is a boy scout and this is, as always, infectious!). At the end of the day this is still the kind of typical adventure yarn you'd expect from one of these Avon Phantom books, not exactly heady fare but to an extent thrilling if your inner child hasn’t been fully snuffed out yet.
Despite how words like “typical” and “competent” make this sound barely mediocre, I assure you that these are a resounding endorsement! The world needs more earnest, comfortably old school and agenda-free, good old adventure stories, with or without a singular witch and multiple vampires. The ones in this series that were written by Falk himself and often adapted his own story arcs from earlier comics into prose are obviously the ones I most recommend and while he's no "poet of the pulps" like Ray Bradbury, he was still clearly having fun with this one, especially with its unconventional premise (for The Phantom) that allowed him to craft his own little gothic horror tale.
It's not perfect but this kind of entertainment rarely is. Its small flaws gives me a great deal of enjoyment, however, and are charming to me. The occasional missed typo or flubbed name spelling etc. could all represent an uncaring author rushing to meet a deadline or could equally represent an author genuinely excited by his story, derided as it may be as "pulpy trash" or "guilty pleasure". If you feel more pleasure than guilt reading something, I recommend leaving off the "guilty" descriptor next time. It’s fairly unnecessary and only shows one's insecurity regarding their ability to confidently enjoy something seen by many as "campy" or "lowbrow". I, myself, enjoyed the heck out of this one, witch warts and all, and don't feel an ounce of guilt about that.
There's an old jungle saying...
"Others may claim to be spirits and ghouls...but there is only one Ghost. The Ghost Who Walks!"
The strangely titled "The Vampires and the Witch" (I'm no grammar expert but wouldn't "The Witch and the Vampires" flow a bit better?) is equally strange in its execution. If you're aware of The Phantom's rollicking, swashbuckling (but always based in reality) adventures, it's no spoiler to imply that the intial threat of a literal witch and literal vampires might not be all that it seems.
I like this. It allows the character to have a fun, supernatural romp without it suddenly making the series “jump the shark” with the introduction of actual magic, an often all-solving plot crutch usually forgotten after being introduced and treated as a fleeting villain's power but without recognizing or addressing the major ramifications that would have on any series.
For those who came in late, fear not. This supernaturally titled entry is still the pleasantly distracting and competently told tale you'd expect. It's still the gritty (but not the internet buzzword, "grimdark". This is gritty realism but with hope! And optimism! Even when gritty, the Phantom is a boy scout and this is, as always, infectious!). At the end of the day this is still the kind of typical adventure yarn you'd expect from one of these Avon Phantom books, not exactly heady fare but to an extent thrilling if your inner child hasn’t been fully snuffed out yet.
Despite how words like “typical” and “competent” make this sound barely mediocre, I assure you that these are a resounding endorsement! The world needs more earnest, comfortably old school and agenda-free, good old adventure stories, with or without a singular witch and multiple vampires. The ones in this series that were written by Falk himself and often adapted his own story arcs from earlier comics into prose are obviously the ones I most recommend and while he's no "poet of the pulps" like Ray Bradbury, he was still clearly having fun with this one, especially with its unconventional premise (for The Phantom) that allowed him to craft his own little gothic horror tale.
It's not perfect but this kind of entertainment rarely is. Its small flaws gives me a great deal of enjoyment, however, and are charming to me. The occasional missed typo or flubbed name spelling etc. could all represent an uncaring author rushing to meet a deadline or could equally represent an author genuinely excited by his story, derided as it may be as "pulpy trash" or "guilty pleasure". If you feel more pleasure than guilt reading something, I recommend leaving off the "guilty" descriptor next time. It’s fairly unnecessary and only shows one's insecurity regarding their ability to confidently enjoy something seen by many as "campy" or "lowbrow". I, myself, enjoyed the heck out of this one, witch warts and all, and don't feel an ounce of guilt about that.
There's an old jungle saying...
"Others may claim to be spirits and ghouls...but there is only one Ghost. The Ghost Who Walks!"
March 24, 2020
When I'd see Lee Falk's name attached to the PHANTOM comic strip I assumed he was also the artist.
That looks not to be so. I think he should have stuck to writing comics and left the prose to someone else. THE VAMPIRES AND THE WITCH isn't good. The Phantom comic character is likeable enuf and his adventures are exciting. Plus there's a rich history of some 18 previous ancestors to pull from. This novelization comes across like Falk was trying to combine Tarzan with Doc Savage. The writing is very simplistic and the outcome can be seen a mile off. There's a terrible lot of filler that pads the word count but contributes nothing overall. I'd say if you want to read the Phantom, stick to the comic strip reprints and leave the novelizations behind.
That looks not to be so. I think he should have stuck to writing comics and left the prose to someone else. THE VAMPIRES AND THE WITCH isn't good. The Phantom comic character is likeable enuf and his adventures are exciting. Plus there's a rich history of some 18 previous ancestors to pull from. This novelization comes across like Falk was trying to combine Tarzan with Doc Savage. The writing is very simplistic and the outcome can be seen a mile off. There's a terrible lot of filler that pads the word count but contributes nothing overall. I'd say if you want to read the Phantom, stick to the comic strip reprints and leave the novelizations behind.
September 29, 2023
This was a little different than the previous novels. There are hints of the supernatural. Also, the Phantom is a bit out of a character in a few places. He's always been against killing, but this time he has to stop himself from killing someone because in the jungle it's kill or be killed. He was also a bit of jerk about the airline not letting his wolf onto a plane. Still a good read.
August 4, 2024
A great Lee Falk story with a connection to the 8th Phantom and other ancestors. The storyline has the Phantom flying to Europe, traveling with his wolf companion on the plane as a passenger, all the while dressed in a long coat, hat, and dark glasses, without an ID! Haha -1974. The summons is a signal tripped by the opening of a locked door in a Phantom safe place that should be inaccessible, coupled with strange radio reports of vampires and a witch in the same area. The same witch his forefather met and defeated centuries ago? The vampires seem real to the people who live nearby, responsible for many recent deaths. There is an old story of a witch. Those who have seen her die. The Phantom is convinced she cannot be the same one, but she knows about The Phantom, claiming that he imprisoned her in the ruins of her castle, which he (his ancient forefather) had just destroyed. The story falls into line as good vs evil, but the Phantom must sort out truth from fiction, and investigate the meaning behind those missing pages in his own ancestor's records. And who can he trust? Who is lying? This is good old-fashioned melodrama, full of interesting plot twists centered on humanity's worst.
June 12, 2020
the ending was a fun surprise
November 22, 2020
I really emjoy these these reprints of the original paperbacks. They are nice easy reads. Not a lot of heavy plot but a solid fun adventure story.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews