The Phantom: The Complete Series Vol. 2: The Charlton Years

The Phantom: The Complete Series #5

by Joe Gill, Pat Boyette (Artist), Daniel Herman (Editor)

The early 1970s comic book adventures of The Phantom return in full, glorious color! Hermes Press is collecting all 74 issues of The Phantom comic books which ran from 1962-1977. Volume 2 reprints issues #39 through #47, with artwork by Pat Boyette.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 4, 2013

About the author

Joseph P. Gill was an American magazine writer and highly prolific comic book scripter. Most of his work was for Charlton Comics, where he co-created the superheroes Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judomaster, among others. Comics historians consider Gill a top contender as the comic-book field's most prolific writer. Per historian and columnist Mark Evanier, Gill "wrote a staggering number of comics. There are a half-dozen guys in his category. If someone came back and said he was the most prolific ever, no one would be surprised."

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is getting us further into the 1970s. I'm a big Jim Aparo fan, whose art was in the previous volume, but Pat Boyette's art in this volume holds its own. The covers aren't as good as the painted Gold Key covers, but these are good in a different, dynamic way.

Also, each issue consists of 3 stories, and the shorter length stories work well for The Phantom.

Overall another good volume.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art was sub-par [especially if you are comparing it to Aparo] and the stories, while having some interest, depended quite a bit on the Phantom being downright lucky. Too much "Deus-ex-machina" for my preference. Still - it was the Phantom, and it was a nostalgic walk down a path I walked as a teenager so 3 stars it gets.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 1960's comic book adventures of the Ghost Who Walks continue. Every story in this volume was illustrated by Pat Boyette, who we learn in the introduction was a pretty remarkable guy. His art has certainly grown on me but doesn't resonate the same way his successors' (Jim Aparo and Don Newton) did. The stories are short, generally 3 per issue thus averaging only about 6 pages long. It can be hard to write effective short stories for comics and Joe Gill does a decent enough job. Not every story is a masterpiece but they generally feel pretty authentic to the Phantom. There are still the unfortunate colonial and racial problems endemic to the era but the Bandar people are shown in a positive light. Some oddities in this volume include the Phantom's seeming indifference to the deaths of criminals (though not directly by his hand) and there still being some India/Southeast Asia elements to what had become officially an African setting.