Word Balloons: Phantom issue is full of action
Word Balloons: Phantom issue is full of action

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By Matthew Price

Published: February 22, 2008

He predates Batman and Superman, and he's never missed a day on the job. Lee Falk's "Phantom” debuted on Feb. 17, 1936, and has been running daily in newspapers since. Seventy-two years later, the character is still going strong.

Falk's Phantom, sometimes called "The Ghost Who Walks,” is a costumed crimefighter in the African jungles. Falk died in 1999 at age 88, after handling the adventures of The Phantom into his 80s.

Writer Mike Bullock handles the comic-book adventures of The Phantom, which are published by Moonstone Books. (The ongoing newspaper strip features Paul Ryan on art with scripts by Tony DePaul.)

Bullock began his run on "The Phantom” with issue No. 12 of the current run.

Bullock says issue No. 21, released this month, is a good jumping-on point.

"It's the first issue of a new arc, has a quick primer on page one and dives straight into the action leading up to the double-sized No. 25,” Bullock said.

Bullock took to writing early, with his earliest creative writing taking place at age 6. He wrote "Lions, Tigers and Bears” for Image Comics, followed by "The Gimoles.”

"Since taking the reins of ‘The Phantom,' I've also worked on ‘Sonic X' for Archie Comics, written a Zorro prose story for Moonstone Books as well as a Phantom prose story, and most recently I've begun the ground work to launch new comics featuring Lee Falk's other newspaper legend Mandrake the Magician,” Bullock said.

Bullock is joined on "The Phantom” by artist Silvestre Szilagyi.

"His work style is reminiscent of the legendary (‘Phantom' artist) Sy Barry, while carrying a flavor of its own,” Bullock said. "His work is clean, realistic and lively, while still producing some of the over-the-top visuals required for heroic fiction.” Bullock also praised Bob Pedroza's "dramatic” color art.

The Phantom's villains aren't limited to superpowered foes. Bullock tackled the real-world problem of child slavery in the "Invisible Children” arc of the "Phantom” in issues 17-19. (Variant covers of these issues of "The Phantom” raised money for the Invisible Children charity organization.)

Bullock said the Phantom's enduring appeal is based on the character's valor.

"The Phantom is one of the last true heroes,” Bullock said.