Phantom Issue 1

[Ghornet2]

Just got back from MLCS. The first Issue was listed in previews ans I signed up. Now the three month wait begins.

[Captain Canuck]

A little reading to pass the time:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26659

CBR News: Scott, tell us a little bit about the new Phantom series over at Dynamite. When does it take place in Phantom lore and what's the general idea behind the story?

Scott Beatty: As far as Phantom lore goes, this is the latest (and according to the series title) perhaps last chronicle in the long history of The Ghost Who Walks. The general idea is this: What if the current Kit Walker didn't want to carry on the mantle of The Phantom? Discuss!

How did this project get off the ground and how did you come to be involved with it?

Dynamite head honcho Nick Barrucci and series editor Joe Rybandt asked if I would be interested in sitting down with Alex Ross and working on a new take on The Phantom. Naturally, my RSVP was immediate and enthusiastic!

So, you were a fan of The Phantom even before working on the series. After working on Buck Rogers, are you excited to be adding yet another classic hero to your arsenal?

I've said this elsewhere and I mean it with equal parts pride and humility. I've written Batman. I've written Buck. With The Phantom, I've now worked on a trifecta of comics' most iconic and important heroic characters. Someday, I'll retire utterly satisfied with the company I kept.


For this particular project, you're collaborating with Alex Ross. What has this been like?

Alex lives and breathes comic book heroes. Working with him is an honor and a privilege. And the collaborative process is just that, a mutual give-and-take to create the best stories possible.


There have been quite a few comics focusing on The Phantom in recent years - what is it that sets this series apart from the rest?

I really can't speak to the other series except to say that we're trying very hard to explore what it means to be The Phantom, not just what he does or what his predecessors did for more than 400 years. Is it choice or predestined? And can one simply walk away?


Why do you feel telling this story is important, not only for the growth of the character, but also for you as a writer?

If you believe as I do that all great fiction is character-driven, then it's important to ask why a hero does what he does. The medium may be two-dimensional on the page (or in the not-so-distant future iPad screen), but the motivations - especially for a "generational" character like the current Kit Walker - are multi-layered and involve far more conflict than simply what the series' villains bring to the table.


What are some of the challenges you've found yourself facing in bringing this version of the character to life?

Let's just say that certain aspects of The Phantom's mythology require willing suspension of disbelief. Hell, comics in general require that caveat before admission. White horse? Check. Wolf sidekick? Check. Purple leotard and zebra stripes? Check and check. I think every costumed character who debuted in the late 1930s - and you know exactly who I'm talking about - have faced the same basic dilemma: Upgrade or die. And Kit Walker is already a ghost of a kind. But as a writer and a fan (the order changing depending on the hour of the day) I take the iconography very seriously.


While you're focusing on adding a whole new chapter to the mythology, much of what makes The Phantom such an enigmatic and interesting character is his past. What of this classic canon will you explore while bringing forth this new chapter?

Think on this quote from Oscar Wilde: "No man is rich enough to buy back his past." The Skull Cave is filled with both uncountable riches and untold history. Kit Walker is shaped almost entirely by The Phantom's past. And he's not entirely comfortable with that indisputable truth.


What are you most excited about when it comes to scripting this new series?

Comic book heroes continue to fascinate me in ways I can't completely explain. I guess I'm adrenalin-junkie by proxy in that regard. There's nothing that makes me more excited than sitting down to put a hero like The Phantom through twenty-two pages of Hell and high adventure.

The Phantom began as an American comic strip back in the 1930s. How do you feel comics have changed since then and how will you be adjusting for these changes in the new series?

The Phantom of the 1930s and "The Last Phantom" aren't very different in terms of raison d'etre or mission statement. Evil lurks. Bengali is in trouble. And in the 21st century, much to Kit Walker's tragic regret, evil just might be winning. Times may have changed, but The Ghost Who Walks endures for a reason. The job isn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

[Chadster]

The wait for the first issue is going to suck! Lol. Personally I have never read or even cared about The Phantom in the past, but all the interviews and previews I have seen for this book has got me stoked, even more so that Dynamite is putting this title out. I never cared for Green Hornet either but Year One and the Kato mini's have really opened my eyes to the character and I'm hoping Dynamites Phantom does the same.

[MikeM]

I love the Phantom. I hope Dynamite doesn't screw it up.

[md62]

Man I really don't know about this book. I love Beatty's writing but I am turned off with the berry juice costume. It feels like it will be Tarzan with a gun. I know it made no sense to have the Phantom run around in Africa with his purple costume but this is a super hero book. Batman would over heat in his costume in a very short time. Daredevil should dislocate his shoulders every time he leaps from a building. There has to be some suspension of reality in a fantasy series.

[Captain Canuck]

Based on the treatment of the Green Hornet, I would think that we'll get a more traditional version before long.

[Ghornet2]

Issue 1 is due out this week. The Previews blurb make it sound like a mini-series?? It almost makes sense for it to be a mini. Does anyone know for sure?

[comixfan1980]

I enjoyed the first issue, I loved the art work and the story was good but I'm going to have to get used to it, all in all though I would consider this to be a very successful first issue for Dynamite (hopefully sales back up the quality work). I'm really hoping that this is an ongoing series and not a mini, Dynamite is slowly building a stable of awesome characters and it would be a shame if these great characters weren't around for very long, I'm hoping to see The Last Phantom, Green Hornet, PSP, Vampirella and other titles on store shelves for quite some time to come.

[MikeM]

I did not like issue 1.
The art was fine. The costume was ridiculous (although it looks like he gets his traditional costume in issue 4) and the differences were not needed. Kitridge? WTF? Bengali? Why the unnecessary and in my opinion, horrible changes?

[Ghornet2]

I did not like issue 1.
The art was fine. The costume was ridiculous (although it looks like he gets his traditional costume in issue 4) and the differences were not needed. Kitridge? WTF? Bengali? Why the unnecessary and in my opinion, horrible changes?

I think alot of what happned was done to give us a Phantom with a harder edge :confused:.

I didn't care for the art and now that it looks like the 'costume' is a temporary thing it's ok (I guess). The rest is definitly not to my liking. I'm probably going to pick up the next couple of issues to be sure, but I am going to stop after that unless my opinion changes. I had so looked forward to this book but now . . .

[Chadster]

I liked the premier issue, I felt the art was pretty good and the writing wasn't bad, but I felt that the series taking place in Bengali was kinda strange, almost as if it wasn't needed. Still, It was good in my eyes.

[MikeM]

I liked the premier issue, I felt the art was pretty good and the writing wasn't bad, but I felt that the series taking place in Bengali was kinda strange, almost as if it wasn't needed. Still, It was good in my eyes.

Anything that brings new fans to the Phantom is a good thing. I just wished it was something closer to the Phantom I know and love.

[comixfan1980]

Anything that brings new fans to the Phantom is a good thing. I just wished it was something closer to the Phantom I know and love.

I'm sure that if The Last Phantom becomes a smash hit then we will see some more Phantom series ala Green Hornet, I wouldn't mind seeing this happen either because there is always room for more as long as it does not become a saturating affair....ala Green Hornet lol. Still, maybe we will get some classic remasters of The Phantom and possibly a Year One series (which I would be all about), but I guess time will tell.

[Captain Canuck]

I liked the premier issue, I felt the art was pretty good and the writing wasn't bad, but I felt that the series taking place in Bengali was kinda strange, almost as if it wasn't needed. Still, It was good in my eyes.

I enjoyed it too. The only part that I thought was a little sudden was his decision to become the Phantom again. Finds his murdered family one panel, starts mixing berries the next.

I don't know what the deal is with Bengali. Like with the Hornet, I'm not as knowledgeable about the character as some of you, so I don't have the same expectations. Much like someone new to Batman would not really care if his stories took place in Metropolis, Bengali didn't jump out to me as a flaw.

[comixfan1980]

One thing is for sure, Dynamite has some incredible stuff going on with classic characters like Phantom and Green Hornet, it would be cool to see some kind of a crossover between them at some point in time.

Not right away, but down the road about would be interesting.

[TheTerror]

Good first issue, there is tons of room for improvements though and I think they will make this character awesome in due time once they give him his suit and focus on fighting and hero situations. I liked the art, could have been more better but it was pretty good and the cover was awesome. I liked what I got.

[comixfan1980]

Good first issue, there is tons of room for improvements though and I think they will make this character awesome in due time once they give him his suit and focus on fighting and hero situations. I liked the art, could have been more better but it was pretty good and the cover was awesome. I liked what I got.

It seems like a lot of people were iffy about the art, I for one found it to be pretty good but nothing to go crazy over, it did it's job and the writer did his and together they made a pretty good first issue. One thing I did really like was the briefcase bit that lasted throughout the issue, it was kind of cool and before I saw what was actually in there I was guessing that it was his guns and paraphaniellia, nice little touch to the story.

I'm getting really excited for the second issue, should be here I beleive next Wednesday or quite possibly the week after, but I do think it's the 29th to be honest.

[Ghornet2]

I was just reading one of the Comic Legends (#253) revealed over on CBR. It says that the reason the Phantom's costume is purple was because of the berry dye that was used. That puts the berry juice costume in issue one in a different light.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/03/25/comic-book-legends-revealed-253/

[Captain Canuck]

I was just reading one of the Comic Legends (#253) revealed over on CBR. It says that the reason the Phantom's costume is purple was because of the berry dye that was used. That puts the berry juice costume in issue one in a different light.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/03/25/comic-book-legends-revealed-253/

And an appreciable knowledge of, and attention to, detail. Thanks for pointing that out, I'd missed it.