Number 2442: The Phantom and the Gray Gang

This 1950-51 story from the Phantom comic strip by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy starts out funny. Diana, who is the Phantom’s girlfriend, lives with her mom, and Diana’s mom does not approve of the Phantom. The first three strips of the continuity have her making cutting remarks of the Phantom’s jungle lifestyle. As he tells his dog, “We're taking a beating here, Devil, but it’ll be worth it to see Diana again.” Fictional dogs have near human capabilities, but there is no record of anything Devil might have said to the Phantom.

Something I find interesting about the Phantom is his costuming. He wears his purple tights and his mask under another costume, of a more typical gent in an overcoat, hat, and sunglasses. Of course, when fists start to fly the Phantom is back in his tights planting punches on his adversaries’ faces.

In the last panel, as the kissing starts between the Phantom and Diana (gosh, a spoiler...ain’t I a stinker?) the dialogue becomes...well, odd. I have never seen the likes of it.

It appeared in newspapers December 4, 1950 to March 24, 1951.

I found this continuity online, and don’t know exactly who to thank. To the anonymous donor, thank you!

Pappy’s Sunday Supplement #14: Harvey Hits #1, featuring The Phantom

I did a run of Sunday Supplements last year, until I got cramped for time. It is still my intention — time permitting — to show complete issues of comic books I find interesting. That includes today’s entry, Harvey Hits #1 (1957), which starred The Phantom.

I read The Phantom in the newspaper from an early age, and when I spotted Harvey Hits on the comic book spinner I grabbed it. I have a clear recollection of this particular comic book, because it could have killed my father!

I bought it while in company with my brother and my parents. While we drove home it was next to me on the back seat of the family car. The windows were rolled down and a gust of wind suddenly caught it, then carried it out the window and onto the roadway. I put up such a loud fuss that my father parked the car, then ran out into the road to retrieve it for me. Luckily he only had to hang back on the side of the road for a short bit, maybe 20 seconds or so, before traffic cleared. He dashed out, grabbed the comic, and shoved it through the window at me. He was angry, shouting, “How would you feel if I’d been run over and killed?”

I whimpered, "Thanks, Dad.” Obviously I would have felt terrible if Dad had been killed. But by golly, it did not happen and I got my comic book back!

I was smitten by the back-up feature, “Shirl the Jungle Girl,” by Howard Nostrand. At the time I was buying the Mad paperback reprints of the original comic book issues, and that is what “Shirl” looked like to me. Years later I surmised it was an inventory story, done for an unpublished Harvey comic. The Grand Comics Database confirmed it with this note: “Originally prepared for the unpublished Flip #3. History of story appears in Squa Tront #13 (2012). Unknown artist did last panel and other corrections.”

For the Phantom story we get this information from the GCD: Written by Lee Falk; drawn by Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy, lettered by Dorothy McCoy. The story originally appeared in the newspaper continuity from February 18, 1946 to July 13, 1946, under its original title, “Princess Valerie.”