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Staff Picks (August): The Phantom — The Art Of The Ghost Who Walks

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The Phantom was probably the first costumed hero I read or was read to by my dad.  The comic strips had a unique fascination and the daily exploits made sure I learned to read for myself. There was a consistency to the art, and Sy Barry and Bill Lignante were The Phantom artists to me. It probably wasn’t long after I showed my grandfather I could read that I was allowed to go to his newsstand and pick out a comic book. While there wasn’t a Phantom comic to be found, I settled for Batman who, to this day, when done right, is my favorite superhero.

Reading comics and going to comic cons, lead me to fanzines that expanded my interest in Batman and The Phantom.  I found old comics and got to know artists like Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy drawing The Phantom. Now, years later, artists like Graham Nolan and Don Newton showed they could handle both those characters equally as well.

Now a spry 80 years old, The Phantom holds his age quite well  thanks to the writers and, most importantly to me, the artists behind The Ghost Who Walks and who never seems to age.

In The Phantom: The Art of the Ghost Who Walks Hermes Press has produced a book that represents all the major artists who have worked on The Phantom.  This book makes available original art seldom seen outside personal collections and represents the rich 80 year history of The Ghost Who Walks.  Within the pages we get to see art by Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy as well as the painted Gold Key cover art by George Wilson. Comic book artists are well represented with art by Lignante, Jim Aparo, Pat Boyette, and Don Newton, with Aparo and Newton featured in complete stories shot from the original artwork. We will also see art from the illustrators who worked on The Phantom overseas in Italy, Australia, and Scandinavia as well as those who worked on the character at DC, Marvel, Moonstone, and Dynamite

Hermes Press has a history of doing The Phantom right and this will be a great addition to their classic strip and comic book reprints. This is a book a true fan of the Phantom must have and is a great present for the 80th anniversary of The Ghost Who Walks.

—Steven Leaf

Publisher: Hermes Press
Item Code: AUG162220
Release Date:  10/19/16
SRP: $65.00

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