Review: The Phantom #1
From Mad Cave Studios
New this week is the first issue of the classic hero, The Phantom. Check out my thoughts on issue #1 from Mad Cave Studios.
THE GHOST WALKS AGAIN! The Phantom returns! Created by Lee Falks in 1936, the Phantom is one of the first costumed super heroes in history, with untold influence on pop culture. Now, critically-acclaimed creators Ray Fawkes and Russell Olson revive the character for fans old and new. When a violent gang of smugglers stubbles on an idyllic Bandar village, the peace that the Phantom has brought to the African nation of Bangalla will suddenly shatter. It will take all of the Phantom’s many skills — and allies — to restore it. The most exciting series of the year starts here!
(W) Ray Fawkes (A) Russell Mark Olson (L) Taylor Esposito (CA) Freddie Williams II
I have been looking forward to this! The return of The Ghost Who Walks is a series I have wanted to see happen for a while. When Mad Cave released Flash Gordon and the Defenders of the Earth, I knew it would come.
Fantastic!
This issue begins with excellent jungle action, with a downed plane and The Phantom narrating his rescue. Interestingly, it drops us in straight away, and that is pointed out to us by the characters—this does an excellent job of showing us some of Kit's relationships, and the following parts of the story also do that.
This plane crash is the crux of the story, with others looking for the downed plane, as it contains a large amount of drugs by a local criminal network. The gang's arrival and their leader cause more problems for both The Phantom and the locals who know and rely on him.
This issue brilliantly builds up the threats that The Phantom faces, along with his history and relationships in the area. It shows some of his strengths and sets us up well for the following issues. There is some excellent art, and I liked the signal given to The Phantom near the end of the issue, which is a nice callback to earlier in the issue. The panelling is well done, and it has some brilliant action scenes.
Get it at Forbidden Planet:
Get it digitally on Amazon:
Out of all the Defenders, he was the one I looked forward to the most!
I skipped to the end to see what your overall thoughts were as I don't want this spoiled for me. As a HUGE Phantom fan I'm really looking forward to this. So glad to hear it's good!