WRITER: Lee Falk
ARTIST: Sy Barry
Well, this post marks exactly one year of The Dad Who Walks, with a Phantom entry every fortnight for all of that time.
Like The Ghost Who Walks, I will take some time "to think... to make a decision..." about whether or not I will continue with the blog.
In the meantime, I will leave you with this excerpt from the prologue of one of The Phantom's oddest adventures, and one of my favourites.
I doubt that any boys' adventure comic was ever so explicit in presenting to its impressionable readers the horrors of married life and domesticity that lay in wait to snare their hero.
For a boy, it's a no-brainer. Either you can travel the world with a wolf for a friend, being chased by brazen hussies, shooting off guns and beating up bullies, and commanding a deadly pigmy army as Ruler of the Jungle... Or you can get married, work in an office all day, then come home to change nappies, wash the dishes, and mow the lawn...
Yes, it's a tough one, I know!
I do enjoy your selections from "The Phantom"! Diana always looks to be better company than a horse or wolf?
ReplyDeleteI can't fault you there! For one thing, I know who I'd rather cuddle up to in the wee small hours.
ReplyDeleteIn the comic strip, a few years after this story, they got married and settled down somewhat -- although The Phantom kept right on having exciting adventures. (This is the comics, after all.)
Cheers, Dave.
For what it's worth, I like your selections too. The Phantom has such a large catalog and you always manage to mix the old with the newer stuff very well and I always like to read people's takes on them.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you included something from the Tarakimo stories...I think Tara is one of the most diabolical villains in the Phantom's long run, much more so than Bababu, etc. Love how the Ghost rescues Diana from the jerk's torture room at the last minute in the previous story.
Well, hope you don't leave us, but I can understand your dilemma...any blog is hard work. Cheers.
Just keep in mind, that this is my favourite website. How else to I see the best photos of my home? And as for the Phantom, I get a lot of joy from those little "selections". Apart from the law, how else would I know how to live, and make the right decision. My second to worst fear, is waking up in a jail cell, with a strange mark on my face - because I did something wrong. Love Tubby
ReplyDeleteActually, silkywhip, it’s worth a lot. Yes, I like the General Tara stories as well. Half his appeal must surely be his predilection for dressing Diana in bikinis and see-through harem outfits! I think I will carry on with The Phantom selections… Lee Falk’s old comics do constitute, as you put it, a large catalogue, and there is still much to choose from.
ReplyDeleteI won’t ask what your worst fear is, Tubby… It’s bound to be rude, and very disturbing, so I am going to censor it right out of here before you even say it.
ReplyDeleteThe strange mark on the face… The skull mark does seem like quite an unforgiving way to scar someone for life. But, then, the cruel bullies who receive one can either look at it (and themselves) in the mirror and decide to change, or go on the way they are and look forward to collecting another one!
And if this is your favourite, it’s well worth it. Love, Anthony.
Awesome that you'll continue....
ReplyDeleteI think you've hit the nail on the head with regards to GT --- most of the Phantom Phoes don't lust so blatantly after our heroine. I don't think there's a more innuendo-loaded frame from any comic than when he says, while leering at her torture-rack bound body on a monitor: "She's too beautiful and bold to waste...I will keep her." UGH! Gives me the creeps thinking about what that situation would be like in real life...torture would be preferable to being a permanent plaything of that monster!
I think the other half of his appeal comes from how over-the-top pompous he is, almost like a Nazi with his over-decorated uniforms, riding crop, and the extra-long cigarette holder, but with the psyche and morals of a common hoodlum.
Keep 'em coming, and a happy holiday season to you.
Also, if you've never seen the Indrajal version of the Tara story, check it out here:
ReplyDeletehttp://theskullcavetreasures.blogspot.com/2008/03/indrajal-350-351-revenge-og-ghost-part.html
It's a little different in that some frames are expanded, some are deleted, and some visual parts seem to be...censored. :-)