The Phantom 48: Maybe Mama was right.

Diana has stormed off in a huff, and The Phantom has been left on his own, sitting outside and wondering what happened.

And how did he come to join the ranks of conventional manhood? He didn't say the expected things, and he didn't behave in the approved manner...

So now he has only his confused thoughts and a wolf for company on a romantic moonlit night.

A smooth charmer like Ferdy will fare much better than the bewildered Ghost Who Walks, no doubt...

Aside from all the other unsettling things regarding Diana's scheming mother, one of the most unnerving things about her is her spectacles, which have blank lenses, much in the style of The Phantom's own hoodoo mask.

One wonders why Mama didn't phone ahead to the dance, to warn the hapless Ferdy that a big angry guy and a wolf were on their way; but perhaps she was too shaken by The Phantom's inquisition.

And so all of Mama's manipulations begin to bear fruit... If only The Ghost Who Walks had decided to go to the jungle instead of the dance, all could have gone according to plan.

In all of this, I can't help feeling sorry for Ferdy, who didn't really do anything to deserve a Phantom punch. He was getting a little out of hand -- but I know Diana, and she could have sorted him out herself, had she really needed to.

But there's a silver lining...

See? This is what women really want! They want the quick-tempered he-man to crash a dance, knock down all the other suitors, and carry the woman off into the countryside!

Er... Maybe not.

WRITER: Lee Falk
ARTIST: Wilson McCoy