“I’m way too close to the edge. Who’s the monster under my bed? Six feet under. World shakes like thunder. All the noises in my brain — it’s a pain I can’t explain when it just gets louder. Yeah, it just gets harder.” From Phantom, by WayV.

I first encountered “The Ghost Who Walks” in 1959, when American comics were still on the edge of the superhero desert. DC, Marvel/Atlas/Timely, and Archie Comics were dipping a toe or two into the caped waters, but at that moment all we had were Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and a handful of extremely short back-up stories. Yes, I just blew-off Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter and Green Arrow. Things were about to change — The Flash had made several appearances in the bi-monthly Showcase comics and had just received his own title.

I had just turned nine, the target audience for superhero comics at the time. On the rare occasion I’d stumble across a “new” cape, I would completely lose my shit. This was my reaction to the release of Harvey Hits Magazine #26 starring The Phantom, a guy running around Africa with lions and wolves and a very tolerant girl friend. Because I was a little kid, I didn’t realize his occasional Showcase-like appearances also were geared towards the jungle comics market. It didn’t matter. I was hooked. And I was pissed that I’d have to wait nearly a year for this purple man’s next Harvey appearance. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: The Ghost Who Walks vs The Jerk That Talks!” →