Dynamite Entertainment will launch comics featuring Lee Falk’s The Phantom this August.  Superstar artist Alex Ross will provide creative direction, Scott Beatty will write, and Eduardo Ferigato provides the interior art. 

 

The storyline starts with the 21st Kit Walker, who has not taken on the costume of the Phantom as his predecessors did in Falk’s stories, which began in 1536 with the first Phantom who took up his costume to battle piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice.  The dynasty of The Phantom appears to be broken as Ross’s vision opens.

 

Dynamite acquired the license to The Phantom in 2008, but because of competing claims by Moonstone elected to delay its publishing program until this year (see “Dynamite Will Delay Phantom Comic”). 

 

The Phantom has a long history of commercial exploitation, which has given it a global footprint.  Most recently here in the States, Syfy will air four episodes of new TV series on June 20th (see “The Phantom Gets Short Shrift”).  Hermes announced, but has not released, a series of books reprinting Falk’s original newspaper strips (see “Hermes to Collect Phantom Strips”).