Phantom

Written by “Hellboy” creator Mike Mignola and drawn by Ben Stenbeck, “Hellboy and the B. P. R. D.: 1953 – The Phantom Hand & the Kelpie” is less a standalone one-shot and more of a slim anthology collection. Twenty-two pages of story delve into the past and provide some character interaction between Hellboy, Harry Middleton and Trevor Bruttenholm. The trio actively encounters one threat in the opening tale, while the backup story is more of an exploration of Middleton and Bruttenholm’s shared history. Seventeen pages are dedicated to “The Phantom Hand,” as Hellboy accompanies Harry Middleton and Trevor Bruttenholm to St. Albans, England. This story is a tight little chestnut of Hellboy’s adventures and could easily serve as a sampler for what readers might be able to expect in additional tales. Mignola uses the threat of the Phantom Hand to provide a case for Middleton and Bruttenholm to perform a character study in front of the readers. The end result informs readers of all thr

Writer Brian Clevinger opens “King: The Phantom” #1 with a funeral pyre for the fallen Phantom in front of Skull Cave, which is as good a place as any for his artistic collaborator Brent Schoonover to introduce readers to the shadowy mysteries ahead alongside Robt Snyder’s colors and Simon Bowland’s carefully appointed letters. The story itself follows Lothar Kehwabe’s quest to find the twenty-third Phantom. In the interim, he dons the purple costume and the skull ring and rides a horse into Clevinger’s story. Clevinger keeps the story moving, adding players to the board as the plot continues to open up. Lothar makes an intriguing choice for the Phantom and a compelling lead character while his aide, Guran, plays the part of his Alfred, guiding him through battle and helping him before and after. Not only does “King: The Phantom” #1 introduce readers to the new Phantom, it also introduces readers to Bangalla and the troubles there. Clevinger gives readers everything they could want i

“Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger” #11 has a wonderful set-up to the ultimate DC Comics fan nerd joke: Phantom Stranger, Katana, Deadman and Batman go to Heaven to try and bring Doctor Light back to the land of the living. Except it’s not a joke and writer J.M. DeMatteis is able to actually steer clear of goofiness as the quartet of characters searches for the disembodied Arthur Light, hoping to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Light’s apparent murder. As the issue takes place in Heaven, DeMatteis investigates the interpretations of Heaven that await Katana and Batman. Surprisingly, the writer is able to add some levity to the Dark Knight despite the extreme metaphysical nature of this adventure, making the Dark Knight just a bit more sympathetic and a lot more entertaining. As he has done in the distant past, Phantom Stranger serves more as an observer and guide and less like an active participant in this adventure. Deadman doesn’t have as much to do as one might expe

“Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger” #10 continues the Stranger’s crusade to reclaim his lost family through the words of J.M. DeMatteis and the images of Fernando Blanco. While readers have seen interpretations of Heaven before in comics, this creative team throws their own spin on the concept as the Phantom Stranger is brought through Heaven’s gate by an avatar of God. As has been the case throughout this series, the Scottish terrier stand-in with the voice of God guides the Stranger, acting as both Sherpa and conscience. Once through Heaven’s doors, the scene he faces puzzles the Stranger, as he wonders how he will ever find his family to bring them back to the land of the living. DeMatteis continues to weave tales of morality and spirituality around the Phantom Stranger, but grafts those tales to the love-fueled quest the Stranger is set upon. It’s difficult not to feel empathy for the Stranger, whose heart is already shattered, as the Heaven-set developments continue to complicat

With the highest holiday of the Christian faith (Easter) less than a week in the past, the opening page of “The Phantom Stranger” #7 drawn by Zander Cannon, Gene Ha and Andrew Pepoy would certainly have garnered as much, if not more, attention than the foldout cover. Dan DiDio and J.M. DeMatteis start the story with the Stranger reflecting in the front row of a Catholic church, with the altar, tabernacle and crucifix and statue of Mary mere steps away. That image is even more impactful through the moody coloring of Art Lyon over the dynamic, model and still life composition crafted by the artistic tandem of Cannon, Ha and Pepoy. The imagery is so potent, I found myself adding in backstory to the discarded paper on the floor and imagining the regular occupants of the row where the Stranger sits. The trio doesn’t let up on their believably tangible artwork, as the Stranger leaves the church to once more encounter the Scottish terrier who has been his sounding board since DeMatteis joi

Continuing to investigate the notion of Phantom Stranger maintaining a double identity like so many other DC characters, Dan DiDio welcomes J.M. DeMatteis to the creative team on scripts. DeMatteis makes an instant impact on this book, not only further humanizing the familial aspect of the character, but also shining up the dialog for the intimidating, fedora-topped, cloaked Phantom Stranger as the title’s star has a visit with the characters from “Justice League Dark.” On what appears to be a recruitment call, John Constantine picks the brain of the Stranger and teases him a bit, dangling carrots to try and win the Stranger’s allegiance in coming trials and tribulations. The conversation between the two characters is haughty and aloof, with each man posturing and trying to place his cause higher than the other’s. Unfortunately, adding in the rest of the “Dark” cast undermines some of the character work that Jeff Lemire put into them. I find Frankenstein’s reaction to the Stranger’s

In “Phantom Stranger” #1, the Phantom Stranger, formerly known as Judas Iscariot, is forced into penance from higher powers to wander the world seeking redemption by setting others upon their predestined paths. In return for every person he course corrects, he is lessened one coin of his burden of thirty silver pieces. Unfortunately for two of those characters, their destiny is on the other side of a whole world of pain. Enabling a continuing streak of betrayal and deception, Dan DiDio makes the Phantom Stranger less creepy and more of a creep. Not only does this character stand by and witness the death of a young boy, but he permitted that death in order to meet Rachel, a teenager with the ability to absorb the emotions of others and channel that into a dark, bird-shaped energy projection. Yes, dark like a raven. With the mystery that once shrouded him dissolved, Phantom Stranger simply becomes a supporting character in his own book, virtually stepping aside to empower the transfor

“The Phantom Stranger” #0 launches a new series for DC Comics, helmed by Dan Didio, Brent Anderson and Scott Hanna. The Phantom Stranger in years past was one of the more mysterious characters of the DC Universe, surfacing at opportune moments to try and assist characters as part of an unrevealed agenda. In “Phantom Stranger” #0, though, all mystery about the character is thrown to the wind as we’re given a very definitive, locked down origin and goal for the character. And in doing so, it feels like we’re losing what made the character work. Many years ago, after all, there was an issue of “Secret Origins” devoted to the Phantom Stranger. DC cleverly had multiple origin stories within that issue, letting the reader pick and choose among different options on which might be the real one. (I don’t think it’s any coincidence that most follow-ups seemed to lean heavily towards the one written by Alan Moore, though.) With that mystery gone, the Phantom Stranger has transformed into anothe

Phantom Lady and Doll Man are two superheroes that hardly have a big reputation as popular characters. Instead they’re more ones that could best be described as cult-favorites; slightly obscure characters that every now and then get trotted out for a revamp. And while this recycling/returning of this level of character can succeed (the Jack C. Harris/Joe Quesada and Christopher J. Priest/Howard Porter incarnation of the Ray leaps to mind), it’s a difficult process at best. So with the debut of “Phantom Lady and Doll Man” #1, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Cat Staggs and Tom Derenick needed to hit the ground running and grab the reader’s attention quickly. While at first they seemed to do just that, this is a book that loses steam quickly. After a one-page flashback to Phantom Lady as a little girl (in which she witnesses the murders of her parents), Palmiotti, Gray, Staggs and Denerick craft a lively five-page sequence in the present day DC Universe where Phantom Lady takes down a gro

Two months ago, when “The Last Phantom” #1 came out, former CBR reviewer/current CBR columnist Tim Callahan gave the issue half a star and wrote, “Perhaps the series should be retitled: ‘The Last Phantom For Now, Sure, But It Will Make Your Eyes Bleed.'” I didn’t disagree, but hoped the second issue would offer some improvement with the awkwardness of introducing the concept having been accomplished. And there is improvement, but not much at all. It’s still a painfully obvious and clunky comic with ugly, overly rendered art. At the end of last issue, Kit Walker reclaims the Phantom mantle after his family is butchered as part of a coup in Bengali, Africa. He did this by pouring blood over his body, and becoming an angrier, more ‘extreme’ version of the Phantom as he seeks revenge against those that killed his family. And that’s pretty much all he does here, by slaughtering the mercenaries that did the killing despite their cloaking technology. There’s an emphasis on Kit’s ability to