The Phantom - Mistakes - Simon McDonald

PANEL ONE

Arthur Dalley (new character) is driving his decade-old sedan, on his way to a job interview. He’s dressed for success: suit and tie, hair swept back, shaven; but there’s no hiding the skull mark on his chin; an eternal consequence of the Phantom’s form of vengeance.

CAPTION: I made a mistake, and was punished for it. I did my time.

CAPTION: I was determined to make something better of my life.



PANELS TWO, THREE & FOUR
(These panels are of equal size. Dalley appears progressively more dishevelled, and crushed, through each one, as he is rebuffed by three different employers)

PANEL TWO CAPTION: I tried.

PANEL THREE CAPTION: I tried, damn it.

PANEL FOUR CAPTION: But they can’t see past the mark.



PANEL FIVE
Dalley is sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in shorts and a singlet, a multitude of beer bottles and liquor bottles dotted around his filthy room. He is holding a revolver, staring at it like it has all the answers he needs.

CAPTION: They can’t see past the mistake.



PANEL SIX
The Phantom is standing in Dalley’s room, looking down on Dalley’s body. Blood has pooled on the floor. The Phantom is holding Dalley’s suicide note.

CAPTION: Can you see past yours?

Why The Phantom?

I never loved The Phantom like I did Batman and Superman, but as a kid, sometimes all I had was $1.50 in my pocket, which wasn’t enough for a DC or Marvel Comic, but was just right for a 32-page black-and-white Frew comics starring Lee Falk’s Ghost Who Walks. Over time I amassed quite the collection; even as I got older, I’d occasionally flip through the comics; while the stories were never deep or complex, some of the artwork was fabulous. 

Kit Walker is the 21st in a line of crime fighters that originated way back in 1536. The original Phantom, Christopher Walker, swore an oath on the skull of his father’s murderer following a brutal pirate attack, and established the legacy that would be carried down for generations, bringing to fruition the notion of The Phantom being an immortal ghost – “the Ghost Who Walks.”

I’ve never been totally enamoured with the storytelling presented in The Phantom comics I’ve read, but have always felt the character has a ton of potential to be modernized; not re-imagined, but refreshed, to bring new eyes to the character. Dynamite Entertainment attempted a revival several years ago; now it’s our chance.