#madcavestudios — Public Fediverse posts

The Phantom, Vol. 1 | Comic Review

It’s always interesting to learn about early superheroes that died out. I remember watching The Spirit when they released that movie 20 years ago and was underwhelmed. Still, I thought I should give The Phantom, Vol. 1 a shot.

Thank you Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I want to say right off the bat that, of course, a white guy being the savior for an African country was a bit on the nose. Sure, it’s the fictional country of Bangalla, but it’s still eyeroll-worthy at times.

The Phantom protects Bangalla from all types of invaders, and this time it’s a drug trafficking organization that crash lands in the jungle. He fights them off while protecting the villagers, and almost everyone goes home happy.

I learned in this book that Phantom doesn’t actually have any powers? He’s just good at fighting? That’s my biggest takeaway in all of this.

Russell Olson did a good job with the art. The characters were all pretty distinctive, and I was able to tell them a part.

Also, I just learned that there’s a The Phantom movie starring Billy Zane. I’ll probably never watch it, but that’s interesting. Maybe one day…

Book: The Phantom, Vol. 1

Publisher: Mad Cave Studios

Writer: Ray Fawkes

Artist: Russell Olson

Letterer: Taylor Esposito

Cover Artists: Freddie Williams II (A) and Andrew Dalhouse (C)