Never mind the plague; what about the raging fashion crisis?
The Phantom, 7/10/05
So for the past several weeks, I’ve been trying to get a handle on what the cultural deal is of the plague-ridden African nation of Baronkhan (BaronKhan?). It’s a neighbor to the Phantom’s own happy post-colonial democracy of Bangalla and the obviously apartheid-based state of Rhodia. But Baronkhan (BaRonKhaN?) is a tougher one to crack. In this strip alone, we’ve got a kimono-wearing doctor in panel two (assuming that we’re looking through de-colorizing glass and not at a sepia-toned Japanese print hung on the outside of the building for some reason), some soldiers apparently on loan from the 18th century Ottoman army in panel three, and our Aryan prince and his native sidekick Tom-Tom (Tom-Tom?), dressed for a trip to a mall in suburban Ohio. With this melange of sartorial styles on display, I guess the Phantom can indulge himself in disguises he doesn’t get to wear very often. In this case, he’s chosen some sort of hooded faux-medieval get up, perfect for working the manor fields under the watchful eye of a benevolent duke, or possible for leading a pitchfork-wielding mob to roust out a coven of potential witches. It would have been a little more effective if you couldn’t see the purple spandex through his décolletage.
By the way, if you’re not a regular follower of the Phantom, you might be edified by the little explanatory footnote in the middle panel of the bottom row. The fact that similar footnotes appear roughly once every two to three weeks says something about the how long the Phantom’s creators think they can hold on to readers.
Beasley
July 11th, 2005 at 10:05 pm
With this melange of sartorial styles on display, I guess the Phantom can indulge himself in disguises he doesn’t get to wear very often.
I guess we can give him a break. After all, he gets to attend the Rennaisance Festival only once a year…IF it doesn’t rain!
Chet McCord, Wildlife Defender
July 11th, 2005 at 10:23 pm
I was curious last week, when SpandexMan said something like “I’ll wear this robe as a disguise.” I always thought the purple spandex was a disguise.
Beasley
July 11th, 2005 at 10:48 pm
I always thought the purple spandex WAS a disguise.
It probably used to be, you know, back in the day. But now his fellow denizens recognize him as a “character” or “local anomally”…like that person who’s always pushing the grocery cart around town.
PizzaBagel
July 11th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
Re Uncle Walker* wearing a hooded cloak over his purple bodysuit: It reminds me of that episode of “The Munsters” in which they appear at a Halloween party given by Marilyn’s boyfriend’s parents. Herman, outfitted in armor as I recall, wins best prize for supposedly having one costume under another one.
*FOR THE GHOST-WHO-WALKS!
fluffytufts
July 12th, 2005 at 6:14 am
Panel #2 – How can you tell that’s a doctor? Looks more like a couple of Baron Khan’s (whatever) horny citizens playing “let’s have sex with a blindfold on during the plague.”
Tom Clancy
July 12th, 2005 at 6:21 am
I’m glad someone noticed panel 2, which I assume is the most action the strip has seen in years. You have to appreciate the balls it takes to mail in that whole top panel like that: “People are constantly bitching about the shrinking size of newspaper funnies? Screw ‘em. It’s a nice day out and there’s no way I’m doing an extra panel. How much exposition can the audience stand anyways?”
DrBear
July 12th, 2005 at 6:27 am
I mean, they’ve had that footnote since I read TP in my local paper in the 1960s. If your readership hasn’t got the idea by now, are you really doing that good a job of character development?
Mibbitmaker
July 12th, 2005 at 6:48 am
The GHOST-WHO-WALKS; the others take the bus (or host post-modern talk shows on Adult Swim). They won’t let the Ghostly Trio ride for 6 months, though.
Also, it must be said: Nobody likes a wise-guy “Next” caption!
Robert Flaxman
July 12th, 2005 at 9:17 am
The Phantom sure loves his double exclamation points, doesn’t he? Does that really qualify as a response? I’d like to say Falk and Nolan get points for not writing out “*gasp*” or something like that, but this is at least as stupid. Try using that one in your everyday life.
Video store clerk: “I’m sorry, we just rented the last copy of ‘Agent Cody Banks.’”
You: “!!”
Also, is it me, or does the Phantom’s nose look absolutely huge in the first panel of the bottom row?
sally
July 12th, 2005 at 9:45 am
I’m glad Josh was there to tell me that was a doctor in panel two — like Tom and fluffy, at first glance I thought, what are all those people who insist on keeping “classic” Peanuts going to think of the funny pages depicting geezer sex?
As for the punctuation, why do Phantom’s exclamatory sentences begin with exclamation points? Are his thoughts really in Spanish?
Islamorada Girl
July 12th, 2005 at 11:35 am
It’s not a Spandex costume. It’s psoriasis.
PizzaBagel
July 12th, 2005 at 12:35 pm
Yeah, Sally, I was wondering about the pre-sentence exclamation point in his panel five thought balloon. However, in Spanish the preceding exclamation point is written inverted – same with the question mark. My guess is that he had a delayed exclamation which should have terminated his dialogue in panel four. Note that in panels three and five he ends his dialogue with ellipses and one or two exclamation points. In panel four it’s just the terminal ellipses.
The Ghost Who Walks
The Ghost Who Jogs
The Ghost Who Hops, Skips, and Jumps
The Ghost Who Staggers
The Ghost Who Limps
The Ghost Who Says “Ni!”
¡¡¿Where will it all end …?!!
John Eddy
July 12th, 2005 at 5:48 pm
BaronKhan?
BaronKhan??
BaronKhan????
KHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Speed Racer X
July 12th, 2005 at 6:38 pm
So now does the Phantom have to drop the poor kid again to put on his incredible disguise? Maybe he could just put him on his back and then the cloak and go out as Ye-Local-Hunchback of bARONkHAN…
BARonKHAN…
BAronkHAN…
whatever…
jill2e
July 12th, 2005 at 11:04 pm
Maybe I’m new but I just don’t get it! This story is impossible to follow. Maybe it is that I am expecting something to happen and “Phantom-time” is like dog years or something. I like to think that this Tom-Tom has cholera thing has been going on in “Phantom time” for three days but the story started in the papers in 1984. I think I’m onto something. If you notice that dog appears in four of the panels. Hmmm…. Or should I say Hmmmm??!!!
willowy1
July 13th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
I’m not really sure what to make of Lee Falk’s story lines since 9-11. He had The Phantom confront terrorists of all stripes for over 3 years now. Nuclear threats, biological threats, political coups (although this has often been a theme over the years), etc.
Is he simply broadening the types of adventures he uses or is he doing a little fear-mongering? After being a loyal reader for years I lost interest when he “created” the Manahattan terrorist group which was his first attempt to capitalize on the terrorist phenomenon. The first panel in the 2nd row sure looks like a couple of shady looking Arabs smoking opium while plotting their next big event.
Mary Brandt
July 13th, 2005 at 11:08 pm
Aw, I want to be the Ghost-Who-Walks.
Toddb
July 14th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
is his codpiece striped in that last panel!! egads man!!
Toddb
July 14th, 2005 at 3:06 pm
I actually thought that panel two’s “doctor” was simply applying an ether soaked rag to the young ladies face. Nice to see that date rape still has a place in the funny pages.
(granted, he is applying the rag a little high. She doesn’t breath out of her eyes you madman!! Despite what the health ministries of BaronKhan tell you!
ed rhoades
July 17th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
“I was curious last week, when SpandexMan said something like “I’ll wear this robe as a disguise.†I always thought the purple spandex was a disguise.”
No the purple body suit is his natural attire, anything else is a disguise. The first Phantom designed a costume based on the idol of the Wasaka giants. (In the real world, it was designed by the late Ray Moore and a group of artist friends.) It was first of its kind predating Superman and Batman. I suspect it was inspired by circus performers and old time executioners.
“Is his codpiece striped in that last panel!! egads man!!”
It’s not a codpiece. It’s the same kind of shorts worn by superheroes everywhere, but the Phantom wore them first in Feb 17, 1936. The stripes were accidental…evolving from hatching from Ray Moore’s brush.
“I’m not really sure what to make of Lee Falk’s story lines since 9-11.”
Lee died in Oct 1999. The current stories are written by Tony DePaul. (He also wrote the script for the golf film “Bobby Jones,Stroke of Genius” which performed disappointingly at the box office.
“If your readership hasn’t got the idea by now, are you really doing that good a job of character development?”
Actually, it was an old convention introduced by Lee for new readers. The Phantom still has an enormous international readership which King Features Syndicate claim is 60 million.
Hansy
July 21st, 2005 at 8:08 am
Does anybody know from where I can download Phantom???
gorge
July 22nd, 2005 at 12:13 am
Phantom is my favorite comic star. In my childhoodsi do read lot’s of comics relatinf to phantom. Is there is any good site where i can read more phantom stories.
Mcgill
December 10th, 2005 at 6:21 am
well! NO! I’m a regular follower of phantom but still I want explainatry footnotes.
SUNIL
June 28th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
http://thecomicproject.blogspot.com/ u will find a lot of comics here
WOW CD KEY
January 31st, 2010 at 11:57 pm
JUST DO IT