Will the Real Phantom Stranger's First Silver Age Appearance Please Stand Up? by screenwriter3d

[CSJournals-migration]

...Showcase 80 Vs. Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 4...

 

...OR...

 

...Phantom Stranger in the Silver Age: The Lost Years...

 

Int. - Theatre - Night:

It's opening night in a packed house bristling with the energy of excitement and anticipation. As the theatre lights dim, a lofty backlit trail of white light pierces the ebony darkness, spotlighting an empty stage. The audience falls silent as a lone figure whose face is impossibly cloaked in obsidian, graces the stage. He stands before closed curtains and addresses the audience...

 

Master of Ceremony:

"Ladies and Gentleman and Children of all ages, allow me the pleasure of introducing a man who needs no introduction... a man who has gone toe-to-toe with The Spectre... The Spirit of Vengeance himself, and has lived to tell the tale... a distinguished member of the Justice League of America, The Trenchcoat Brigade, The Quintessence, and the Sentinels of Magic... Comicdom's very own first gray-haired fox... from the Silver Age of Comics comes... the incomparable... the irrepressible... the undeniable... the Phantom Stranger!

 

The curtains lift open revealing... Showcase 80.

 

The Audience:

Cheers! Applause!

 

Showcase 80: Thank you... thank you... thank you ladies and gentlemen for a most gracious and warm reception. It is with great honor that I am here tonight to share with you my most thrilling adventures and hair-raising exploits during the Silver Age. A time I reflect when...

 

From a balcony overlooking the orchestra pit an ominous voice commands...

 

"Wait!" (Off Camera)

 

The startled audience turn to bear witness to this sudden and gross transgression...

 

Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 4: "You are not the real Silver Age Phantom Stranger... you are nothing more than a Golden Age reprint! An imposter! A charlatan! A fraud! Take a good look dear people, take a good look... for I am the real Silver Age Phantom Stranger!!!

 

And believe it or not Ladies and Gentlemen... what you have just read is true!...

 

...Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, one can reasonably argue the Phantom Stranger didn't make his "real" first appearance in the Silver Age with Showcase 80. In fact, Showcase 80 and the Phantom Stranger Volume 2, No.'s 1, 2, and 3, are, for the most part, reprints from his Golden Age's first volume, with the inclusion of Dr. Thirteen back-up stories originally seen in Star-Spangled Comics. These reprints are combined with brief new material that serve as nothing more than framing sequences to introduce and conclude each reprint story.

 

Now I ask you... Do a few covers and a few framing sequences make for a first appearance? Food for thought.

 

It's not until Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 4, published in November-December, 1969, where we are finally treated to a brand spanking new story... with brilliant art by Neal Adams, who updates the Phantom's look (disposing of his Golden Age garb), and, for the first time, a reoccurring nemesis is introduced in the vestige of Tala, an immortal pagan goddess, who's every bit the Stranger's equal. This, I declare, merits a debate between comic book historians as to this issue's importance and candidacy as the Stranger's first true appearance in the Silver Age.

 

But that also leads me to another topic of discussion...

 

...Sadly and rather abruptly, by the very next issue, No. 5, publication date January-February 1970, we have said goodbye to the Silver Age and hello to the Bronze...

 

...So, other than the one comic (Phantom Stranger Vol., No. 4), and some framing material and beautiful covers provided by Neal Adams and Bill Draut, the Stranger's Silver Age appearance is all but strikingly brief. This seems to me, to be a missing page in history... an overlooked gap. What was he up to all those years in between? In my estimation, one issue doesn't cut it. That, DC, maybe something worth exploring... a golden opportunity to retroactively re-invent the Phantom Stranger's activities during the Silver Age... the lost years.

 

...What do you think?

 

FYI: If you're a fan of all things Phantom Stranger, I encourage you to visit blog site: iamthephantomstranger.blogspot.com

 

Happy Collecting!

 

See more journals by screenwriter3d

[Demo-migration]

Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, one can reasonably argue the Phantom Stranger didn't make his "real" first appearance in the Silver Age with Showcase 80. In fact, Showcase 80 and the Phantom Stranger Volume 2, No.'s 1, 2, and 3, are, for the most part, reprints from his Golden Age's first volume, with the inclusion of Dr. Thirteen back-up stories originally seen in Star-Spangled Comics. These reprints are combined with brief new material that serve as nothing more than framing sequences to introduce and conclude each reprint story.

 

The first modern appearance of The Phantom Stranger is definitely Showcase # 80 (especially if the 1st app of Wolverine is Hulk # 180, which it is). It may be a framing sequence, but PS appears many times on the 9 new pages. But I can see why this might not "count", it's pretty lame story-wise.

 

The first two stories of issue # 1 are reprints, but the last one is not. You can see here at the GCD http://www.comics.org/issue/22704/#160266 that the last story is 8 1/2 pages and is brand new. I checked my copy and The Phantom Stranger appears many times in this story. This story is neither brief nor is it a framing sequence. This definitely counts.

 

But I do agree, Showcase #80 and PS # 1-3 are terrible art and character-wise compared to what was to come, and issue # 4 is the first appearance of the cool Phantom Stranger. Jim Aparo kicked on this title!

[SW3D]

Dear Demo,

 

You have pulled a Dr. Thirteen on me, and exposed me for the charlatan that I really am!

 

Actually, all kidding aside, you're right... the first appearance of the Stranger is technically Showcase 80. And you're also correct that the story "Defeat the Dragon Curse... or Die!" appearing in Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 1, is an original story. I honestly thought this story to be a reprint since the characters and settings have a 50's vibe more than the late 60's. And after re-reading that pyro story, I wonder if that poor orphan boy, Harry, was ever re-united with his relatives. Wouldn't it have been cool if Dr. Thirteen and his wife Marie adopted him... and years later, he takes over the Ghost Breaking racket?

 

But I'm glad you agree with me... Phantom Stranger Volume 1, Number 4 has the first "cool" appearance of the Stranger. I also agree with you, Jim Aparo kicked SPOON... his art and covers were amazing. By the way, Neal Adams wasn't so bad himself.

 

But you also have to agree, aside from the framing sequences and the original stories in issues 1 and 4, his Silver Age tenure is all but brief. By issue 5 we're in the Bronze Age. DC should fill this chasm... tell us what the Stranger was doing all that time... The Lost Years.

 

Do you believe the truth to the rumors that there may be a Justice League Dark movie in the works, with none other than Guillermo Del Toro at the helm? If this is true, expect to see the Stranger, side by side with Constantine, Swamp Thing, Deadman, Zatarra, The Demon, and a few others all together. That would be awesome!