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Sunday, October 12, 2008

FOR THOSE WHO CAME IN LATE...



I really, really like the Phantom. I think he's the most durable character in comics, right? He pre-dated Batman and even Superman. Plus, he still has new comic strips going. Tarzan and Flash Gordon only come out in reprints nowadays. He's matched in that aspect only by Prince Valiant, but then again Prince Valiant only comes out in Sunday strips, while the Phantom has Sunday strips and daily strips, all drawn by the wonderful Paul Ryan.

My first Phantom comic book was a reprint from Alemar's bookstore some years back. I wasn't impressed by it then, since the art was not really spectacular (this being the Gold Key or Dell productions, I think). I would see him in the newspapers, but still didn't follow his adventures much, since I don't read the newspaper everyday when I was a kid. All that changed when I started buying the Phantom comic from DC Comics during the 80s. Mark Verheiden's stories really impressed me, As did Luke McDonnell's art (who I didn't like during his JLA tenure, but he was a perfect fit for the Phantom). From that moment on, I was hooked. I was looking for any Phantom comic I could find. I discovered and tracked down the late, great Don Newton Charlton drawn books. I started clipping out the strips drawn by Sy Barry. I even watched the not-so-spectacular movie starring Billy Zane (and bought the DVD).

I guess what I'm trying to do here is actively lobby for an opportunity to draw the Phantom. So if in the most unlikely chance that any of the Phantom's publishers come across this blog, I am ready, willing and able to draw the Phantom for you. Moonstone Books, Egmont, Frew Publications, even King Features Syndicate (on the slight chance that Paul Ryan leaves the strip)... I BEG you to give me a chance. Oh, and Dynamite Entertainment... I hear you're coming up with your own Phantom title. If you don't have an artist yet, I'm your man!

Hey, Billy Zane lobbied for the role, and he got it, right? So maybe it'll work for me, too.

Oh, the pencils above were' done by me. I'll ink it and post the finished art here sometime in the future.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

with all due respect, i suggest that you rethink that composition. the wolf looks a little worried ;D

humawinghangin said...

best of luck sir! i would pay to read Phantom comics drawn by you. :)

Reno said...

Haha! Maybe I'll fix the wolf's face during inking. Maybe a little more knot to the brow, eh?

Thanks for the comments, guys. :)

Anonymous said...

i think what anonymous meant was that the phantom seems to be about to do the wolf a great injustice... from... behind...?

dodo dayao said...

Panalo men.

Favorite ko din si Phantom. Easily one of the best costume deisgns in comicdom.

Reno said...

anonymous II...

I hope not. The wolf's not named Devil for nothing, yo know. :)

Dodo...
I agree, although the striped pants are a little bit off. Although considering he was created in the early 1930s, the costume still works today.

phantomlover said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dr PC Sarkar said...

Nice art.. don't get disappointed by a few crappy comments, e.g. the wolf looks worried. The Phantom could do with good art, much much better than what is being churned out by US and Scandinavian artists these days. And yeah.. do become a member of The Phantom Phorum at [url]http://phorum.thedan.org[/url]. This is an international community of Phantom Phans, where we share our thoughts and our rants. Best of Luck :-)

Reno said...

Thanks, DR PC. I'm doing some stuff for Moonstone now, hopefully I can get assigned to a Phantom project. Fingers crossed!

But let me just say that I like what Paul Ryan is doing in the US newspaper strips. :)