The Never-Ending Story of The Phantom

Reading a random Phantom story is always a pleasure. The art and storytelling of what fans call the “big four”—Lee Falk, Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy, and Sy Barry—remain engaging across decades. Yet to read the strips as they originally appeared in U.S. newspapers can be even more rewarding.

Reading chronologically versus in isolation

In the newspaper versions we often encounter material later removed in comic-book reprints. Occasionally, entire weeks of strips intended to bridge one story to another were omitted. Monday recap panels—designed for readers who might have missed Saturday’s installment—were also frequently dropped. In comprehensive archival editions, of course, we expect to see every strip and panel, and thankfully this is often the case.

When we follow the stories in chronological order, we also discover continuities easily overlooked when reading in isolation. For example, in the story D041 – Whirlpool Channel, the Phantom is shown staying with the Walkers. The explanation is not found in that story itself but in the preceding two stories: at the conclusion of “The White Monkey,” the Phantom finds himself in the United States, and in the very next arc he appears at Diana’s doorstep. Without that prior context, his sudden presence in “Whirlpool Channel” makes little sense.

What we gain from reading in continuous order

Close, sequential reading reveals that the Phantom strip—at least in McCoy’s era—adhered to a consistent principle: the beginning of a new story grew naturally from the conclusion of the previous one. This chain of continuity kept readers oriented. Whether this careful structuring persisted into the Barry years is less certain. In the strip today, such transitions are rarely, if ever, observed.

Have a look at the examples, and you will see exactly what I mean.