The Phantom · Articles and perspectives

Explore the world of The Phantom

Discover the stories, the artists and the details that bring the legend to life.

Articles and personal perspectives by Ivan Pedersen.

The Phantom reading the Chronicles
Art: Sy Barry · Colours: Ivan Pedersen

Here you will find information about The Phantom as I have come to know him through more than sixty years of reading and collecting his stories, from Lee Falk’s original work to the adventures created by later writers and artists. Much of the material is factual, drawn from the stories, publications and details I have gathered and compared over the years.

Other articles offer personal reflections on the character, the artwork and the stories that have stayed with me. These are not intended as the final word. I hope fellow fans will find something here to enjoy, discuss and explore further, perhaps making discoveries of their own.

Above all, I hope this collection will introduce more readers to The Phantom and encourage both new and longtime fans to seek out more of his adventures, old and new.

As time allows, I also plan to add introductions to books, magazines and individual stories, along with profiles of the writers and artists who have helped shape The Phantom.

My work

Colouring and editing

Sample pages and presentations of stories I have worked on.

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Panels from the first Phantom daily strip, dated 17 February 1936Stories

The Phantom introduction

An introduction to The Phantom and a guide to the Phantom Index.

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Portrait of Lee FalkArtists

Whose Phantom?

Lee Falk’s legacy, the newspaper creators and the limits of change — a personal view, 1936–1999.

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Portrait of Wilson McCoyArtists · Restoration

The missing part of the picture

Wilson McCoy, wartime paper shortages and the search for complete Phantom strips.

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Placeholder for a complete comic stripArtists

When the Ghost felt more mysterious

Wilson McCoy, quiet authority and strength beyond appearances — a personal reflection.

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Placeholder for a complete comic stripRestoration · Personal memories

Bringing the classic Phantom back to print

Recolouring for Frew and restoring Wilson McCoy’s strips for Comics Revue — a personal account.

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First image in the comparisonStories · Restoration

When the Phantom ran seven days a week

The combined daily and Sunday adventures of 1949–1950, and five years of work bringing them together for Comics Revue.

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The first Phantom strip I saw, was a Sy Barry strip.Stories · Personal memories

Phantom Stories That Have Stayed with Me

Personal favourites from a lifetime of reading the newspaper strip.

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eyes behind the maskArtists

Bill Lignante and The Phantom

The eyes behind the mask, the succession after McCoy and how Sy Barry received both newspaper features.

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The Phantom reading the ChroniclesArtists · Stories

Behind the familiar names

Other hands in the writing and artwork, two versions of the Phantom’s childhood, and the questions raised by his wartime adventure.

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The Chronicles with all the Phantom history.The Chronicles

Twenty men before the present Phantom

The first twenty Phantoms: lifetimes, families and important stories, with KFS, Team Fantomen and Frew distinguished.

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The first strip I ever saw, was a Sy Barry strip.Artists · Personal memories

The Phantom, Sy Barry and me

From childhood newspaper strips and colour albums to collecting, colouring and a memorable meeting in New York.

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The Phantom reading the ChroniclesStories · Personal memories

Rex: The Boy Who Was Simply There

Memories of the Phantom’s foster son, his place in the jungle adventures and his later life in Baronkhan.

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Is the Phantom strip a soup opera?Stories

Is the Phantom a Soap Opera?

The long courtship, the wedding and the difference between an adventure serial and continuing relationship drama — a personal view.

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Norwegian Fantomet annual cover showing the blue-costumed Phantom facing a gorillaStories · Personal memories

The Phantom in Colour — a Personal Preference

Norwegian memories, colour and black-and-white traditions around the world, and my own colouring work for Frew.

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As a gimmick, editor of Comics Revue use this cover as an example for the many colors on the Phantom's suit.Design & Appearance

The Phantom’s Costume: Why So Many Colours?

There is only on "The Phantom", but still several colors on his suit! Why ...?

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Tony de Paul, writer on the Phantom strip after Falks death.Artists · Personal memories

Tony DePaul: Writing the Phantom After Falk

On 15 October 2026, Tony DePaul announced that King Features had ended his assignment as writer of The Phantom newspaper strips. In his account, That's it for me and the Phantom, Part II, he makes a clear distinction from the contract dispute in 2017: then he had quit; this time the decision was the syndicate's. He says Amy Anderson told him on 14 October that King Features wanted to take the strip in a new direction and attract younger readers.

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