Ray Moore (1) (1905–1984)

Very interesting. I didn't realize that the story of the Phantom developed as the strip went on - he started as a costumed crimefighter with a playboy alter ego, and the immortality and the jungle parts developed over time. It's fascinating watching them appear - Devil, the Bandar, the Skull Throne, the Phantom's Peace...there's no sign, yet, of the Jungle Patrol, and I know (coincidence of timing - reading online vintage comics) where he gets Hero. And like that. The stories are quite pulpy, unsurprisingly - he battles pirates of various sorts, including an all-girl group of sky pirates (who lose mostly because two of them fall in love with him), then a jungle war. And love is a major theme - the Phantom and Diana, Diana and Horton, the pirate women and the Phantom, and a Romeo and Juliet slant to the jungle war. Plus, when the Phantom finally rescues Diana and has her safe, a lovers' quarrel about how and where they'll live - she says he can't leave the jungle, he says she can't be happy in the jungle...and the book ends. Now I want to read the next.… (mer)