This would be a team-up I would love to see

 About 1933 and spanning the globe.  The Shadow needing The Phantom's help as Shiwan Khan joins forces with Singh Brotherhood to do dastardly deeds!  I'm not a proponent of Shiwan being the ultimate foe for The Shadow but it seems a great fit with the pirates that vex The Phantom.  All drawn by the late, great Jim Aparo.  What say you, agents?

The Phantom 1943

Just for something different, Tom Tyler and Jeanne Bates as The Phantom and Diana.

Let's not forget "Ace, the Wonder Dog" as Devil...

or Frank Shannon as Professor Davidson.

We need The Phantom to make a comeback

A legitimate comeback.  Not a Dynamite version, but one where the creative team loves and honors the vast history of the character.  One that, like The Shadow, should remain in the 1930's.  Mr. Ross loves these characters and treats them with the respect they deserve.  Let's see what he could do with a team that he gets to direct.

The Theatre of the Mind

My best friend just sent me a link to the archives of the radio program that most likely turned me on to The Shadow all those years ago, The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.  Soon after this program started airing I remember my local station airing The Shadow.  I can't remember if they were reruns or if they were some kind of re-enactment.  Whatever it was, it changed my life forever.
As I'm watching the latest Tarzan film (for the umpteenth time) on my second screen I'm just feeling nostalgic for the simpler tales of morality and heroism.  The Shadow, The Phantom, Tarzan and John Carter.  Cardboard heroes?  Probably.  But it's what you take from those characters that make them special.  Those nights listening to The Shadow and Radio Mystery Theater probably cemented that for me.  Take a listen and be transported through the Theatre of the Mind.

Change of pace

I did this little sketch yesterday and thought it might almost pass for Devil, The Phantom's faithful and fearsome companion. 

We'll get  back to The Shadow tomorrow.

Not The Shadow...

 ...but another of my all time favorite characters.  Plus this film came out two years after the 1994 "The Shadow" film and one that I thought was quite well done.  It certainly can't go toe to toe with the Marvel films or DC movies but it captured, for me, the charm and even sensibility of the time.  This would have been a great poster is they had gone ahead with it.  Drew Struzan is the artist.

Meanwhile...

  Along with The Shadow, Batman and Star Trek I put The Phantom in my pantheon of heroes.  I used to follow his comic pages adventures back in Butte in the early 70's.  We got this paper every Thursday (I can't recall what it was) and it had color "funny papers" included.  Looked forward to Thursday all week long.  The Phantom was part of that and quickly became my favorite.  I couldn't tell you what the adventures were or who the artist was just that it fired my imagination.

  As time rolled on I found the Charlton Comics and had a problem with the art.  Over time I came to appreciate Pat Boyette and his version of The Ghost Who Walks.  

  However Jim Aparo was my favorite

and Don Newton came in second.

  Just a little side trip through my Legion of Heroes.

I've wanted to see this for a very long time

Two of my favorite characters.  They should meet in the 1930's on each other's turf.  I've written a couple of outlines and have played with some sort of comic treatment but time and daily life always get in the way.  I think this has been in my head since the close release of The Shadow (1994) and The Phantom (1996) films.  A fan of both but think The Phantom hit closer to the mark.