Here in Kalamazoo Michigan we have the downtown library. A hideous thing of chrome and concrete, but the home of a used bookstore like no other. It's where the books that are pulled from circulation or donated go to be sold for pennies on the dollar. In addition to that they have volunteer Ed Rhoades. Ed is unique in that he is considered the expert on all things Phantom. That is pretty cool.
I remember going to a five and dime when I was a kid, in a small town called Galesburg. They had packages of comics, usually three for 50 cents, shrink wrapped. I would get anything with a super hero in it. The Phantom popped up a lot. He was perfect. A super hero from Africa and I was a big Edgar Rice Burroughs fan so that made The Phantom even cooler. And he was cool. The man was ice and he faced down all foes, man made and natural with the same attitude. He was The Ghost Who Walks. He knew his stuff and he didn't take any guff for it.
The Phantom was cool.
Moonstone is the name of the company who has thrust the adventures of The Phantom into the new millennium. They do this two ways. One. With a regular series which I devour. Every issue works for me. They also do these graphic novels that have a picture in the middle of each page and text that surrounds it. The stories are okay, but I like my Phantom adventures to be a little more fluid. I prefer the comic.
In these two issues we get The Phantom back stateside and it seems that friends of his are having problems with a gang of toughs. They even think they can take some guy in purple tights. I do so love when he gets to show them how incredibly wrong they are.
It was a nice change of pace to see The Phantom out of his familiar African setting and still being able to adapt to any situation.
This is a fantastic book and deserves a huge following.

---Douglas A. Waltz