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JOURNAL OF MODERN MYTHOLOGY AND POP CULTURE INTRODUCTION PAGE 56
Each Phantom raises his son to replace himself, thus perpetuating the myth of the centuries old Ghost Who Walks. His ghostly appearance and reputation for being immortal make him feared by criminals worldwide. Lee Falk has said that Greek busts inspired the idea of the Phantom's pupils not showing beneath his mask; Greek busts had no pupils, which gave them an inhuman, interesting look.
Left: 1943 Columbia serial. Middle: Harvey Comics' issue #36, 1960. Right: The Phantom in action, by artist Bill Lignante.
The dynastic history of the many Phantoms, recorded in the Phantom Chronicles, includes a run-in with Blackbeard the pirate in the 1600s, a marriage to William Shakespeare's niece, and fighting alongside Jean Lafitte in the War of 1812, to mention only a few. The Phantom comic strip was smuggled into the Nazi-occupied Norway during World War II, and the word "Phantom" was used as a password for the Norwegian Resistance, the character receiving iconic status in that country.
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