MUSEUM OF MODERN MYTHOLOGY AND POP CULTURE

THE PHANTOM

1936. The Ghost Who Walks. The man who cannot die. The mysterious jungle dweller that has fought piracy for six centuries was the comic-strip creation of Lee Falk (1911-1999). The Ghost Who Walks is the first 'super hero' to wear a skintight costume which later comic book heroes would adopt. In 1536, the myth goes, pirates kill Christopher Walker's father, and he is left for dead. With the help of the jungle people, a tribe called the Bandar, Walker survives and vows to fight evil in the form of a masked ghost that cannot die. Each Phantom raises his son to replace himself, thus perpetuating the myth of the centuries old Ghost Who Walks. In Lee Falk's own words: "The Phantom is a marvelous role model because he wins against evil. Evil does not triumph against the Phantom... He hates dictatorship and is in favor of democracy. He is also opposed to any violation of human rights."

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