Moonstone Forums

Heaven's no, Mike. Folks like you and other pulpsters like Ron Fortier really have a feel for what is great about classic characters.
It just seems like we're seeing so many classics "remade" (a'la Will Eisner's SPIRIT) in ways that I just don't feel soundly about.
Now, if Moonstone said they were partnering to do a Sci-Fi movie about the Phantom, I'd be all over it...)
-Dave

Ok...ok....I can understand those of us who are die hard fans not wanting to see our beloved purple longjohns doing something he would NEVER do back when our Dad was reading his adventures in the funny papers. And Yes....I had and still have issues with Dynamite's take of making The Phantom "More today...More now"....and throwing him into the concrete jungles of New York? I never understood people saying things like that anyway....what exactly is "More Now...and More Today".....if you wrote stories that are just plain good they become timeless. I ask anyone who has bothered to read any 1 of the 15 Avon novels....are they more Now?...more Today?.....because they were written some 36 years ago....and guess what....they are still good. Anyone who is a Phantom Phan owes it to themselves to read at least the first 2 novels...which were by Mr. Falk himself and are truly masterpieces of the character.

Anyway I'm off track What about the fact that SciFi wants to make The Phantom More Now...More Today! I say if SciFi is going to give The Phantom the small screen treatment....Now to be a complete sell out....I say go for it. I can understand them wanting to meet mass appeal. Do with the character as they will....it doesn't erase what has come before....nor will it erase what is yet to come. What it will do is give our beloved character some MUCH needed exposure....and shot in the arm. It's been 12 years since The Phantom has been in any kind of medium other then print. Which was the Billy Zane Movie....14 years since the Phantom 2040 cartoon and 22 years since The Defenders of the Earth cartoon. Yes we are all really that old. We can all take a collective breath and breathe a sigh of relief that SOMETHING is being done with The Phantom....or we can stomp and piss and moan that Hollyweird has screwed us again. Personally....my funds are running a little low and I don't have the millions of dollars...the talent...or the contacts to "Do it right!"

For those of you still upset over rumors that they are going to make him kill people....as long as it's not a Jay Walker.....or a Litter Bug I can deal. I know there are those of you going "Boo"..."Hissss" Lee Falk would never make him kill. You know you are right. Mr. Falk wouldn't....BUT he wouldn't have a problem leaving the villian to the jungle justice of a tribe...or to the wild animals that The Phantom left him/her with....as long as it wasn't by The Phantom's hand...knowing all along...this villian was about to be torn apart by the tribe or eaten by the wild animal...maybe vice versa on that one too. All I know is with the current story line in Moonstone......I wouldn't be surprised and I sure wouldn't condemn Mike Bullock if once The Phantom gets his hands on those responsible for Diana's death if they didn't meet with their demise by The Phantom's hand. Which would be fitting and just. Old Jungle Saying, "Don't screw with Phantom's Girl!"

As for the live SciFi show....Dont get to bent on how he used to be in the strip or how he should be now...just be happy to see him in live action once again. Hell the next time he is on the screen (Big or Little) we might all be to old to remember who the heck he is.

Jase
(The Who Writes)

Great post, Jase. I very much agree with it.
But actually, Lee did have him kill on a very few occasions in the strip... The only one I can remember from the top of my head was in the story The Phantom Goes To War (alternatively titled The Inexorables), where he drowned a Japanese General (who had tortured him and blown up about half of the Deep Woods...). However, all these occasions (and they are definetely not many) happened very early in the strip's history, and the Phantom has not killed again since then (possibly in the 2040 or Marvel miniseries, I can't remember exactly).

However, it is very un-Falk-like to have him being "a trained killer", like Daniel Knauf suggests he is. He is certainly "rough on roughnecks", but that doesn't mean he breaks their necks or something, and I would loathe to see something like that on the screen.

Nevertheless, I totally agree with you that the character deserves to reach a new audience that would normally not pick up the comic books or read about his adventures in the newspaper strips, and I think a well made TV-series could really do wonders for his appeal and popularity.
Besides, as I've said before, this will not be OUR Phantom, the writers clearly specified this from the start. If they ever gets to make a show out of their plans, I will find comfort in the fact that it is not the 21st Phantom we see on screen shooting people (although I would consider giving my left arm to see a good series featuring my Phantom!).

Well, since this isnt the actual 21st Phantom, and the 23rd that has no idea of his legacy I could see him killing. However I would like to see hiim become more Phantom-like as the series progresses and he stops killing. Since the 22nd Phantom are a set of twins, does that mean they are both going to die? Probably just ignore that fact, I bet.

That's a really good idea. As the new Phantom learnt more about his legacy through the chronicles in the cave, he could realize that killing is wrong for the Phantom... Not that I suspect that would happen if audiences enjoy seeing a hero who shoots bad guys instead of just smacking them.

As for your second point, I can't help suspecting the writers are under the impression that our Phantom, the 21st, is actually the 22nd.

I'm hoping that before the production on the show is underway, their research will point them in the direction of what's right for the character. At least some of the changes they made with Flash Gordon made sense. In the Buster Crabbe serial Mongo was using a death ray from their planet to earth. Since, even the youngest science students know that wouldn't work, they made the connections a dimensional portal.

I do agree that the character might benefit from being "more now." Wouldn't a man of untold wealth at least have use of a cel phone when in the city?

As far as the number, we all realize the current Phantom is the 21st, but, shouldn't he really be at least the 23rd? Considering that the Phantom and his ensemble fought the Japanese during WWII, wouldn't that make Devil a little long in the tooth? Lee lived and wrote for generations while the Phantom stayed the same. That doesn't matter for a character like Blondie who has no real references to history.

We spoke with Lee about the Phantom killing. He said during wartime, there is a different standard for killing. (Although the Phantom also shot a would be assassin for a believe a governor very early on in the strip.) When The Phantom began, there was no comics code. There was actually a time later when The Phantom and Mandrake were criticized for being inappropriate for young audiences. Wilson McCoy was personally unhappy with some things in the strip. However, in the light of today's standards, it's all very tame.

I believe the Paramount film suffered from ineffective promotion, but there were adolescents who actually told me that they don't go to films unless they're at least PG13. I would like to see a series keep the essential elements about the character and hopefully,l King Features will have some say in that. Still, it's a lot easier for those who don't have any money invested to demand what they feel is right, but the idea of TV and movies is to be successful with the viewers more than please long time fans.

I watch Smallville which has had a longer run than anyone ever expected. Mark Verheiden, early writer and executive producer for Smallville (and writer for the DC Phantom comics) said they were hoping for 5 years. Although I continue to watch, I can't help but feel they've gone astray with the character who seems to have little in common with Superman.

I wish Sci Fi good fortune with the Phantom series, but I wish Mike Bullock and Ben Raab were the writers.

....Paging Mr. Bullock......Paging Mr. Bullock......Mike.....Mike....Mike.....you got me quoting myself....just read issue #24.....arrived Friday (yes I have to have my comics shipped to me because I live in the sticks of North Carolina) as I was on my way out the door to go work my back to back 16 hour shifts as a nurse. So, I saved this issue until I got home this morning and had my first cup of coffee. Not to give any spoilers for those who may have not read issue #24 of the current Phantom series...so I will be vague. Let's just say I never really thought of myself as a trout...or a fish of any kind....But damn you had me hook line and sinker. Enjoyed the twist and really looking forward to issue #25 and the conclusion of Checkmate. Only problem I have now is...it burns my mouth when I drink my coffee because of the big hook I just pulled out of my lip.

"Old Jungle Saying...Don't send flowers to Skull Cave until the story is over and written in the Chronicles."

Jase
(The who writes)

We're glad you're enjoying it, Jase. The end of #24 was lots of fun to craft and it's good to know that fun translates to the reader.

[/quote]Speaking of the Checkmate arc, I can't help thinking how much better going in this direction would be for a TV-series... Make the Phantom struggle really badly in his fight against evil to keep viewers excited, while not changing him too much.

I've always felt that Ben Raab's take on the ongoing series felt like The Phantom: The Big Budget Motion Picture, akin to what I would imagine a Phantom film franchise with many sequels could be (The Aviatrix would be the coolest movie EVER) whereas Mike's run has so far been The Phantom: The Major Live Action Series, reminding me a great deal of a big budget series you would find on channels such as HBO, due to the continuity-focus and events on his run seemingly climating with issue 25 (can't wait to get that one).

Who knows, if the show gets made and becomes popular, maybe Mike, Ben or both could write some episodes. How cool would it not be to have them make stories, maybe adapted from their own previous work on the character, about the 21st Phantom (although the new Phantom kills, I still assume he has the chronicles to read about his forefathers!).

Then again, this is only daydreaming... as for now!

Rhoades:

I really hope they have something to say about it. It would be strange if they control what Moonstone does with the Phantom but not the Sci-Fi Channel.
Also, re-reading the announcement, it seems strange to me that the success of Batman got them interested in the Phantom, and they STILL want to make him what appears to be a killing machine... Everybody knows Batman doesn't kill (at least not in the new movies) and the films are still breaking all kinds of box office records. I don't see the Phantom becoming any less popular in a series by keeping his no-killing code intact.

They are quite different. Movies and films make more than a comic. They can afford to be picky with small projects, but they can't alienate someone who will make them big money.