Desk Correspondent , America - It was February 1936, and a young writer named Lee Falk 
created a new kind of adventure superhero, which later made its mark all across America. First 
appearing in the newspaper on 17th February 1936, the Phantom, he who is remarkably known 
as 'The Ghost Who Walks' and 'The Man Who Cannot Die,' has been a continuous publication for 
nine decades. Fast-forward to 2026, the Phantom celebrates its timeless journey, never-dying 
script, and its long-term cultural impact by stepping into its evergreen 90 years. 

Evolution of the legendary comic strip 

Stories about the Phantom begin with Lee Falk and his inventive drive. In the middle of the 
1930s, Falk, who was already the creator of Mandrake the Magician, another well-known
adventure comic strip was given the assignment by King Features Syndicate to create a new 
character. Since an earlier concept based on King Arthur failed to gain approval, Falk shifted 
toward something different. Out of that shift emerged a mysterious figure, cloaked and masked, 
fighting wrongdoers deep inside wild forest terrain. On his influences, Falk reflected that the 
Phantom "came out of my childhood interest in great myths and legends, and my reading of books 
like Tarzan and Robin Hood. "A twist of legend set the Phantom's voice, shaping how he'd 
last—caught not quite in pulp, not fully in today's hero tales, but somewhere in between. Old 
stories breathed into his frame, feeding a character who stepped out of ancient echoes and landed 
in comic pages. He didn't just follow myths; he carried them forward, slipping through time on 
ink and paper. From ritual roots to printed panels, the journey found form in him. Not entirely 
one thing or another, yet belonging to both worlds. 

On 17th February 1936, that Monday morning in February nineteen thirty-six brought the first 
Phantom comic to newsprint. "The Singh Brotherhood" kicked things off with handmade 
drawings. Lee Falk shaped the words behind it, maybe even sketching those during the initial 
days himself, just to guide how it should feel. After a couple of weeks, he stepped back from 
drawing, handing the duty to Ray Moore. This new artist carried forward what looked right on 
paper, giving shape to something people would recognise for years after. 

The first of all kinds: The Phantom 

Faster than anyone expected, the character caught on across the country; then came May 28, 
1939, when Sunday papers brought full-colour comics into homes for the first time through "The 
League Of Lost Men," pulling more readers into the Phantom's adventures using bright new 
shades. By that spring weekend, eyes everywhere were tracing his path in bold reds and deep 
blues. Nowadays, masked crime fighters in form-fitting suits feel ordinary. Back in the 1930s, 
though, the Phantom arrived with a bold look: purple body-hugging gear paired with a mask 
hiding blank eyes. That outfit introduced imagery most future champions would eventually copy. 
Heroes like Superman and Batman followed paths he quietly laid years earlier. Yet it was the 
Phantom, whose presence turned those details into symbols worth remembering. Falk said the 
outfit had to mean something, lasting beyond mere usefulness. A look rooted in timelessness 
mattered most to him. 

Additionally, unlike later heroes, the Phantom carried no special powers from birth. Instead, he 
used training, sharp thinking, physical power, willpower, legend, and fear in battle. What made 
him different? A regular person built tough by choice. That realness—human yet feared—brought 
a raw excitement rare back when most tales leaned on magic or impossible features. 

This year's 90th anniversary celebration is not just a celebration of a hero but its journey 
altogether. This celebration includes special hardcovers, new souvenirs from Mallon Publishing, 
a 90th anniversary journal, and an audio/video comic published by the Irish academy TASQART, 
which are all part of the anniversary celebrations. A pillar of the Golden Age of Comics, the 
Phantom continues to combat crime in Bangalla, a fictional African nation.