The Ghost still walks amongst us
The Phantom has won more followers in other countries, in particular Sweden, India and Australia, where he has enjoyed a high status in popular culture.
The Phantom – seemingly the all-American comic-strip hero – is more popular outside his home country than in it.
Monash University PhD student Kevin Patrick, from the Centre for the Book, is charting the rise of The Phantom, one of the first in the genre and a forerunner of the vast franchises existing today. Created by Lee Falk and originally illustrated by Ray Moore, The Phantom first appeared in the 1930s as a comic strip in the New York Journal-American newspaper.
Falk died in 1999, but writer Tony De Paul and illustrators Paul Ryan and Terry Beatty continue to produce the comic strip. It appears in 15 languages and over 500 newspapers worldwide.
One of Kevin’s most interesting findings to date is that despite his American origins, The Phantom has won more followers in other countries, in particular Sweden, India and Australia, where he has enjoyed a high – and to date unquestioned – status in popular culture. Australia, for example, hosts the world’s longest-running edition of The Phantom comic book, which has been published continuously since 1948.
“The hypothesis is that this popularity may be because The Phantom is not particularly American in nature and lends itself to adaptation by different cultures,” Kevin said.
As part of his research, Kevin has conducted an online survey of nearly 600 Phantom “phans” (as they like to be known) from Australia, India and Sweden.
“Despite the fact that comic-strip was created by an American, survey participants frequently mentioned that they did not regard the Phantom as an American hero, in the same way that Captain America obviously was.”
Instead, the Phantom seems to be seen more as a classical hero of the sort found in ancient myth and legend.
“This may go some way towards explaining why The Phantom achieved popularity in such diverse countries as Sweden, Australia and India, where few other American comic-book characters have ever enjoyed the same level of popularity,” Kevin said.
“He is not readily identifiable as 'American', which arguably allows readers in these three nations to ‘adopt’ The Phantom as their own national hero. The fact that the Phantom lives with his family in a jungle setting further removes him from the overt American settings that are common to other superheroes, like Batman or Daredevil.”
His research continues, but Kevin says that, with Sweden now producing more original Phantom comics for the global market than any other country, his findings throw new light on how American popular culture is disseminated to, and adapted by, overseas audiences.
For more information contact Glynis Smalley, Monash Media & Communications +61 3 9903 4843 | 0408 027 848 or glynis.smalley@monash.edu.