The Phantom, created in 1936 by Lee Falk, was the first costume ‘superhero’ and pre-dated Superman (1938) and Spiderman (1962). Manly Art Gallery and Museum is the final Australian venue for a touring exhibition of contemporary artworks inspired by The Phantom, created by Peter Kingston, Dieter Lederwasch, Euan Macleod and Dick Frizzell among 40 artists.
Explore why this comic book character resonates so strongly halfway across the world, nearly 80 years later.
When: Friday 8 September to Sunday 29 October 2017
Manly Art Gallery & Museum is open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm
Where: Manly Art Gallery & Museum, West Esplanade Reserve, Manly
Cost: Free
Contact: artgallery@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au or 02 9976 1421
Hosted by Manly Art Gallery & Museum
Image: The Phantom Show – Luke Sciberras, ‘The ghost who chalks’, courtesy Manly Art Gallery & Museum
Dick Tracey was earlier than Phantom, but DT didn’t wear a costume, and he had a fantastic “wrist radio” which was far before its time. Phantom succeeds because he CAN be(and WAS, many times over) killed in his battle against evil. He has NO “super powers”, just incredible training and dedication to his cause. Both Phantom and Batman had traumatic experiences of seeing their parents killed by evildoers, but Batman didn’t die (until relatively recently. Superman came along as a latecomer, and was mistakenly made so immensely powerful that nothing could defeat him (except Kryptonite). Then the authors realised they had made a mistake and made him vulnerable to Magic, and a couple of other things. Even Superman is now dead (see new movie Justice League, but Phantom continues unabated. It’s beyond time that the 21st Phantom gets killed, and Kit or Heloise take over as the 22nd in line. Same with “Devil” the wolf who has been “rooted, tooted and bandicooted” so often that he should really be dead by now, and “Hero” the horse, who should well and truly be beyond his normal lifespan by now. Nice to see “Kid Phantom” as an effort to revise the story just a bit.