Writer – Peter David
Artist – Joe Orlando
Inker – Dennis Janke
Colours – Anthony Tolin
Letters – Todd Klein

As one Phantom chronicles his thoughts, he thinks back to The First, that Phantom who came before all others and he wonders how anyone could live up to that reputation. Readers are then treated to the origin of that first Phantom who was not yet the costumed hero he would soon become. It begins with piracy and a young boy’s father knocking him overboard in order to save his life. He soon wakes up in a jungle surrounded by the natives of the place, men stranger than he has ever seen, though he too is just as strange to them. Soon he comes to learn that his father is more than likely no longer among the living and it hardens his heart, so much so that he vows vengeance upon those who would take up piracy and not just to the end of his days but through those of his ancestors until it was wiped out, if ever that should occur. Author Peter David then cuts to the present day where the current Phantom is looking to stop some drug runners and as the tale progresses, David continues to look back to the past where the thirteenth Phantom, now a bit older, is looking to stop some pirates. David weaves back and forth expertly and it makes for a very entertaining read and even better, as the book moves towards its conclusion, the two tales that he flits between soon come to have a strange synergy about them, setting up what will most likely be the main villain or villains of the story. The artwork by Joe Orlando is perfectly suited for such a tale and the man manages to make it quite exciting at times as David tells his tale. While there is little given on the current Phantom and of how he came to be, it is quite interesting to hear of the first and the thirteenth and of how everything that came before shaped what is to be. Going forward, it will be interesting to see what else David might pull from the past and if it too will be tied into what is currently happening in the here and now. For an opening issue, David and Orlando do everything right by hooking the reader in on the first page, balancing drama and action throughout and then leaving them wanting more. Where it goes, one might be able to guess but it will definitely be a lot of fun seeing just how it gets there.

4 out of 5