Writer – Mark Verheiden
Artist – Luke McDonnell
Colours – Anthony Tollin
Letters – Bob Pinaha

After a recap for new readers on the history of The Phantom, author Mark Verheiden and artist Luke McDonnell take Diana Palmer back home to the small town of Clarksville where she grew up. She is struck with wonder at how normal it all is and how nothing seems to have changed but after bumping into her old friend Bobby, she learns that not everything is picture-perfect. Clarksville it seems, is not as friendly to those who have a different ethnicity and Bobby being of a much darker complexion, raises the ire of the townsfolk. It also does not help that he runs the local paper and likes to point out the hard truths about life in Clarksville. Things ramp up as the yokels let the disease known as racism infect them ever deeper and they burn down the storefront for the newspaper prompting Diana to call her old flame Kit Walker, now known as The Phantom, for help. Verheiden may have delved into the past of The Phantom when the book began yet he also looks to the past of Kit Walker as it plays a direct part in the story he is telling and readers see him grow up in this small town, not always having the easiest time of it but dealing with whatever life throws his way. That all ends obviously when he takes up the mantle of The Ghost Who Walks and after that moment, Kit Walker no longer exists, much to Diana’s dismay. When The Phantom arrives, Diana and Bobby have been taken prisoner and their fate is not going to be an easy one unless the former Kit can deal with the human trash as only he can. The book leaves off on a cliffhanger, an exciting yet sad affair which sees the hero sacrificing himself so that Bobby and Diana evade the lynching they were about to receive. Will The Phantom survive and save the day yet? That remains to be seen and as a reader, one cannot help but be on pins and needles waiting to see. There is a lot of drama and rising tension throughout the story and the creators of this book do a great job at grabbing one’s attention from the first page and keeping it until the very last. Verheiden has been crafting some very fine tales thus far in this title but no less deserving of praise is McDonnell whose pencils are both exciting when needed and subtle where called for. Altogether, a very fine issue that looks to continue the trend in the next.

4 out of 5