More likely than not, whatever strip you’re reading looks funny because of Mike Manley’s health problems. This forced him to take leave of The Phantom weekday edition as well as Judge Parker. The weekday Phantom has been drawn by Jeff Weigel and then Bret Blevins. Judge Parker, D D Degg observed at The Daily Cartoonist, is being filled in now (without credit) by Rod Whigham of Gil Thorp renown.

So some happy news: Manley posted to his Facebook that he’s scheduled to return to The Phantom with the strip for Monday, the 10th of June. I don’t know whether that coincides with the start of a new story. It may represent just being a comfortable margin. I have no word on when he’ll return to Judge Parker. I am also not clear whether Rod Whigham’s tenure at Judge Parker is just for the week — which, must admit, the Comics Kingdom redesign lets us see early — or is until Manley’s return.

So this should catch you up to mid-March 2024 in Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel and Bret Blevins’s The Phantom (Weekdays). You’ll find all my essays about the comic at this link, as well as any news, so if you’re looking for an explanation of what’s going on and it’s after June 2024 for you? Try there.

The Phantom (weekdays).

18 December 2023 – 9 March 2024.

Last time, we were looking at the denouement of Tony DePaul’s more-than-two-year story about the death of The Phantom. Spoiler: The Phantom does not die. But he does spend time wondering what he can learn from diverting what seems like his destiny. Despite everything, Savarna Devi does learn that her former enslaver, Constable Jampa, is in the Mountain City, and goes after him. She seems to shoot him dead, although there is room for deniability in case DePaul wants to tell of Devi keeping her promise not to seek vengeance. (I believe her sincerity in her promise, but this may be irresistible temptation.)

In the Mountain City, Constable Jampa demands of Savarna Devi: 'Who are you!? It's MY BUSINESS to know! Your *papers*, woman!' An onlooker outside frets at the scene: 'Poor woman! H-he's going to beat her!' Then back in the Deep Woods, Mozz sits beside a fire, meditative. — Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s **The Phantom** for the 4th of January, 2024. So yes, we assume that Constable Jampa had a bad day here, but we can’t swear that it did happen that way. Watch for a future story to know.

With the 13th of January the sixth and final chapter of this story ended, and we began “The Chain”. It begins with something I imagine was a bit of DePaul teasing readers upset at so long an imaginary story: The Phantom talking about what a weird dream he had last night.

This was not the Wrack and Ruin story. No, the dream he has is of a story that ran from February to May 1953, a Sundays story also called “The Chain”. Tony DePaul wrote about this as his story began. Part of it is meant to re-evaluate a story that he found fundamentally flawed. (The essay’s well worth reading, not least for revealing stuff I didn’t know about Lee Falk’s career, including having a hand in bringing Paul Robeson to the stage in Othello.)

The important points of the 1950s “The Chain” are that our The Phantom is having a right lousy time of it, unable to stop a war between the Llongo and the Wambesi and feeling sorry for himself over it. In the 2020s “The Chain” our The Phantom — and his family — chuckle over the weirdness of him not even liking being The Phantom. (As ever, I’m more forgiving of the 1950s author in this. While one of The Phantom’s defining traits is that he enjoys being The Phantom and feels his work is worthwhile and appreciated, everyone’s entitled to sometimes doubting themselves.) In the 1950s/the dream, a previously unnoticed Bangallan named Woru tells the story that explains the previously unnoticed chain hung on The Phantom’s throne in Skull Cave.

It seems that a tinpot dictator of a prince spots the woman who’d become the 20th Phantom’s wife and has his lackeys kidnap her. The 20th Phantom rides to her rescue, of course, but gets caught. And chained to the water well, forced to walk in circles to pump water to the animals, right where his future bride can see but not help. 20th notices, though, that every rotation the chain gets caught a little bit on this one stone, and after months of work, the chain finally snaps. In one bound he’s free, his future wife’s free, the prince who cares about, and he brings the chain back as a reminder of the need for patience.

In flashback, the 20th Phantom leaps from the well he's been chained to, and whacks his guard with the chain. The 21st Phantom, narrating, says: 'In my dream, Woru told me my father had moved like *lightning* and struck like a *thunderbolt*!' ... Woru tended to repeat himself ... ' — Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel’s **The Phantom** for the 13th of February, 2024. If you’re curious, the original strip with thunderbolt and ran the 3rd of May, 1953. You can compare the story to DePaul and Blevins’s remake by looking at the Sunday strips around there.

(In the 1953 story Woru also explains this is a lesson about humility, 20th Phantom having got himself captured by going in guns blazing and hugely vulnerable. This was relevant to the 21st Phantom, 1953 edition, as his troubles with the Llongo and the Wambesi amounted to being annoyed they wouldn’t stop the tribal war already! Don’t they know they’re embarrassing the white guy in the jungle? Although when he goes back, he mostly just demands the tribes talk to each other and doesn’t tell them how to be peaceful. Not The Phantom’s phinest hour but at least he figured how to use his reputation for good?)

Among the things Kit Junior and all criticize: if this is an important lesson the Phantom needed to learn, why not mention it when he’s growing up? Or in the Phantom Chronicles? Why entrust the story to a lone tribesman who might well die before passing the message on? And isn’t this more a lesson about perseverance, rather than patience? Are we sure this moral was narratively justified?

Kit Junior then thanks his father for teaching him and Heloise the things they need to know to be viable Phantoms. He mentions a story from 2006 — “The Jungle Trek” — in which he and Heloise are guided through a series of physical and, more, intellectual challenges. The only one he gets to here is a cliff-climbing exercise, where they lose their focus and come terribly near falling. Diana isn’t sure she wants to hear more, which, fair enough. Writing up this recap I see the thematic connection here, although I don’t have guesses about where that’s going.

Kit Junior, convinced that Heloise is just not coming back to the Deep Woods, plans to leave for Mawitaan despite knowing his sister’s trying to set him up with Kadia. But he comes back to talk with his father more. And that’s where we are today.

Next Week!

Another comic strip having a change of artist! But one that, so far as I know, is not related to health issues. It’s to be Mike Curtis, Shelley Pleger, Charles Ettinger and Shane Fisher’s Dick Tracy next Tuesday, all going to plan.