...Showcase 80 Vs. Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 4...

...OR...

...Phantom Stranger in the Silver Age: The Lost Years...Int. - Theatre - Night:It's opening night in a packed house bristling with the energy of excitement and anticipation. As the theatre lights dim, a lofty backlit trail of white light pierces the ebony darkness, spotlighting an empty stage. The audience falls silent as a lone figure whose face is impossibly cloaked in obsidian, graces the stage. He stands before closed curtains and addresses the audience...Master of Ceremonies:"Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of all ages, allow me the pleasure of introducing a man who needs no introduction... a man who has gone toe-to-toe with The Spectre... The Spirit of Vengeance himself, and has lived to tell the tale... a distinguished member of the Justice League of America, The Trenchcoat Brigade, The Quintessence, and the Sentinels of Magic... Comicdom's very own first gray-haired fox... from the Silver Age of Comics comes... the incomparable... the irrepressible... the undeniable... the Phantom Stranger!The curtains lift open revealing... Showcase 80.The Audience:Cheers! Applause!Showcase 80: Thank you... thank you... thank you ladies and gentlemen for a most gracious and warm reception. It is with great honor that I am here tonight to share with you my most thrilling adventures and hair-raising exploits during the Silver Age. A time I reflect when... From a balcony overlooking the orchestra pit an ominous voice commands..."Wait!" (Off Camera)The startled audience turn to bear witness to this sudden and gross transgression...Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 4: "You are not the real Silver Age Phantom Stranger... you are nothing more than a Golden Age reprint! An imposter! A charlatan! A fraud! Take a good look dear people, take a good look... for I am the real Silver Age Phantom Stranger!!!And believe it or not Ladies and Gentlemen... what you have just read is true!......Created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino, one can reasonably argue the Phantom Stranger didn't make his "real" first appearance in the Silver Age with Showcase 80. In fact, Showcase 80 and the Phantom Stranger Volume 2, No.'s 1, 2, and 3, are, for the most part, reprints from his Golden Age's first volume, with the inclusion of Dr. Thirteen back-up stories originally seen in Star-Spangled Comics. These reprints are combined with brief new material that serve as nothing more than framing sequences to introduce and conclude each reprint story. Now I ask you... Do a few covers and a few framing sequences make for a first appearance? Food for thought.It's not until Phantom Stranger Volume 2, Number 4, published in November-December, 1969, where we are finally treated to a brand spanking new story... with brilliant art by Neal Adams, who updates the Phantom's look (disposing of his Golden Age garb), and, for the first time, a reoccurring nemesis is introduced in the vestige of Tala, an immortal pagan goddess, who's every bit the Stranger's equal. This, I declare, merits a debate between comic book historians as to this issue's importance and candidacy as the Stranger's first true appearance in the Silver Age. But that also leads me to another topic of discussion... ...Sadly and rather abruptly, by the very next issue, No. 5, publication date January-February 1970, we have said goodbye to the Silver Age and hello to the Bronze......So, other than the one comic (Phantom Stranger Vol., No. 4), and some framing material and beautiful covers provided by Neal Adams and Bill Draut, the Stranger's Silver Age appearance is all but strikingly brief. This seems to me, to be a missing page in history... an overlooked gap. What was he up to all those years in between? In my estimation, one issue doesn't cut it. That, DC, maybe something worth exploring... a golden opportunity to retroactively re-invent the Phantom Stranger's activities during the Silver Age... the lost years. ...What do you think?FYI: If you're a fan of all things Phantom Stranger, I encourage you to visit blog site: iamthephantomstranger.blogspot.comHappy Collecting!To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.