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Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an eponymous comics anthology published in August/September 1952.
The Phantom Stranger made his first live-action appearance in the 2019 DC Universe television series Swamp Thing, portrayed by Macon Blair. Additionally, Kevin Conroy, D. B. Woodside, and Peter Serafinowicz have voiced the character in animation.
The Phantom Stranger first appeared in an eponymous six-issue comics anthology published in 1952 and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.
After an appearance in Showcase #80 (February 1969), he received another series beginning May–June 1969 that lasted until February–March 1976. The Showcase appearance and the first three issues of Phantom Stranger consisted of reprints from both the 1950s title and the "Dr. 13: Ghost-Breaker" feature from the last nine issues of Star Spangled Comics at the same time, with new, brief framing sequences. These had Dr. Thirteen, certain that the Phantom Stranger was an impostor, determined to expose him.
Beginning with issue #4 (November-December 1969), the series began featuring all-new material, with stories produced by Robert Kanigher, Len Wein, Jim Aparo, Neal Adams, Tony DeZuniga and others. In these stories, while the Stranger's past remained a mystery, the writers added a semi-regular cast of characters for him. A demonic sorceress named Tala would become his archenemy; an alchemist/sorcerer named Tannarak was first an enemy and would later assist him against the Dark Circle; and a blind psychic named Cassandra Craft would assist him. The stories hinted at a romantic attraction between the Stranger and Craft, but he eventually left her, deciding she could not be part of his life, convincing her he had been killed in their final battle against the Dark Circle. She eventually learned differently and turned up occasionally. Doctor Thirteen, dropped along with the reprints, was given a back-up series here as of #12 (March-April 1971) which morphed into "The Spawn of Frankenstein" in #23 (January-February 1973).
The second volume originally ended with the forty-first issue in November 1975, cover dated March 1976. In January 2010, a forty-second issue was added to the second series during the Blackest Night event, effectively a one-shot.
A backup series in Saga of the Swamp Thing #1-13 featured The Phantom Stranger. Most of those short stories were written by Mike W. Barr; one was written by Paul Levitz. These were mostly morality tales in the style of The Phantom Stranger vol. 2, without connections to the character's Bronze Age continuity with Batman or the Justice League. One two-part story explicitly connected with the continuity of vol. 2, continuing the story of Tannarak.
After the backup series ended with #13, the Stranger appeared in the main story of Saga of the Swamp Thing #14. After Saga of the Swamp Thing became Swamp Thing volume 2 written by Alan Moore, the Stranger became an occasional recurring character, as Swamp Thing became more involved with the afterlife and the mystical world.
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Phantom Stranger
The Phantom Stranger is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, of unspecified paranormal origins, who battles mysterious and occult forces, sometimes under their Vertigo imprint. The character first appeared in an eponymous comics anthology published in August/September 1952.
The Phantom Stranger made his first live-action appearance in the 2019 DC Universe television series Swamp Thing, portrayed by Macon Blair. Additionally, Kevin Conroy, D. B. Woodside, and Peter Serafinowicz have voiced the character in animation.
The Phantom Stranger first appeared in an eponymous six-issue comics anthology published in 1952 and was created by John Broome and Carmine Infantino.
After an appearance in Showcase #80 (February 1969), he received another series beginning May–June 1969 that lasted until February–March 1976. The Showcase appearance and the first three issues of Phantom Stranger consisted of reprints from both the 1950s title and the "Dr. 13: Ghost-Breaker" feature from the last nine issues of Star Spangled Comics at the same time, with new, brief framing sequences. These had Dr. Thirteen, certain that the Phantom Stranger was an impostor, determined to expose him.
Beginning with issue #4 (November-December 1969), the series began featuring all-new material, with stories produced by Robert Kanigher, Len Wein, Jim Aparo, Neal Adams, Tony DeZuniga and others. In these stories, while the Stranger's past remained a mystery, the writers added a semi-regular cast of characters for him. A demonic sorceress named Tala would become his archenemy; an alchemist/sorcerer named Tannarak was first an enemy and would later assist him against the Dark Circle; and a blind psychic named Cassandra Craft would assist him. The stories hinted at a romantic attraction between the Stranger and Craft, but he eventually left her, deciding she could not be part of his life, convincing her he had been killed in their final battle against the Dark Circle. She eventually learned differently and turned up occasionally. Doctor Thirteen, dropped along with the reprints, was given a back-up series here as of #12 (March-April 1971) which morphed into "The Spawn of Frankenstein" in #23 (January-February 1973).
The second volume originally ended with the forty-first issue in November 1975, cover dated March 1976. In January 2010, a forty-second issue was added to the second series during the Blackest Night event, effectively a one-shot.
A backup series in Saga of the Swamp Thing #1-13 featured The Phantom Stranger. Most of those short stories were written by Mike W. Barr; one was written by Paul Levitz. These were mostly morality tales in the style of The Phantom Stranger vol. 2, without connections to the character's Bronze Age continuity with Batman or the Justice League. One two-part story explicitly connected with the continuity of vol. 2, continuing the story of Tannarak.
After the backup series ended with #13, the Stranger appeared in the main story of Saga of the Swamp Thing #14. After Saga of the Swamp Thing became Swamp Thing volume 2 written by Alan Moore, the Stranger became an occasional recurring character, as Swamp Thing became more involved with the afterlife and the mystical world.