The Demon (Vol.3) #11 - May 1991

"Stranger Than Fiction" by Alan Grant, Val Semeiks, and Denis Rodier.

The Phantom Stranger, disgusted with Etrigan's lack of caring for humanity, seemingly washes his hands of the Demon:

The Stranger continues to watch over the world as it falls apart, but even he is surprised when another form of destruction befalls the Earth:

...oh no, Lobo! To be continued!

Who's Who (Vol.2) #8 - April 1991

DC's Who's Who series gets another go round, and instead of traveling alphabetically through the DCU, they hopped around this time.

So in this eighth issue, The Phantom Stranger gets a new listing, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Kieron Dwyer and George Freeman:

...I like that DC has height and weight statistics for The Phantom Stranger. Someone must have weighed him during the Kupperberg/Mignola mini-series!

The Demon (Vol.3) #10 - April 1991

"Secret Origins" by Alan Grant, Val Semeiks, and Denis Rodier.

The Stranger visits Jason Blood, and tells him he is needed:

Blood refuses to come along, so the Stranger takes the risk of drawing out Etrigan, in the hopes he will listen. I know, it doesn't sound like a good plan to me either!

Etrigan and the Stranger then engage in a knock-down, drag-out fight, ending with Etrigan refusing to help out, as well. The Stranger, disgusted, brings back Jason Blood and takes off:

The Demon (Vol.3) #9 - March 1991

"Signs and Portents" by Alan Grant, Val Semeiks, and Denis Rodier.

With Etrigan The Demon around every single month in his own book, it was only a matter of time until The Phantom Stranger showed up:

The Stranger shows up in the padded cell of a guy named Tenzin Wyatt, who is a foe of Etrigan's. He tries to reach into Wyatt's mind, but he is hopelessly lost in his own violent fantasies.

Next month, the Stranger and Etrigan face off!

The Books of Magic #4 - 1991

"The Road to Nowhere" by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.

After Tim Hunter completes his journey (accompanied mostly by Mister E this time around), the informally-named Trenchcoat Brigade meets up again:

...not the end!

The Books of Magic #2 - 1991

"The Shadow World" by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.

It's John Constantine's turn this issue to escort Tim Hunter through his journey (which includes meeting Madame Xanadu, Zatanna, and the Stranger's old foe Tannarak) but the Stranger still manages to make an appearance:

...the series continues into the third issue of course, but the Stranger doesn't return until the fourth and final one, which we'll get to tomorrow!

The Books of Magic #1 - 1991

"The Invisible Labyrinth" by Neil Gaiman and John Bolton.

The Phantom Stranger, Dr. Occult, Mister E, and John Constantine meet to discuss a young boy named Harry Pot--er, Tim Hunter:

...the Stranger plays a huge role in this issue, escorting Tim through various planes of existence and having him embrace the world of magic.

A great series, with superb characterization by Gaiman (of course), exquisitely rendered by John Bolton.

Dr. Fate (Vol.2) #24 - Jan. 1991

"The Endless End!" by J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus.

This final issue of Dr. Fate under the creative hands of DeMatteis and McManus is narrated by The Phantom Stranger, as he talks to Raina:

...the Stranger returns Raina to her father and mother so they can all be together once again, and even leaves dinner warming on the stove for two other characters. This is one sweet Phantom Stranger!

I never read these issues of Dr. Fate before, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed them, and I really like DeMatteis' take on The Phantom Stranger!

Captain Atom #48 - Dec. 1990

"The Hunt For Red Tornado" by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, Rafael Kayanan, and Romeo Tanghal.

During this issue, Captain Atom flashes back to what happened to him while he was "dead":

...How many times have I heard that?", the Stranger must be thinking.

Dr. Fate (Vol.2) #23 - Dec. 1990

"The Beginningless Beginning!" by J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus.

The Phantom Stranger returns Eric Strauss and his young daughter Raina to their home:

...but the story's not over yet.

To be continued!

Dr. Fate (Vol.2) #22 - Nov. 1990

"Stoner Transcendant!" by J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus.

The Phantom Stranger continues to introduce Eric Strauss and his young daughter Raina to their new way of seeing existence:

...Shawn McManus I thought did some really superb work on these issues of Dr. Fate, and I particularly enjoy his rendition of the Stranger.

To be continued!

Dr. Fate (Vol.2) #21 - Oct. 1990

"The Bleeding World!" by J.M. DeMatteis, Joe Staton, and Mark Buckingham.

As Dr. Fate continues his battles with the Lords of Chaos, The Phantom Stranger continues to engage Eric Strauss and his young daughter Raina:

...I like the Stranger in these segments: he's a happier Phantom Stranger, friend to children! A nice change.

To be continued!

Dr. Fate (Vol.2) #20 - Aug. 1990

"The Whirlwind" by J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus.

Continuing from last issue, The Phantom Stranger is encountering seemingly-ordinary man Eric Strauss:

...the Stranger shows Strauss the truth of his existence, and escorts him (and his young daughter Raina) a whole other plane of existence.

Raina is not scared of the Stranger, in fact, she thinks he's an angel.

To be continued!

Let's Rebuild Len Wein's Comic Book Collection

Some of you may know about this already, but comics legend Len Wein's home was recently destroyed by a fire, along with most of his and his wife Chris' possessions.

Len's entire comic collection is now gone, so Mark Evanier is helping spearhead an effort to replace all the comics Len wrote (and that's a lot!). So please click the banner above to read more about the project, and if you have some books you can donate, you can email Mark and tell him which books you plan to send.

Len Wein has given many of us untold thousands of hours of entertainment, so please make a donation if you can.

Dr. Fate (Vol.2) #19 - July 1990

"Chaos Descending" by J.M. DeMatteis and Shawn McManus.

Thanks to characters like The Spectre, Dr. Fate, and The Demon having their own titles in the early-90s, The Phantom Stranger did a lot of guest appearing.

In this issue, he takes special interest in a seemingly ordinary man named Eric Strauss:

...the Stranger disappears for the moment, but reappears late at night, to give this man some startling news:

To be continued!

Captain Atom #42 - June 1990

"The Long Journey Home" by Cary Bates, Greg Weisman, Rafael Kayanan, and Romeo Tanghal.

Having never read the Captain Atom title, I'm not exactly sure what the lead up to this is, but it seems as though the good captain has died!

And of course, when you visit the other side, The Phantom Stranger is there to meet you:

...he shows up at the end of the issue, too, (along with Death and The Black Racer!), to inform Captain Atom he has to take on Nekron, Lord of the Unliving! Gee, thanks Stranger!