Skybox Card Original Art by Jim Aparo

Original Jim Aparo art--does it get any better?

These are Aparo's originals to the 1993 Skybox Phantom Stranger trading card, currently for sale at Coollinesartwork. Anyone want to buy these for me, as a way to say thanks for running this cool blog? Anyone?

Thanks to Fantom Stranger Ilke Hincer for the tip!

PS P.S.: Skybox Trading Card - 1993

This card--from the same set as the Tim Hunter subset from earlier in the week--is a real beauty, and I'm glad a couple of you pointed out its existence to me.

Regular IATPS commenter (and now Fantom Stranger) MW Gallaher first told me about the card (and pointed me to his neat Jim Aparo blog to see it), and then uber-helpful Fantom Stranger Richard Duncan sent it to me. Thanks fellas!


Even though this card came out sixteen years ago, I had never seen it before, so it was an especially nice treat to see the late, great Jim Aparo drawing the Phantom Stranger one more time. So when I decided to wrap up the blog with the items I missed, this seemed like the perfect item to go out on.


...and that's about it. Many of you commented that you hoped the blog would go out on October 31st, because, being Halloween, that would've been the perfect moment to wrap it all up. Initially I didn't think we'd make it, but thanks to you committed PS fans, here we are-ending it all with an exact year of posts (okay, a year and a day), a really nice way to go out.


Of course, The Phantom Stranger as a character isn't gone--if anything, the Stranger has made more appearances in the last few years than he did in almost all of the 90s, and he'll continue to be an ongoing concern in the DCU.

He's also scheduled to make his first animated appearance in an upcoming episode of Brave and the Bold--I can't wait to see the show's take on him!

And, like all of my blogs, IATPS isn't really gone forever (one of the things I love most about the blogs, they are as final as you want them to be)--I plan to do occasional updates as the Strange racks up more appearances. Like the character itself, this blog would pop up when you least expect it!


My thanks to everyone who came by and checked out what I was doing here, left a comment, or sent something in. I Am The Phantom Stranger never had the audience of some of my other blogs, but it was a remarkably consistent one--meaning the people who liked what I was doing stayed with me through this whole journey, which was great.

I also have to thank Mike W. Barr, Alan Brennert, Gerry Conway, Nick Cuti, Dan Mishkin, and my pal Paul Kupperberg for taking time out to talk to me for the blog. Getting to talk to the people whose work I've loved so much is one of the best things about doing these blogs, and each one of them was great fun to talk Phantom Stranger with.

Some of you wrote in to ask if I ever tried to interview Len Wein, who wrote arguably the best run of Phantom Stranger stories with Jim Aparo. The answer to that is I tried--I contacted Len about an interview, and he agreed. I sent him the questions, but not too long after that he had that terrible fire that destroyed his home, so obviously after that he had a lot more to worry about than doing our interview.

I felt so bad over the news that Len and his family lost almost everything in the fire that when Mark Evanier spearheaded the "Let's Rebuild Len Wein's Comic Book Collection" effort, I promptly sent Len my copies of all the Phantom Strangers he did with Jim Aparo--as much as I enjoyed having those great books in my collection, I decided I'd enjoy the idea of them residing with the author even more.


So that's it! Thanks to everyone for coming, and I hope you all enjoyed our time following The Phantom Stranger!

PS P.S.: Alex Ross Poster - 2004

Yet another item I missed was this 2004 gatefold poster by Alex Ross featuring all the members of the classic Justice League of America, plus some of their friends, honorary members, and assorted hangers-on:

This was sent to me by Fantom Stranger Russell "Eagle Eyes" Burbage. Thanks Russell!

PS P.S.: Vertigo Tarot Deck - 2008

Another item I missed was The Vertigo Tarot Deck, which featured various Vertigoians(?) as Tarot characters, featuring art by Dave McKean.

In this case, The Phantom Stranger is The Hermit:

This set was pointed out to me by Fantom Stranger Jacob Levy. Thanks Jacob!

PS P.S.: DC Universe: Trail of Time - 2007

Fantom Stranger MW Gallaher, like a Governor from some 1940s crime movie, granted IATPS a stay of execution for 24 hours, since he pointed an item out that should--nay, needed--to be included on the blog before it signed off. Thanks MW!

This was one of the half-dozen or so of "DC Universe" prose novels that hit bookstore shelves in the middle part of the decade. And, even though he isn't on the cover (drat!), this story features a major appearance by The Phantom Stranger!

It involves a nefarious (aren't they all?) plot by Felix Faust, Mordru, and Vandal Savage which gets the attention of the Stranger and Etrigan the Demon. They in turn get Superman in on it, and even some of DC's western heroes make an appearance. Sounds like a fun book!

PS P.S.: Skybox Trading Card - 1993

This tryptych is actually three cards from Skybox's 1993 DC Comics series of trading cards, featuring a neat little visual history of Tim Hunter and the Books of Magic!

I had never even seen this before, until Fantom Stranger Richard Duncan (him again!) generously sent me all three cards for the blog.

Tomorrow: One last item, and some final comments!

PS P.S.: DC Heroes RPG: Magic Sourcebook - 1992

Here's the cover to the other RPG book, sent to me by Fantom Stranger Jacob T. Levy.

Unfortunately, the Stranger doesn't appear on the (nifty!) cover, but he's obviously a proper subject for the book, focusing as it does on DC's magic characters.

Thanks Jacob!

PS P.S.: DC Heroes RPG: When A Stranger Calls - 1987

Not being a gamer at all, I have very little knowledge of any of the DC-related RPG games/modules that came out over the last couple of decades.

Luckily Fantom Stranger Jacob T. Levy clued me in two Phantom Stranger appearances in in RPG modules--the first is this appropriately-titled one.

Sadly, I don't have any inside images available, but here's the description: "From the depths of a mystical dimension arises an ageless force of evil bent on earthly domination.

Under the guidance of the Phantom Stranger, the Justice League International must learn the secrets of an ancient tome in order to forever seal the Vengeance Gate, a dimensional portal separating the realms of chaos and order.

The race against deadly, arcane opponents is on--a journey to the corners of the globe--a harrowing adventure for the mightiest of heroes which begins when a stranger calls."

Thanks Jacob!

Heroclix Figure - 2007

The Phantom Stranger got his own Heroclix figure in 2007, and let's see what he can do:

...I definitely agree, the Stranger has the power of being "inscrutable"!

Vs. Cards - 2006

The Phantom Stranger got two Vs. cards, one drawn by Jon Meyers, the other by Tomm Coker, both of them superb illustrations.

I've never played Vs. (not being much of a gamer), but if I did, I think I'd want to be the Phantom Stranger, since he can do virtually anything required of him!

DC Direct Action Figure - 2002

In 2002, The Phantom Stranger got his own--and to this point, still the only--"action figure."

Well sculpted by the fine folks at DC Direct, it's a nice representation of the character. I think my only complaint is the lack of the omnipresent shadow over the Stranger's eyes that was such an iconic part of the character's look--he looks just sort of...weird without it!

Kingdom Come Audio Book - 1998

This is really fun.

This is the cover to audio version of Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come mini-series, done with a full cast of actors and sound effects--the whole Radio Drama treatment.

Of course, there are a lot changes in this version--mostly, there's a lot of expository dialog ("Superman is lifting up the entire building!", "Green Lantern is shooting a beam of green light from his Power Ring!", etc.), since this version doesn't have the luxury of Ross' breathtaking visuals.

But for people who enjoy audio books and radio productions, its nevertheless a lot of fun to listen to, and its a real treat getting to hear some of Waid and Ross' best lines delivered by actual actors.

Of course, Kingdom Come features barely more than a cameo by The Phantom Stranger, but he gets something here he didn't get in the mini-series--a line of dialog!:

...see? Fun!

The Phantom Stranger is played by Denny O'Neil, of all people, and I think he does a pretty good job. His voice sounds a lot like what I imagine The Phantom Stranger might sound like--deep and serious.

(Note: This audio book came out in 1998, not in 1996 when the series did, but I wanted to pair it up with the book when we got to it on the blog)

History of the DC Universe #2 - Feb. 1987

"The History of the DC Universe, Book Two" by Marv Wolfman and George Perez.

As a way to explain just what the heck Officially Happened in the DCU post-Crisis, Marv Wolfman and George Perez produced this two book encyclopedia of big events.

Surprisingly, The Phantom Stranger got a page all to himself:

...there's another little surprising nugget thrown in there, and that's the idea that The Phantom Stranger watched over young Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Arthur Curry as they grew into adulthood.

It's a nice touch, and one that instantaneously gives the Stranger a more important role in the DCU. Cool!

Around this time, DC produced a truly all-star "jam" poster that came with (I think) a hardcover edition of History of the DC Universe.

It featured all the biggest stars of the DCU, drawn by (in many cases) the artist associated with the creation character or simply the most famous for drawing them--Curt Swan on Superman, Bob Kane on Batman, Carmine Infantino on Flash etc.

Thankfully, The Phantom Stranger was included on the poster, drawn by none other than Jim Aparo! Click the thumbnail to see the poster in all its glory.