Fantomah is an American comics character, best known as one of the earliest

comic-book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

superheroines. Created by

Fletcher Hanks Fletcher Hanks, Sr. (December 1, 1889 – January 22, 1976) was an American cartoonist from the Golden Age of Comic Books, who wrote and drew stories detailing the adventures of all-powerful, supernatural heroes and their elaborate punishments of ...

, the character first appeared in ''Jungle Comics'' #2 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unu ...

d Feb. 1940), published by

Fiction House Fiction House was an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. It was founded by John B. "Jack" Kelly and John W. Glenister.Saunders, David"JACK BYRNE (1902-1972),"Field Guide to Wild American P ...

. Hanks is also known for creating the equally strange

Stardust the Super Wizard Stardust the Super Wizard is a fictional superhero from the Golden Age of Comics who originally appeared in American comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. The character was created by writer-artist Fletcher Hanks. Stardust the Super Wiz ...

. The character preceded Wonder Woman's first appearance, and has been claimed to be the first female superhero in comic books. One comics historian says: "Simultaneously grotesque and goofy, horrific and hilarious, the strip truly defies description".

Publication history

Fantomah, "Mystery Woman of the Jungle", is a female comic-book superhero created by writer-artist

, under the pseudonym Barclay Flagg. She debuted in a namesake backup feature in ''Jungle Comics'' #2 (Feb. 1940),''Jungle Comics'' #2
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

. and continued as a backup feature until her final appearance in issue #51 (March 1944).''Jungle Comics'' #51
at the Grand Comics Database. Beginning with issue #16 (April 1941), Hanks was succeeded by an unknown writer under the pseudonym H.B Hovious, with art tentatively credited to Robert Pious.''Jungle Comics'' #16
at the Grand Comics Database. This version of Fantomah abandoned the trappings of a superheroine and was portrayed as a typical

jungle girl A jungle girl (so-called, but usually adult woman) is an archetype or stock character, often used in popular fiction, of a female adventurer, superhero or even a damsel in distress living in a jungle or rainforest setting. An alternate depiction i ...

. According to ''Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes'', Fantomah "fights against ivory hunters, an array of mad scientists and alien dinosaurs, a man turned into a jungle demon, the Tiger-Woman of Wildmoon Mountain, cavemen, a mummy scientist, and German fifth columnists". The third stage of Fantomah's career began in ''Jungle Comics'' #27 (March 1942) when Hovious and artist George Appel

retconned Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...

her into an ancient Egyptian princess, revived to protect the jungle. At that point, she dropped the "Mystery Woman of the Jungle" subtitle, and became "Fantomah, Daughter of the Pharaohs". Fiction House reprinted two stories in ''Ka'a'nga Comics'' featuring another jungle girl, Camilla, re-writing the stories and changing the lead character's name to "Fantomah". Later, A.C.E. Comics' ''Fantastic Adventures'' #1 (July 1987) and AC Comics' ''Golden Age Greats'' #14 (March 1999) and ''Men of Mystery Comics'' #85 (April 2011) reprinted early Fantomah stories. Being in the public domain, Fantomah has been used by various modern publications, including appearances in

Devil's Due Publishing Devil's Due Publishing (often abbreviated as DDP) is an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned proper ...

's '' Hack/Slash: The Series'' #29–32 (Dec. 2009 – March 2010), and in issue #5 (June 2011) of the sequel series, titled simply ''Hack/Slash''.Fantomah
at the Grand Comics Database. In 2017, Canadian comic book publishing company Chapterhouse created a new series by Ray Fawkes and Soo Lee with a different premise.

Fictional character biography

The original Fantomah is a mysterious woman who protects the jungle with her many supernatural powers. She loved her jungle and its people and animals, and would often inflict cruel punishment on anyone who threatened any of them. When Fantomah uses her powers, her normally beautiful face turns into a blue skull (though her curly blonde hair remains unchanged).

Powers and abilities

The original Fantomah exhibited a large number of magical abilities, generally as required by the story's plot. Among others, she demonstrated the ability to fly, transform objects into different objects,''Jungle Comics'' #10 (Oct. 1940) levitate other objects, cause humans to mutate into other forms,''Jungle Comics'' #9 (September 1940) and so on. Generally, whenever Fantomah used her powers, she would change her face from a normal human woman to a blue-skinned skull-like visage.

Publication history

Fictional character biography

Powers and abilities

References

Further reading