The Phantom No. 19: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The Phantom No. 16 contains stories featuring "The Phantom" and "Flash Gordon."

Created by Lee Falk, “The Phantom” began as a newspaper comic strip in 1936. The purple clad hero, known as “the Ghost Who Walks” has since become a fixture of international popular culture. The character, a non-powered vigilante, is the latest of a line of anonymous heroes who protect a fictional Afro-Asian country. With a tradition dating back centuries, and with the hero’s identity and background unknown, “The Phantom” is perceived to be immortal.

The space-travelling "Flash Gordon" was fist published as newspaper comic in 1934. Created by Alex Raymond, the story follows Gordon, who with his Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov, rocket to the planet Mongo, where they have frequent adventures battling the planet's warlord "Ming the Merciless."

Both the Phantom and Flash Gordon have been licensed for use on merchandise and featured in mass media such as radio and film. Both have been highly influential in the development of their respective genres.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1966-11
• maker: King Features Syndicate
• Object Name: comic book
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: ink (overall material)
• Measurements: overall: 10 1/4 in x 6 15/16 in; 26.035 cm x 17.62125 cm
• place made: United States: Illinois, Sparta
• Associated Place: United States: Virginia
• Subject: Comics
• ID Number: 2018.3010.114
• nonaccession number: 2018.3010
• catalog number: 2018.3010.114
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.