Although his costume looks like it was purchased at Men’s Wearhouse — minus the amulet, which was acquired at a Goodwill or a garage sale — The Phantom Stranger is one cool cat. He’s back in SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE PHANTOM STRANGER: VOLUME 2, another mammoth volume of stories from DC Comics’ heyday of the 1970s.
You get a Stranger-centric issue of JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA and THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD — and even the 150th issue of HOUSE OF SECRETS — but the main draw, of course, is his eponymous title. This collection picks up where VOLUME 1 left off and takes us right to the run’s bitter end with #41.
In these adventures, the enigmatic paranormal man of mysticism battles supernatural demons, a serpent-worshipping cult, devil dolls, an ill-meaning Pied Piper, a guy who hallucinates horrible creatures and even a line of robots disguised as humans. He even teams up with Deadman for a few issues, and both being do-gooders of another dimensional plane, I think they make a pretty good couple.
The tales are fun, if not always of sound mind and body, but VOLUME ONE was better overall. However, this follow-up has two secret weapons: One is the delightful, inspired and often unexpected art of the underrated Gerry Talaoc. The other is the backup feature — not Dr. Thirteen this time, but a little something called “The Spawn of Frankenstein.” Presented as a modern-day take on the legend, “Spawn” is serialized, and a welcome reminder of how much fun not only horror comics — but also the secondary features of such — could be. —Rod Lott
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS SERIES:
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATGIRL: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD BATMAN TEAM-UPS: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD BATMAN TEAM-UPS: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE ELONGATED MAN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS ENEMY ACE: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS GREEN ARROW: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HAUNTED TANK: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS HAWKMAN: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE HOUSE OF MYSTERY: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS JONAH HEX: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES: VOLUME 2
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS METAMORPHO: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE PHANTOM STRANGER: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SGT. ROCK: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SHAZAM!: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS SUPERMAN FAMILY: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER: VOLUME 1
• SHOWCASE PRESENTS THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT: VOLUME 1
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Haven’t gotten around to reading this volume yet, but based on his Unknown Solider work, I’d agree that Gerry Talaoc was underrated.