The PHANTOM ZONE

The Phantom zone mini- series by Steve Gerber , Gene Colan and Tony Dezuniga…
Shortly after Superman 2 came out and introduced the world to Zod and his Criminal comrades DC comics brought us the Phantom Zone Mini- series. Penciled by Gene Colan and written by Steve Gerber . I was on y way to Florida to visit my Grand- parents…the wait at the airport was horrible for an antsy 14 year old. I found a newsstand and begged my Father to buy me a couple of comic books….One was a Warlord comic book by Mike Grell and the other..PHANTOM ZONE number one. I read both comics and bought the follow up issues as they came out. All I can say is Genes style was different than I’d seen anyone ever on Superman before. I liked it and thought he did a damned good Supes.
There is something eye catching about the way an artist works out his figures and compositions. Cartooning is in and of itself another art form altogether. Sure portrait artists and illustrators get a photo realistic quality and attention to detail down to perfection….but a cartoonist? A few black and white lines on paper and some well placed spotted black ink blobs and you got a comic book. I’m always going to remember this comic book series and what it meant to me during that period of my life.