Now this is a story I can get behind!

Beware...The PHANTOM REPORTER!
Beware...The Phantom Reporter!

Novelist David Liss is set to write an upcoming mini series featuring the origin of The Phantom Reporter, from J. Michael Straczynki’s Marvel series The Twelve.  I have to admit I’ve never read The Twelve, but I’ve heard good things, despite the fact that, as of now, the series is on extended hiatus while Straczynski and artist Chris Weston work on film projects.  Still, The Phantom Reporter is a pulp superhero tale set in the 1930s – it’s been a while since I’ve seen some good, mainstream pulp hero action.

I LOVE pulp era heroes – I own multiple books of Pulp Art, and heroes like The Shadow are among my favorites, even if they don’t always get produced by top notch talent.  Edtior Bill Rosemann, of Marvel Comics, says this about The Phantom Reporter:

“Crusading cub reporter by day…scourge of the underworld by night! What’s NOT to love about that idea? The medium may be shifting from traditional newspaper to a paperless delivery system, but the honest and exposing bright light of journalism will always be needed. Without the watchdogs, the lie-spewers and greed-mongers will gleefully push around and take advantage of the Little Guy. The Phantom Reporter is the romantic symbol of the crusading journalist splashed large across the rain-slick rooftops of The City, looking down upon honest citizen and evil fat cat alike, wielding his ever-watchful gaze, wicked right cross and quick-firing pistols! Whether he stalks the gin joints of the 1930s or today’s mean streets, let evil doers fear the righteous power of the Phantom Reporter!”

I’m hoping I can follow the story, even if I’m ignorant of the storyline going on in The Twelve.  I am PSYCHED for this tale, and with a talented novelist like David Liss behind it, I’ve got faith in it being a dark good read.

Read an interview with David Liss at Newsarama, including tons of cool preview art!