Posted in: Comics, Heritage Sponsored, Vintage Paper | Tagged: Dell Publishing, E.C. Stoner

Early Days of E.C. Stoner's Phantasmo, Dell's The Funnies at Auction

Best remembered for its licensed comics, Dell also ventured into superheroes during the Golden Age, beginning with Phantasmo in The Funnies.

In between helping to pioneer the modern comic book with The Funnies and Famous Funnies, and becoming a juggernaut best known for Disney comic books, Dell Publishing made a brief excursion into superheroes along with the rest of the comics industry during the Golden Age. Dell's foray into superheroes would become the road barely traveled for the publisher, but there's a fascinating example of this era with a 1940-1941 era group of The Funnies featuring Phantasmo including his origin and first appearance in The Funnies #45 up for auction in the 2024 September 26 – 27 Heroes of the Golden Age Comics Showcase Auction #40265 at Heritage Auctions.

Dell would become known for its licensed Disney comic books, but during this period, they were trying everything from war comics to newspaper strip reprints to science fiction and pulp-style adventurers. Dell's attempt at superheroes began just as the rest of the comic book industry had caught on to the phenomenon of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's Superman at DC Comics.  Dell's venture into superheroes, which also included The Owl and Supermind, was spearheaded by editor Oscar Lebeck, while Phantasmo himself was the creation of E.C. Stoner.

Elmer Cecil Stoner (1897-1969) got his start in comics in 1939 at the Harry "A" Chesler comic art studio. Stoner worked on titles for several publishers throughout the 1940s, including Marvel, Street & Smith, Dell, and Fox. Of these, his work at Fox is perhaps best remembered and includes covers and artwork across a range of Fox titles of the mid/late 1940s, most memorably on Blue Beetle.

Phantasmo's pulp-inspired origins have the character's alter ego, Phil Anson, learning the magical secrets of the High Lama on a mountaintop in Tibet.  When Anson assumes the spectral form of Phantasmo, his mortal body is looked after by a sidekick of sorts named Whizzer.  Phantasmo can fly, become invisible, become a giant, and has great physical strength, among other mystical abilities. As did many comic books of this era, the backstory here is deeply connected to the run-up to America's involvement in WWII later that year. In the story, enemy agents are after the invention of a machine that can turn salt water into a fuel like gasoline.

The Funnies issues featuring Phantasmo include underappreciated appearances of an early Golden Age superhero created by a historically important artist. As might be expected for a 1940-1941 superhero issues, there is a modest supply of these on the market. There's a group of The Funnies featuring Phantasmo issues available in this week's 2024 May 5-7 Sunday, Monday & Tuesday Comic Books Select Auction #122419 from Heritage Auctions.

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