WERTHAM’S NIGHTMARE! The (In)Famous PHANTOM LADY #17 Cover — ONE SECOND LATER

SUNDAY FUNNIES With KERRY CALLEN!

Look, we all know why Phantom Lady was popular back in the day. The Bettie Page haircut (before Bettie Page was even a model), the, ahem, ample bosom, the outlandishly impractical “costume.” Sex sells, baby, and Fox Feature knew it.

Her most famous cover, 1948’s Phantom Lady #17 by Matt Baker, was made notorious by Dr. Fredric Wertham, who in Seduction of the Innocent called it  “a sadist’s dream.”

I mean, it’s no wonder DC tapped Dave Stevens for its Phantom Lady entry in Who’s Who back in the ’80s.

Anyway, our pal Kerry Callen did this commission of Phantom Lady #17 — but taking place one second later. “I hope it makes Fredric Wertham turn at least one rotation in his grave,” he sez:

Want more SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN? Come back next week!

Want a commission? Send an email to KerryCallenArt@gmail.com. You can also find other work at linktr.ee/kerrycallen.

MORE

— How to Groom the MARVEL Way. Click here.

— What COULD Have Happened to Baby SUPERMAN’s Rocket Ship. Click here.

KERRY CALLEN spent much of his career as an artist and art director, developing product for Hallmark, but has also dabbled in comics for many years. As a freelancer, he creates work for a range of needs, spanning from Mad Magazine to children illustrations. He has two graphic novels available on Amazon worldwide, Halo and Sprocket: The Definitive Collection, as well as Dirtnap: Mystic Spit.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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4 Comments

  1. Great stuff ! I forgot about that Dave Steven’s drawing.

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  2. Hee hee hee hee! 😀

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  3. I have occasionally joked that Phantom Lady’s costume was the quintessential example of a superhero costume that could never, never work in real life — until Jennifer Lopez’s 2000 Grammy Awards dress.

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  4. And yet she fights on…

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