Fantomah, Mystery Woman of the Jungle first appeared in the February 1940 issue of Jungle Comics #2, published by Fiction House and created by comics legend Fletcher Hanks. She starred in a 7-page solo story and continued to be a regular feature in the next 50 issues until March of 1944. Fantomah appears as a beautiful blonde woman who transforms into a frightening blue skeleton to enact gruesome revenge scenarios on anyone bringing harm to her jungle home. Most comic heroines of the time were built on a solid foundation of beauty. Every other character was a model or a pageant queen in her backstory. And even in their masked crimefighting eras, beauty was always an essential trait. I believe Fantomah was the first female character to embrace being frightful. Even in modern comics, very few characters ever exhibit unattractive appearances. She has been rebooted in modern comics a few times and the skeleton effect is still jarring, even in these desensitized times. This figure is a standout in the series.
In 2021, BigBadToyStore and Fresh Monkey Fiction unveiled this exclusive Amazing Heroes Retroverse Series 7 featuring ten female characters. These were the first females figures in this retro "Secret Wars" aesthetic and included some of the oldest female comic characters ever. In fact, for this series I had to create a new tag of "Era - Thirties." Previously my oldest figures were two Fleischer Lois Lane figures based in the 1940s era, so I love the history being represented here. Series 7 was a crowdfunding-type endeavor with a minimum number of BBTS pre-orders required before going into production. Luckily the collector community got on board.
Here are some solicit images of the customizable Blank Slate character. I did not purchase this, but I like including the images so you can see the construction and pieces developed for this exclusive wave.
I love an excuse to make an infographic. I just wanted to stress the time period at play here. Most of these Retroverse characters pre-date Wonder Woman and are clustered around that magical year, 1941. I don't know what societal factors were in play that year, but the sheer amount of new characters was impressive.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here are my eight Series 7 figures. From Left to Right: Phantom Lady, Black Cat, Lady Satan, Fantomah, Miss Fury, Bullet Girl, Miss Masque, and Queen of the Jungle. (I did not buy the modern Cassie figure from Hack/Slash nor the customizable Blank Slate).
Cheers!
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