#105: Interview with Past Phantom Daily Artist Keith Williams

In this episode we are honoured to be joined by one of the most
prolific The Phantom Daily newspaper strip artists, and the only
one to share his initials with our hero!

Keith Williams picked up the strip after Sy Barry retired and,
together with penciller George Olesen, worked on the strip from
1994-2005. In total, he inked 32 Daily stories and was at the
helm when the 1996 Billy Zane film premiered. Post 2005, Keith
also inked The Phantom stories for both Moonstone (the Captain
Action crossover stories) and Egmont. 

Armed with a host of queries from Patreon supporters who were
given the opportunity to submit their questions, Jermayn and Dan
are able to have a truly wide-ranging conversation with the New
York based artist.

​​In the podcast Keith chats about his heroes in the comic art
world and shares the time he sought advice from his teacher and
mentor, the legendary Will Eisner - "Should I take up this offer
of doing The Phantom strip?"

It's fascinating to hear how Keith faced the daunting task of
taking over from Sy Barry, the man who many phans consider to be
the greatest Phantom artist of all time. Keith also reflects on
working with three different authors in Lee Falk, Claes
Reimerthi, and Tony DePaul.

One particularly compelling part of the conversation is as Keith
reflects on being an African-American artist working on what some
critics perceive to be a comic strip troubled with a white
supremacist hero and other racist undertones.

We know you will enjoy this conversation with a very unassuming
and humble man, who played a crucial role in the journey of our
hero. 

As always - Happy Phantoming!


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