"The Phantom Annual" #1 covers A & B

Moonstone Books has provided CBR News with an advance look at "The Phantom Annual" #1, the very first annual in the character's seventy year publishing history. We spoke a few months ago with writers Ron Marz, Chuck Dixon, Tony Bedard and Rafael Nieves in a roundtable interview that is a must-read for Phantom fans. When you're done checking out this preview, head on over to CBR's Independent Comics Forum to discuss this advance look with fellow fans.

Official Press Release The PHANTOM Annual #1

64pgs, color, $6.50

The very FIRST US Phantom annual EVER!

A Phantom tale like no other, told by ten top talents, and only a giant-size Annual could hold it! "Five Days of the Dragon" spans five centuries, as five different generations of The Phantom battle the dreaded pirates of the Singh Brotherhood to control a powerful artifact from feudal China. But even if the Ghost Who Walks defeats his cutthroat enemies, can he hope to withstand the ancient, mystic power that will be unleashed?

Written by Ron (Ion, Cyberforce) Marz, Chuck (Batman, Transformers) Dixon, Tony (Exiles) Bedard, Rafael (Vampire the Masquerade) Nieves and Mike (Lions, Tigers and Bears), Bullock.

Lavishly brought to life by Disney animator and sculptor Ruben Procopio, Graham (Phantom Sunday strip) Nolan, newcomer Alan Goldman, Tony (Jack of Fables) Akins and Juan (Rex Mundi) Ferreyra.

All this, plus a superstar pin-up gallery! If you've never read an issue of The Phantom, this is the place to start!

Cover by Bret Blevins and Terry Austin!

For something as monumental as the first Phantom Annual -- ever -- in the character's illustrious 70 years, no less than five writer-artist teams and five centuries were need to tell a story worthy of the occasion. The mantle of the Phantom is passed down through the generations, from father to son. So, too, was one special mission passed down through the ages -- to gather the five pieces of an ancient Chinese statue that could hold the key to ultimate power.

Ron Marz and Ex-Disney animator Ruben Procopio team for a tale of the Golden Age of piracy, as the Phantom takes on the Singh Brotherhood. Tony Bedard and Alan Goldman bring to life a story set upon a Revolutionary War prison barge anchored in New York harbor. The classic team of Chuck Dixon and Graham Nolan rejoin forces to pay a visit to the Old West. Rafael Nieves and Tony Akins journey high into the Himalayas for a true pulp adventure. And current Phantom scribe Mike Bullock and Juan Ferreya wrap up the tale with the modern-day Phantom.

The Phantom Annual is truly classic of the Ghost Who Walks through the centuries.