Artist Rafael Alberquerque has illustrated of one of Batman's most complex foes -- for charity. The American Vampire artist has posted his take on the Phantasm to eBay, with all proceeds going to charity.
The illustration is being sold as part of Jim Lee's ongoing initiative to help comic book shops struggling in the wake of the ever-increasing COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
The Phantasm is the alter ego of Andrea Beaumount, who was first introduced in the Batman: Mask of the Phantasm animated film. Andrea meet a young Bruce Wayne, and the two fell in love, complicating Bruce's plans to protect Gotham City. However, Andrea's father Carl was indebted to the mob, and the two fled to Italy. This did not stop an assassin (who eventually would become Batman's archnemesis) from tracking down and killing him, and in her grief and rage, Andrea donned the ghostly visage of the Phantasm to take vengeance on the men who murdered her father. The Phantasm is slated to make her mainstream DC Comics debut in Tom King and Clay Mann's Batman/Catwoman maxiseries, currently slated for release in the latter half of 2020.
All proceeds from the auction will go to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a charity designed to benefit comic book shops who have been affected by the pandemic. At the time of this writing, bidding on the illustration sits at $3,400.