Comic strip trivia . . .

Today is the birthday of Leon Harrison Gross (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999), writer, director and producer. He is best known as Lee Falk, the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician.

The series began with a daily newspaper strip on February 17, 1936, followed by a color Sunday strip on May 28, 1939; both are still running as of 2010. At the peak of its popularity, the strip was read by over a hundred million people every day. [1]

You might remember seeing The Phantom on our June 2006 magazine cover.

June 2006 Cover

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