and young alike and that's something our next guest is more familiar with than
most. You see for over 30 years Cy Barry penciled the adventures of the phantom
perhaps better known as the ghost who walks. In fact Cy is in Australia at the
moment he's attending an international comic book convention and this morning
he joins us from our studios in Newcastle. Cy Barry good morning to you.
Good morning Steve. Ink because the finished product is inked so I've done
it for 33 years now. And did you just pencil the phantom or did you write the
storyline as well? No Lee Falk wrote the storyline he created the phantom back in
1936 and I began drawing it in 1961. So it's a it's a collaborative effort
you did you just walk me through tomorrow? No he would send me a a script
generally about three or four weeks of script at a time and a sequence a
storyline will run about 18 to 21 weeks and he would send me about three or four
weeks of script at a time and I would read the script go over it call him check
on the characters that he wanted the type of villain he would he would want
described in the script and and then I would just go ahead and interpret the
artwork from the script. Hard work? The art. No it's hard work. Hard work enjoyable
tremendously enjoyable a lot of challenges but I wouldn't call it hard
work. Were you a phantom fan? Always since I was a child. What what did you like
about him? I think I liked the fact that not only was he a one of the first
costume hero characters that was that was ever devised but also the fact that
it was it had a little bit of fantasy as well as adventure because you enjoy the
fantasy my brother Dan Barry died a couple of years ago he drew and wrote
Flash Gordon for many years and I helped him assistant him. Now you did the phantom
for 33 years did he did his change? There's been a slight change when after he got
married and had two children became somewhat more concerned about staying at
home and being with his family being with his children before that for the
world you interpret him as though he were human I gave him try to give him a
personality especially when he fell in love with Diana that that created new
dimension with phantom. So why did you stop? After 33 years I I wanted I wanted
to get into another medium I wanted to start painting and enjoying another area
of art and I although I loved the black and white artwork and comics was always
my first love I just began to feel that I need to reach out somewhere else and I
haven't regretted it since. Terrific well talking of enjoying enjoy your stay in
Australia. Well thank you very much Steve. Thanks for your time. Love being here.