Issue 1533 - Fortnightly, 2009

• "Sins of the Past" Part 1 - story by David Bishop and art by Cesar Spadari.

The mysterious Kate Somerset returns!

In this new story, writer David Bishop and artist Cesar Spadari join forces again to chronicle the dramatic—and often sad—story of her life.

As we all know, Kate and an earlier Phantom had a son (unknown for some time to the earlier Phantom) and the youngster, educated in England, does not go on to become The Ghost Who Walks.

Only the son of a legitimately married Phantom can take on the role! Once again, I must remind new readers that this scenario has been written outside of Lee Falk’s official Phantom history and therefore should be regarded as purely guesswork by the modern creators.

Kate last appeared in Destination Haiti (Frew No 1528) and in that story, David Bishop wrote that it was the 17th Phantom who fathered Kate’s son.

In his official Phantom Chronicles (1936—1999) Lee Falk never made any mention of the wife of the 17th Phantom and it is this absence of historical data which obviously prompted David Bishop to (very unofficially, of course) fill in the gap. The 17th Phantom and Kate Somerset never married! The 17th Phantom of the line does ...