When DC decided to test the market with a Phantom mini-series, clearly, what worked for newspaper comic pages was not the sort of
thing US comic book readers would embrace. With this in mind, they utilized writer Peter David and artists Dennis Janke and Joe
Orlando. Finding a very positive response among their readers, they were encouraged enough to follow with a continuing series.
For this, they needed a team who could apply modern storytelling conventions, dynamic art, and solid writing. Longtime Phantom fan
Luke McDonnell assumed the artistic responsibilities. Writer Mark Verheiden was faced with keeping the key elements of Phantom history and continuity, while infusing the stories with a mature power that would capture the imagination of modern comic book readers.
What Mark did impressed Lee Falk and traditional Phantom fans, and gained new fans for the Ghost Who Walks as well. His stories were dramatic, poignant, entertaining, and often made a point for the audiences to ponder. He built an environment for the hero that
incorporated the Skull Cave and the trappings that Phantom fans came to expect, but went a step further by addressing the problems of a much more modern Africa and an introspective Phantom.
After some excellent work in comics, Mark turned his talents to TV and movies and today Mark is one of the writers and producers of "Smallville."
The following was taken from a FOTP  interview.

What is your background? Did you study writing? Journalism?
I grew up in Aloha, Oregon, a suburb of Portland. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a comic book collector and movie fan; I guess something something clicked pop culture-wise when I was a kid. I studied filmmaking at Portland State University, and moved to Los Angeles in 1983 hoping to break into screenwriting. I wound up working at the Los Angeles Times for five years, in advertising, until
I went full-time freelance in 1988. I never really studied writing in the formal sense, except for a couple of creative writing classes
in college. There were no screenwriting classes at Portland State, so I was pretty much on my own. But I’ve never been big on
“formal training” anyway. After reading thousands of comic books and watching thousands of movies, if the basics of plot, story,
and dialogue haven’t seeped in, it’s probably hopeless...

What sort of feedback, advice, or directions did you get from Lee Falk?
I didn’t get any feedback, personally, but I’m pretty sure he was talking to the editors at DC from time to time and
making suggestions. The only Falk editorial “demand” I recall, was to include a scene of the Phantom water-skiing
on top of dolphins in issue #6... there may have been others relayed through the editors, but I can’t recall specifics now.

Could you describe your approach to writing the story... rough ideas, scenarios to script?
When I was hired to write the series, my first assignment was to work up 12 or 13 story ideas, two
or three paragraphs each, to show where I wanted to go with the character. To be honest, I worried
about taking on the book. The Phantom could easily be perceived as a “Great White Hunter”
stereotype, and I absolutely did not want to go there. So my first step was to research the problems of
modern Africa, and to see if there was a way to incorporate those up-to-date issues into Phantom
adventures. Nowadays, with the Internet, I could probably do most or all of my research on line. But
in 1988, I did it the old-fashioned way: I found a newsstand with an international magazine rack and
picked up some African-based newsmagazines. Those magazines gave me several ideas and issues for the
Phantom to tackle. I did outlines involving third world dumping (Western nations dumping toxic
waste in Africa), “train surfing” (an bizarre, suicidal “game” where kids ride on top of moving
trains, often to be killed or beheaded by low-hanging wires), and other current events topics.
At the same time, I read several of Lee Falk’s Phantom paperback novels. I read those to get a feel for
the character, the supporting cast, and the “world” of the Phantom. Once the outlines were approved,
I started writing the scripts month by month. After discussing the story with the editor (first Bob
Greenberger, then Brian Augustyn), it was fairly straightforward. My writing method is to come up
with a story idea, then start on page one and hope to God it all comes together by page 24.
For The Phantom, I really wanted to leave room for introspective moments; I thought it was important
that the Phantom ponder his place in the modern world. Of course, I also wanted to keep things moving. The
key was finding an emotional hook to the story, something that would draw the reader (and the Phantom’s
character) into the adventure.
What were your goals in doing the comic?
Basically, I wanted to write entertaining Phantom adventures that confronted modern-day issues
in a reasonably authentic way. I also wanted to tell complete stories, in one- or two-issue increments,
so readers could jump in most any time and understand exactly what was going on. That definitely
flew in the face of the endless story soap-opera success of books like X-Men, but so it goes.
How would you contrast your modern stories to the classic Phantom adventures?
I’ve read quite a few Phantom comic strips, especially the Pacific reprints, and I think my take on
the Phantom was a bit angrier than the character in the comic strip. But it felt right at the time,
given the problems he was confronting. When you’re taking down a modern-day pirate who
murders innocent people, or going toe-to-toe with a ship’s captain about to unload a bunch of toxic
waste on unsuspecting civilians, diplomacy isn’t really an option. When the series was cancelled
with issue #13 (over licensing issues as much as sales, as I recall) I received a very nice note
from Lee Falk complimenting me on my stories... I thought that was a classy gesture on his part. If I
didn’t disappoint the creator of the character, I figure I didn’t screw things up too badly.

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