The Phantom Blot

The Phantom Blot

(pop culture)He's not your ordinary phantom—in fact, he's not a phantom at all. Yet this character is often called one of the classic “phantoms” of comics. Created by long-time Mickey Mouse comicstrip writer/artist Floyd Gottfredson, the Phantom Blot first appeared in Mickey's daily strip in 1939. Disguised as a menacing, ghostlike figure in a black cowl and cloak, the Phantom Blot is a criminal mastermind of the craftiest order. Because he is draped in black, he takes on the appearance of a human-shaped inkblot, hence his moniker. Subsequent writers and artists have elaborated upon Gottfredson's one-time depiction of the Blot. This classic Disney supervillain was spun off into his own Gold Key comic book, The Phantom Blot, which ran seven issues from 1964 to 1966 (1965's #2 introduced dim-bulb dog Goofy as Super Goof in a story where the red-long-johned caped crusader went after the Blot). Whether he is confiscating diamonds, forging famous works of art, or venturing into outer space, the Phantom Blot specializes in derailing Mickey and friends—including Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and Chief O'Hara—but the slippery scoundrel always manages to escape unscathed, leaving behind at the scene of a crime his calling card: a piece of paper, “signed” with an inkblot. Over the years the Blot has managed to amass large sums of money, which he uses to finance his diabolical plots. His passion for increased wealth and power is only surpassed by his desire to be immortalized in the “annals of crime.” While essentially an egotistic loner, the Blot is occasionally aided by fellow baddies the Beagle Boys, Idgit the Midget, Mad Madam Mim, and the Mysterious Mister X. The Phantom Blot ventured into cartoons in a 1987 episode of Duck Tales, and in the mid-2000s appears on Toon Disney's House of Mouse. His heroic counterpart, Blotman, was created in a oneshot comic from Disney and Gemstone Publishing in 2005.