Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2024: Week 1

art by Janet Meeham, from Mask: Tales from the Underground #1 (1989)

The Phantom of the Opera, originally a French novel, Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, has had many diverse adaptations, though most retain the core story of a deformed musical genius wearing a mask to hide his deformity falling in love with a singer in an opera or other music-related setting. Though different interpretations of the story vary greatly, they mostly retain an overall dark and moody tone and those key story elements. Those in the POTO fandom may be fans of one adaptation or many, and fanworks often blend information from multiple adaptations; other fans may reject certain adaptations, and the different character interpretations entirely. Each adaptation has hence greatly influenced the development of the fandom over time.