Frew Publications celebrate their 75th anniversary on 9th September 2023. 75 years is a big event and up until recently Frew have been coy on how they will celebrate this mammoth occasion. We now have some information to share.
Dudley Hogarth has labeled this issue as a Thank You for 75 years and a look to the future and not the past!
In Frew #1951, they have announced the comic would be out in shops around Australia on 31st August and will be in full colour.
In Frew #1950, Dudley Hogarth slips in the letters section "that the contents will NOT be filled up with reprint stories but a comic that is charged with the creative talents of some of our younger writers and artists in a celebration of Frew that looks to the future!".
Not completely satisfied with this sneak peak, the team hounded Dudley until he kindly gave us some more information which we are excited to share with you.
The cover for the 75th Anniversary cover which is by Glenn Lumsden is above. Keep an eye on their social pages for the cover to be released soon.
The book will be 180 pages, full colour and will NOT feature one reprint story, it will feature all NEW first time published stories. The stories featured in the book are:
"The Slavers, The Women and the Bogey Man" written & drawn by Shane Foley and coloured by Ivan Pedersen. This is a sequel to the very first Frew published story "The Slave Traders".
"The Singh Raiders" written by Andreas Eriksson, drawn by Ivan Rodriguez and coloured by Daniel Jnr. Preview double page spread is included below.
"Ghost of Ships Past, pt 1" written by Andrew Constant and drawn/coloured by Jason Paulos.
"Undergrowth" written by Dean Rankine, drawn by Ivan Rodriguez and coloured by Tarella Pablo. Preview page is included below.
"The Kiss of the Devil, pt 1" written by Pidde Andersson, drawn by Giancarlo Caracuzzo and coloured by Flavia Caracuzzo.
"And our Friends are all Aboard" written, drawn and coloured by Paul Mason.
"To Wrack and Ruin at Gravelines" written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Mike Manley. This is the 258th Daily newspaper story.
"The Box" written by by Dean Rankine, drawn by Jeremy MacPherson and coloured by Tom Mason.
It will also include a written feature by Kevin Patrick on the history of Frew Publications. Kevin is a meticulous writer and has been a guest on our podcast various times and you will be guaranteed to learn something from his writings.
Frew Publications also sent through two sample interior pages to wet our appetites. We are expecting more to be shared on social media in the days leading up to the release of the book so keep an eye on ours and Frew's social media pages.
This preview page comes from the story "Undergrowth" written by Dean Rankine, drawn by Ivan Rodriguez and coloured by Tarella Pablo.
This double page preview spread comes from "The Singh Raiders" written by Andreas Eriksson, drawn by Ivan Rodriguez and coloured by Daniel Jnr.
Are you now excited about this 75th anniversary comic? We are! The artwork and lineup is amazing. This comic featueres various talents from around the world including seven Australian creators plus others from Sweden, Norway, Italy, USA and Brazil.
One thing to keep an eye out in the "The Slavers, The Women and the Bogey Man" story written & drawn by Shane Foley is that Phantom phan Bob Badger makes a cameo. Bob is the first phan to have paid to be included in a story. If you would like to be included in a Frew story yourself, you can find out more at this link.
A huge thanks goes to Frew Publications for this amazing comic and the amazing last 75 years. Also thank you to Dudley Hogarth who slipped us this tease for us to share with the phans who are very eager to learn about this book.
