Regal Publishers has been releasing some great products for the phantom phans in India. Their quality production and presentation have been praised by many. After releasing two normal issues (with two stories each) in #26 and #27 in November, Regal published the next two issues in the new softcover format.
Issue #28 was released as a Christmas special while #29 was released to celebrate the 88th anniversary of the Phantom.
It is notable that both of these two softcover issues have four stories in them, much like the #25 released earlier. Regal seems to be loving this softcover format as they have been putting out more and more issues with it.
Issue #28, which was released as a Christmas Special, features a very nice Christmas themed cover by Ankit Mitra. We also discussed about various publications of the Phantom around the world with Christmas themed covers back in December to coincide with the release of this issue.
This softcover issue features four stories:
"The Ingenues" by Tony De Paul and Jeff Weigel
"The Lookout" by Lee Falk, George Olesen, and Fred Fredericks
"Dinosaur" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry
"The Isle of Death" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry
It is notable that "The Ingenues", being the latest (at time of printing) completed Phantom Sunday story. It has been published by Regal even before Frew or Fantomen. Same thing they did before with the previous Sunday story "The Visitor".
The last two stories being Sy Barry illustrated stories were colored by local colorists Anand Kumar and Simi Muhamma, respectively.
It is a good looking 100 page issue and features some nice stories. It also comes with a Christmas Card based on the cover artwork.
Issue #29 was released in 17 February of this year to coincide with the 88th anniversary of the Phantom. It features a cover by Simi Muhamma. The comic is also 100 pages long and it features four stories:
"The Kidnappers" by Lee Falk, Elizabeth Falk, George Olesen, and Fred Fredericks
"Dig" by Lee Falk, George Olesen, and Fred Fredericks
"The Dolphins" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry
"Revenge in Rhodia" by Tony DePaul and Terry Beatty
The story "The Kidnappers" is notably the last Phantom Sunday story written by Lee Falk and was finished by Elizabeth Falk. "The Dolphins" story was drawn by Sy Barry with colours by Simi Muhamma.
It is an another nice issue from Regal. It also comes with a free card based on the cover.
Even though these comics are published and presented well, I have a few criticisms.
The paper being used seems to be less thicker then the glossy one used before. While that doesn't harm the quality much it still is very much noticeable.
Since they did the softcover format, they should have included the title on the spine and not leave it blank. The sole reason for that is if displayed on a shelf, both the books are not identifiable, as there is no writing on the spine.
Other than those minor criticisms, Regal has yet again provided some nice products and we hope that they continue doing so in the years to come.
All Regal reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos.
