The Phantom battles spies, meets Ingmar Bergman & visits Malmö in Fantomen 18-19/2026

Malmö is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the seventh-largest city in the Nordic region. Located on the Öresund Strait on the southwestern coast of Sweden. What makes Malmö special from a Phantom perspective is that it is the location of the Swedish branch of Egmont and now the location of the latest adventure.

In issue 18-19/2026, the Phantom visits the city in two of the stories included in the magazine. This magazine is 100 pages in full colour and features three Phantom stories:

• "Spionernas hamn" ("Harbour of Spies") by Mats Kejonen and Janusz Ordon

• "Pestsmittad!" ("Plague Infected") by Norman Worker and Jaime Vallvé

• "Stackars Jimmy" ("Poor Jimmy") - A Phantom parody by Jimmy Wallin

This special comic is now out in shops from August 19, 2026 and a little earlier for subscribers. As this is a special comic, we are going to explore the contents of the comic.

The cover is beautifully drawn by Hernik Salhstrom and features a bunch of happy, celebrating soccer fans of the local football club who feature 'sky blue' as their traditional colours. The Phantom is standing on the Arbetets ära (The Glory of Labor) which is a famous 1929 bronze and granite sculpture by Axel Ebbe located on Möllevångstorget in Malmö, Sweden. It depicts naked workers lifting a heavy stone block embossed with an old industrial skyline, symbolizing labor history and local working-class struggle.

"Spionernas hamn" ("Harbour of Spies") by Mats Kejonen and Janusz Ordon

In this story, the 20th Phantom must help a friend who has been caught up in some political intrigue. The year is 1953, with Malmö being famous for being a hub of spies during the Cold War between the world's superpowers.

It was also at the time the home of Ingmar Bergman, who was a Swedish film and theater director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest and most important filmmakers in the history of cinema, most notably as a prominent figure of both the European film industry and Swedish cinema.

The scriptwriter behind the Malmö adventure, Mats Kejonen, lives and was educated in the city. I am sure a majority of the Fantomen Swedish readers will love to see the Phantom back visiting their country. However, for the non-Swedish readers, will the story still hold up for those who have no affinity to the country or city, or will it feel forced? We would love to hear your thoughts.

The story is drawn by Janusz Ordon, who is a very popular interior artist for Swedish but also Australian readers who have read his stories in the Frew comic.

"Stackars Jimmy" ("Poor Jimmy") - A Phantom parody by Jimmy Wallin

"Poor Jimmy" ("Stackas Jimmy" in Swedish) is a Swedish comedy strip by Jimmy Wallin. It stars a fictionalized version of Jimmy Wallin himself and is also set in Malmö, where he also lives. In this one-page story, he assists The Phantom with an assignment.

I am surprised Frew does not use the same marketing trick of having the Phantom visit Australia to coincide with their comic conventions. Shakti Comics could also do the same again with the comic conventions they attend throughout India. Surely even casual fans would buy an extra comic if it features a hero fighting crime in their city.

"Pestsmittad!" ("Plague Infected") by Norman Worker and Jaime Vallvé

It may surprise some readers, but "Pestsmittad!" ("Plague Infected") by Norman Worker and Jaime Vallvé has never been published outside of Scandinavia. It was first published in Fantomen 24/1984 and last published in 2001 in the Norwegian Kronike series.

This story refers to what happened in the 1977 "Mystery in Rome" story by Ulf Granberg and Jaime Vallvé as well as the 1998 story "The Ring of Death, Part 2" by Ulf Granberg and Kari Leppänen. On his way home from England in 1633, The Phantom and Suran visit Italy, where he meets Catherine Galilei, niece of the astronomer Galileo Galilei.

The fourth Phantom is an interesting Phantom, with the Team Fantomen stories portraying him as probably the only person in the lineage as someone who struggled with the calling of the generational legacy.

We are still after a comic reviewer for the Fantomen comics for our platform. If this interests you, please contact us.