X-Band: Phantom Podcast #339 - May & June 2026 newspaper stories, comics & news review

https://youtu.be/Mzfiz3ZL3J4

In this episode, the boys Dan Fraser, Jermayn Parker, and Stephen East come together to review and discuss Phantom comics, stories, and related news from around the world. Christian Moller joins the team with his reviews of the latest comics from Germany.

Just a friendly reminder that we are a phan website and everyone has full-time jobs, children, and lives outside this website. Occasionally, life does get in the way, which included in this podcast a baby having to join us. We successfully managed to bore her to sleep, and hopefully you will last longer and enjoy the listen or watch.

We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. If you agree and/or disagree with us, you can either email us; leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.

If you're one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed.

Note: "Simulacra" was included in Frew issues 2022 and 2024. For the sake of discussing these parts together, we have included our review of these parts together instead of reviewing them in the individual comics.

Comics Kingdom stories

• Daily 270: "The Grudge" by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley: 3 Minutes

• Sunday 198: “1536”: by Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel: 14 Minutes

Frew (Australia) comics

• Frew #2022: 21 Minutes & 30 Seconds

  • "Floating Borders" by Claes Reimerthi and Kari Leppänen

• Frew #2023: 30 Mi nutes

  • "The Dictator" by Donne Avenell and Knut Westad

• Frew #2024: 38 Minutes

  • "The Year the Phantom Died" by Germano Ferri

• "Simulacra pt 3 & 4" by Julie Ditrich and Wendell Cavalcanti: 48 Minutes

• Giant Size #37: 56 Minutes & 30 Seconds

  • "A Matter of Inheritance" by unknown Fratelli Spada creator, Giorgio Cambiotti, and Massimo Belardinelli

  • "Operation Cave" by unknown Fratelli Spada creator, Giorgio Cambiotti, and Massimo Belardinelli

German & Austrian comics

• Zauberstern #24: 1 Hour & 9 Minutes

  • "Tod in der Familie, Teil 1" ("The Death of Diana Palmer Walker" & "The Phantom at Sea" & "Terror Cells of New York" part 1) by Tony DePaul and Paul Ryan

  • "Der Fluch des Phantoms, Teil 1" ("Curse of the Phantom Part 1") by Ben Raab and Nick Derington

• Phantom 1 (Comics & Mehr): 1 Hour & 13 Minutes

  • "Der Weisse Elefant" ("The White Elephant") by Claes Reimerthi and Heiner Bade

  • "Der Geiste Pirat" ("The Ghost Pirate") by Donne Avenell and Heiner Bade

The Phantom news from around the world

• Fantomen Jungle Burst & Tropical Ice X-Zero energy drink flavours for sale (link): 1 Hour & 18 Minutes

• Saturday Morning Cards announces SDCC 2026 range (link): 1 Hour, 21 Minutes & 30 Seconds

• Publisher news

  • Phantom 2040: A New Shadow will feature a second season: 1 Hour, 24 Minutes & 30 Seconds

  • Frew 90th anniversary book (link): 1 Hour & 27 Minutes

  • Mad Cave Studios announces a third one-shot comic (link): 1 Hour, 30 Minutes & 30 Seconds

  • Australian Variant comic for Mad Cave Studios by Alex Trip (link): 1 Hour & 32 Minutes

  • Mythos Editoria poster book (link): 1 Hour & 33 Minutes

  • Results for 2025 best Fantomen story (link): 1 Hour & 36 Minutes

  • Shakti Comics release a BIG poster by artist Avishek Biswas (link): 1 Hour & 39 Minutes

  • EVoke announces volumes 6 and 7 into 2027: 1 Hour & 41 Minutes

• Sy Barry updates: 1 Hour & 42 Minutes

• Luca Erbetta listing original cover art for sale (link): 1 Hour & 44 Minutes

• Conventions, events & phan gathering

  • Janne Lundstrom, Kim W. Andersson and Jimmy Wallin attended Stockholm International Comic Festival (SIS): 1 Hour, 45 Minutes & 30 Seconds

  • Sammy J going to the UK with Hero Complex (link): 1 Hour, 46 Minutes & 30 Seconds

  • Largest phan catch-up in Sydney, Australia: 1 Hour & 49 Minutes

We can only report and discuss what we have seen or been told by the phans. We may miss something, especially conventions in your corner of the world with Phantom-related guests, so please let us know of them so we can promote them on our website, socials, and podcasts. We are also looking for reviewers who can review comics from India, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, and some other locations that publish the Phantom. If you would like to join the team with regular reviews, please contact us.

You can email us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.