X-Band: Phantom Podcast #340 - Russell Olson, Mad Cave Studios Phantom artist

In 2025, The Phantom returned to being published in the USA thanks to Mad Cave Studios. In this podcast, we chat with Russell Mark Olson, who is / was the artist of the regular series. We talk about the hits of the series, as well as the controversial moments like the Phantom's eyes being shown and the Phantom swapping out his striped trunks.

As Russell Olson is a visual person, he shows us plenty of behind-the-scenes that is best viewed on YouTube.

We talk about many topics, and we fly all around the Phantom series, Russell's personal non-Phantom art, and much more. Below is a quick list of some of the topics and discussions

• Background of Russell Olson and his artistic career.

• Russell's background to the Phantom & pulp heroes.

• How did Russell get the Phantom gig by Mad Cave Studios?

• What did Russell like about the Phantom, and what research did he need to do?

• The real relationship between Diana and the Phantom.

• Was it hard to draw the Phantom?

• Unsure if the phans would accept the costume being torn.

• Showing the human side of the Phantom.

• Tackling the 'white saviour trope' of the Phantom.

• Where Mad Cave Studios sees Bangalla in real-life Africa.

• We discuss in detail the Phantom’s eyes in issue one and how in issues four, five, and the Sky Band story, the issue seems to have hidden them on purpose.

• What Mad Cave Studios will be doing in the deluxe issue collecting all the stories together.

• How did this error with the eyes get through the approval stages?

• The decision to remove the stripes with the trunks and how it came about.

• The King Features Phantom bible.

• What Phantom work do you have coming up after the next Singh Brotherhood final one-shot?

• The decision of the introduction of the one-shot comics of the Sky Band, The Red Dragon, and Return of the Singh Brotherhood stories.

• What is Russell's process?

• Russell Olson shows us the character development artwork.

• All the artwork is inked traditionally, and some is available for sale on his website.

• What is next for Russell Olson?

• Does Russell accept commissions?

You can follow Russell Olson on his website and/or socials (Instagram and Bluesky). His Linktree can be found here and his website, where available original artwork for sale can be bought.

If you want to chat with us, you can email us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com or chat with us via our social media profiles with your feedback at Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. Make sure you stay with us and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and/or our YouTube channel.