It was today, the first of November, readers of the Phantom Sunday strip were greeted with a rare sight. A sight so rare where the boundaries of reality and fiction collided. In today’s strip, our titular hero comes face to face with himself or rather his image, painted on a war shield of an indigenous tribesman belonging to Papua New Guinea. The Sunday Strip is a part of the ongoing Sunday Story ‘The Man of the Match’ written by Tony DePaul with artwork provided by Jeff Weigel. Currently on its 5th week, the story sees Phantom and Diana on vacation in Papua New Guinea where in last week's strip they were attacked by a Spear shot at them by a hidden tribesman. This week sees the Phantom investigating the source of the spear and coming face to face with himself painted on a war shield. For those who came in late, The Phantom War Shields of Papua New Guinea is actually a real life phenomenon that is represented on the Sunday Strip. The writing on the shield ‘MAN WHO NEVER DIE’ is an actual reference to one of many shields discovered in Papua New Guinea. To understand these shields and where they came from, a little history lesson would definitely help us all. It was the time of the second World War, the world, at least many parts of it, was a warzone. Papua New Guinea, an Australian mandated territory at that time, was no different. After the Japanese attacked, Australian troops, followed by American Troops came into the defence of Port Moresby. It was there during the war, as many experts theorise, that the local tribesmen got their hands on the American’s supplies, which aside from rations and weapons, contained comics. During the period of the war, Soldiers were supplied with comics as their form of relaxation, something to keep them out from the horrors of war. Many comics publishers, including King Features Syndicate were part of that effort. Publications like ‘Overseas Comics’ and ‘Jeep Comics’ collected various funny strips including Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Flash Gordon and The Phantom among many others. These comics were distributed in various war zones and it might have included PNG. The indigenous tribes of PNG are thought to have found The Phantom for the first time with these comics. However, the Phantom wouldn’t appear on the shields or murals until twenty years later. The first publication of the Phantom in PNG would be in the newspaper Papua New Guinea Post-Courier which started publishing the Phantom in the early 70s, in English. This was soon followed by Wantok, which started publishing the character in the local creole dialect of Tok Pisin. Besides both these publications, returned copies of Frew Publication’s The Phantom were distributed by charities among the various tribes. In around 1978, a Phantom Comics was published for the first time in PNG, with Phantom on the cover announcing “MI SAVE TOK PISIN NAU” or “I SPEAK TOK PISIN NOW”. This comic from Wantok became a historic piece that brought the character and his popularity to new heights in PNG. While the series lasted for only two issues, The two times that the Phantom spoke Tok Pisin in comics remains one of the highest valued and sought after items ever among Phantom collectors. However, the real phenomenon, the one that we are actually talking about here, started when the Phantom was being painted on the shields of the various tribes or murals that came to be found. According to Chris Boylan, renowed expert on the Shields, it was in 1986 at the walls of the Banz Post Office, located in the Waghi valley was the first recorded sighting of a painting depicting the phantom. The photograph by Michael Henlen provided an estimated timeframe upon which the Phantom was becoming a theme for these paintings. The Papua New Guinea highlands, home to many flora, fauna and cultures took Phantom as its own. Whether it was the setting, the people or the adventures of justice, it all captivated the hearts and minds of the people of Papua New Guinea. In a land of varying cultures, the Phantom became an unifying symbol that united the highlands. This fascination with the Phantom is what started The Phantom shields in the 1980s and were still continuing till the last decade. Filmmaker Mark Eby’s 2008 documentary on the shields remains a wonderful work that explores one of the last living artisans, Kaipel Ka who had continued painting the phantom till 2008. In recent years, this phenomenon has seen a big surge in the aesthete world and efforts have been undertaken to preserve, conserve and highlight them among the masses. Various exhibitions and auctions have been held that have surged up its value. Studies like 2021’s Man Who Cannot Die: Phantom Shields of the New Guinea Highlands is phenomenal work that is worth checking out for further information and appreciation of these shields. In a matter of coincidence, just as the Phantom himself on the current sunday story, the Phantom comics has also made its return to Papua New Guinea earlier this year. Published by the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier , the Phantom saw his return both in form of the newspaper strip and a supplement comic book with stories from Frew Publications. The current Sunday story brings this phenomenon of great historical significance to the Phantom cannon. As art imitates life, the worlds collide between the fictional character and the reality. The Sunday story is expected to continue till April 2027 and with weeks left in the strip, one has to wonder where it is heading. Also important to remember that this would Tony DePaul’s swan song from the strip, being the last complete story he got to tell. What does ‘The Man of The Match’ hold for us in the coming weeks? Will there be a match? Perhaps cricket or Liklik Kricket? Perhaps we’ll just have to wait.

Danish publisher E-voke is celebrating a mini anniversary of issue 5 by publishing some of the stories in colour. As per their last 4 issues, issue 5 will be in hardcover format and 128 pages. Buy issue #5 from their website This album will be out in December 2026 and features a wide range of creators and stories from the USA Charlton comic book series, newspaper stories and Team Fantomen. "Fantomet af Shangri-la" ("The Phantom of Shang-Ri-La") by Dick Wood and Jim Aparo. "Brændoffer" ("Burnt Offering") by Claes Reimerthi and Heiner Bade. "Djævelens tegn" ("Massacre at Walker's Table") by Lee Falk and Sy Barry. "Blodregn" ("Blood Rain") by Andreas Eriksson, Sal Velluto, Heiner Bade, Alex Saviuk, Joan Boix, Kari Leppänen, Carlos Pedrazzini, César Spadari, and Rafael Ruiz. "Kallais forbandelse" ("The Curse of Kallai") by Dick Wood, Pat Boyette and Vince Alascia. "Mandrake: Manden på broen" ("Man on the Bridge") by Gary Poole and Bill Ziegler. From what we understand, the "Blodregn" ("Blood Rain") story will be in colour which is a must, as the story is designed to be printed in colour with several parts printed in a moody gloomy red. Frew missed a beat not printing this in colour. If you have not seen this before, we have included a video review of the story below. The other story being published in colour is "Kallais forbandelse" ("The Curse of Kallai"). We understand the colours have been touched up, giving them a more modern look from the original 1970s poor-quality colours. Another small change some may not notice is that E-voke has slightly changed the Phantom logo in issue 5. You can buy the back issues from their website also: Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3 Issue 4 If anyone buys and reads these albums, please let us know, as we would love for someone to be able to review them on our YouTube and website platforms. You can contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com if you are interested in joining the team.

The Norwegian Bergen Tekst & Tegning 2026 (Bergen Text & Drawing) comics festival is held annually at Bergen, Norway. The 2026 event is held at the Litteraturhuset i Bergen (The House of Literature) on November 6–8, 2026. One of the panels at the show will feature guests Robert Aman, Arild Wærness, Ragnhild Malfang and Kristian Hellesund about the Phantom. The panel will be held on Friday 6 November at 6pm local time. Find out more about the event here Robert Aman is no stranger to Chronicle Chamber, having been a guest several times on our X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. He has appeared on the following episodes: X-Band: Phantom Podcast #235 - When The Phantom Became Swedish X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #101 - Politics and The Phantom To follow Robert Aman, you can visit his social media page here, and you can buy his books here. Arild Wærness is a Norwegian phan who has lived many a phans dream by creating a Phantom story. "Masks of the Phantom" is a 2018 Lightning Strike Comics story that has been re-published in Norway, Sweden and Australia. It was written by Arild Wærness and Mike Collins with assistance from Knut Robert Knutsen, and the art was by Mike Collins. All the way back in 2019, in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #134, Norwegian comics journalist and lecturer Kristian Hellesund, interviewed Arild Wærness. Kristian Hellesund needs no introduction as a Norwegian comics journalist and lecturer who has also helped out Chronicle Chamber with several articles and letting us know about several Phantom news items from Norway and the surrounding countries publishing Phantom comics. Ragnhild Malfang will be a new name for some fans. She is a librarian who advocates for young people's literature. She is chair of IBBY Norway (International Board on Books for Young People) and has a long history as a Phantom reader.

Unfortunately, this campaign did not meet its goal during the October 2026 campaign to raise funds for the book. At the bottom of this article is a video of the introduction to the campaign with the Chronicle Chamber team and David Barry, the son of legendary Phantom newspaper artist Sy Barry. David Barry has posted an update with them going ahead with a new campaign likely to happen in the new year. Did you originally pledge for the campaign? If you did not pledge, we would love to hear the reasons why you did not pledge and what it would take for you to pledge next time. Hello, everyone. Sy Barry and David Barry here. As you know, our campaign to fund our book creation ended on October 15th. Although our crowdfunding campaign did not reach its $30,000 goal, nearly $16,000 in pledges was a meaningful show of support. To everyone who pledged, shared the campaign, or offered encouragement—thank you. Your enthusiasm for this book means a great deal to us and our family. This effort is far from over. We’ve learned a great deal throughout this process. Your feedback has helped us understand where we need to refine our approach, including giving you a clearer picture of the book’s content, design, and what will make it special. We’re continuing to move forward behind the scenes, exploring ways to complete the book and putting those lessons to work. We intend to relaunch when the time is right, with a stronger, more fully developed presentation. Thank you for believing in this project and for being part of my story. We look forward to sharing the next chapter with you.

The Phantom has rarely been published in Croatia, with a Phantom story published in a 2011 magazine. However, the character has a fairly strong cult following. This is because in the 1970s and 1980s, several publishers in the country then called Yugoslavia published several of their series in the local Croatian language. These comic series were Super Strip, Fantom and Plavi Vjesnik. Now in 2026, Yugoslavian publisher Oz Comics will be releasing a new Sy Barry and Lee Falk series republishing the Daily newspaper stories in black and white from 1961 to 1963. The price is 29 euro ($50AUD, $35USD and 350 sek/nok). This new Phantom series follows the Flash Gordon albums Oz Comics are also releasing, featuring stories illustrated by Dan Barry, Sy's older brother. Oz Comics does not have a website you can order the album series from, but you can contact them atoz.comics2023@gmail.com or at their Facebook page. We have also found two Croatian websites that sell Oz Comics albums and comics in Stripovi.hr, and Puna Kolica. The stories to be included in this album are: "The Slave Market of Mucar" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry "The Epidemic" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry "The Wharf Rats" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry "The Mysterious Ambassador" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry "The Mystery of the Island of Dogs" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry If there are any phans who will be buying this and future albums of this series by Oz Comics and would be interested in reviewing them for our platforms, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com. Thanks goes to Boris Kay for the heads-up on this news. If you spot any other Phantom-related news, we have missed, please let us know.

The Australian Cartoonists Associtaion (ACA) has released their 2026 finalists for the cartoonist of the year, which features Dean Rankine. While Dean Rankine is more known for his work on popular titles like Simpsons and Futurama comics, he has also worked on five Phantom stories. The awards night is held in Sydney on October 31 2026. The five stories are: "Life Blood" written by Dean Rankine and illustrated by Jeremy MacPherson. First published in Frew #1908 (2021) "Undergrowth" written by Dean Rankine and illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez. First published in Frew #1952 (2023) "The Box" written by Dean Rankine and illustrated by Jeremy MacPherson. First published in Frew #1952 (2023) "Creature from the Black" written by Dean Rankine and illustrated by Marcelo Baez. First published in Frew #1988 (2025) Past winners of the awards who have Phantom credits are: Paul Mason 2025 winner of the comic book artist. Dean Rankine and Paul Mason joint 2024 winner of the comic book artist. Gary Chaloner 2023 winner of the comic book artist. Paul Mason 2022 winner of the comic book artist. Glenn Lumsden 2021 winner of the comic book artist. Glenn Lumsden 2020 winner of the comic book artist. Glenn Lumsden 2019 winner of the comic book artist. Glenn Lumsden 2016 winner of the comic book artist.

Christian Moller reviews the last two comics from this Phantom series, Wick Publications #11 and #12 which feature the following stories: "Der Wüstenprinz" ("The Prisoners of the Desert Prince") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla "Der Hexer von Manhattan" ("The Wizard of Manhattan") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla "Die Falle am Highway" ("The Trap on the Highway") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla The three stories were first released prior by the Bastei German comic book series and have been restored and printed on top-quality paper with amazing printing. "Die Falle am Highway" ("The Trap on the Highway") in issue #12 has been printed in colour, which, according to a letter written by the publisher, provided some headaches, but the result is spectacular. The covers are created by Ertuğrul Edirne who is a Turkish cover artist currently living in Germany. These covers originally featured on the Büyülü Çizgi Roman Turkish series. Those with a keen eye will notice, the colour of the Phantom's costume has been changed to purple. Please note that the print run is smaller than most comics, at only 700 copies. Due to this, the comics can be hard to find and are basically sold out as they go to print. We would suggest contacting the publisher directly; you can contact Ulrich Wick via his website. This is the last of the comics from this series. Bastei released many other comics and it will be interesting to see if Wick Publishing decides to publish more comics highlighting other hidden gems. Issue #12 also includes a poster which is shown below. News that will please many phans who are missing out is that these stories will be seen in other publications. "Under Grenadas rännande sol" ("The Slaves") was published in Fantomen 8/2024 - our Fantomen and Wick reviews. "Modefällan" ("The Blackmailers of Paris") was also published in Fantomen 17/2024. Keep an eye on the Chronicle Chamber platform when / if these stories also find their way into the Frew comic or elsewhere. To learn more about these comics and stories being produced by Wick, we suggest you read these articles and interviews: Interview with the publisher Ulrich Wick Interview with the writer Peter Mennigen The contents of the 12 comics in the series All Wick Publication comics and other German comic reviews are 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. If you would like to join the team and review new comics and products being released around the world, please contact us.

Now available for preorder with delivery in November / December 2026 is the translated version of the Mad Cave Studios Phantom series that is being collected into an album series. Album one is 152 pages and has the same contents as the Mad Cave Studios album 1 (read about that here) that was released in July 2026. The great thing about this reproduction is that the series now gets to be enjoyed by the local Brazilian fans with the comics translated into the local language of Portuguese. The album contains the first five issues of the regular ongoing series that were published in issues 1 to 5. The story is "The Tempest" and was created by Ray Fawkes and Russell Olson. The cover of the album originally featured on the cover of issue 3 and was designed by Freddy Williams II. Album two, which will be announced and released in 2027, will contain the three one-shot series: The Phantom vs. The Sky Band, The Phantom vs. The Red Dragons and The Phantom vs. The Singh Brotherhood. We also believe that the Mad Cave Studios' Defenders of the Earth series featuring 12 stories will also be published in 2027 as well. More details to come. All caught up? Watch our reviews and tell us how you felt about this new take on the Phantom! At Chronicle Chamber, we love engaging with the fandom, and we always want to hear your thoughts on the series. Below, you can watch our video reviews for the first 5-issue miniseries, as well as the three one-shots that are currently available at your local comic book shop. The Phantom 5 issue mini-series review The Phantom vs. The Sky Band review The Phantom vs. The Red Dragons review The Phantom vs. The Singh Brotherhood review

In this episode, the boys are back holding another emergency reaction podcast, this time looking at Tony DePaul, the writer for the newspaper comics, leaving the post. It is going to be interesting to find the fine line between honouring Tony's legacy and sifting through the outrage and optimism and also looking ahead. This is a podcast discussing the news and what is next. If you would like to ask any specific questions to him about the series that we have missed, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com or leave them on our YouTube channel and/or at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. Jermayn Parker, Stephen East and Dan Fraser are joined by our Indian correspondent, Seuj Abir. While he was unable to join us for the podcast recording, we recorded his thoughts separately and have stitched them together. Seuj is one of the many phans who did not read the newspaper comic while Lee Falk was alive and became a phan reading his stories. In this podcast we go over Tony DePaul's legacy and his 30+ year career writing stories for Fantomen and then the newspaper stories which became Comics Kingdom. We look at the Comics Kingdom PR written announcement and Tony DePaul's blog post as well as ours. We share our reactions to the news as well as highlight some of the comments from the phans. We asked Tony DePaul what his favourite story is/was, and you will be surprised and maybe even disappointed with his answer. We would love to hear what your favourite story of his was as we also share what stories meant the most to us. We ask the question, wondering aloud if writing about Donald Trump or Elon Musk was a cause for his sacking, along with other possible reasons like 'changing' the Phantom lore and the length of his stories. We play Nostradamus and look at the decision to hire Alex Segura. Will it future-proof the Comics Kingdom stories? What type of writer could Alex be? If you are a casual or new listener to our podcast, you may have missed it, but we interviewed Alex Segura in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode 346 and we would recommend you watch and/or listen to it. 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.

On 19 October 2026, outgoing newspaper writer Tony DePaul slipped something into the current daily story "The Grudge". In this story, the Rhodian (Rodian) capital city was given the name Utawala Mbaya, which is Swahili for 'bad governance', 'misrule', or 'poor administration'. In the Team Fantomen stories, the capital city has always been called Marcusburg, which is a much 'whiter' name, which makes sense, seeing Rhodia (Rodia) is not a democracy and is racially segregated, much like South Africa during the days of Apartheid. Team Fantomen introduced Rhodia (Rodia) into the Phantom comic world as a form of the Swedish countries' stand against South Africa's apartheid back in the 1970s. Swedish writers and artists transformed the American capitalist/crime-fighting trope into an anti-imperialist, socialist defender. The storylines tackled real-world political issues like anti-apartheid, postcolonialism, and foreign aid. You can learn more about this in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode #235 and X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode #101. Rodia and the capital city have been mentioned numerous times in Tony DePaul's Phantom stories but has never been named as either Marcusburg or Utawala Mbaya until now. In the various stories it is just referenced as 'The Rhodian Capital', which was always interesting. Was this done on purpose? Can we have two names for the same city in Phantom lore? Can it be Marcusburg and also Utawala Mbaya at the same time? Could it be that the indigenous people of the region call it Utawala Mbaya as a protest against the junta's racist government?

In a significant development for Phantom phans around the world, King Features Syndicate (KFS) has released Tony DePaul from his position as writer of The Phantom daily and Sunday newspaper strips. Stepping into the role is acclaimed novelist and comic-book writer Alex Segura, marking the beginning of a new chapter for our legendary hero. No further details regarding the circumstances of the transition have been announced; it is not yet clear whether Tony will complete the stories he is currently working on or if his scripts will be left for Alex to finish.* Either way, there is no doubt that the change ends one of the longest and most influential writing tenures in modern Phantom history. End of an Era Few creators have left a larger mark on The Phantom than Tony DePaul. Following the death of creator Lee Falk in 1999 and after a brief intermediary stint from Claes Reimerthi, Tony was selected to continue writing the newspaper strip, a responsibility he carried for more than a quarter of a century. He had already established himself within the Phantom universe through his extensive work for Scandinavian publisher Egmont's Fantomen comic books, where he began writing Phantom adventures in the mid1990s. A lifelong Phantom fan who first discovered the character as a child in Philadelphia, DePaul brought a deep appreciation of Phantom history and mythology to the role. Prior to becoming a full-time freelance writer, he spent more than two decades working as a newspaper journalist before taking over the newspaper adventures of the Ghost Who Walks. For many modern fans, DePaul's writing became synonymous with The Phantom. During his tenure, Tony penned 70 Daily and 39 Sunday stories, guiding the character through the 21st century while preserving many of the traditions established by Falk. His stories frequently explored Phantom lore, the history of the Walker line, and the mythology of Bangalla, earning him widespread respect among readers and publishers alike. At the same time, Tony was not afraid to court controversy and test the boundaries of accepted Phantom tropes, famously showing his face for the first and only time in Phantom’s End (August 15-26, 2022). With sagas such as The Death of Diana Palmer and To Wrack and Ruins at Gravelines, Tony was not afraid to write extended and complex plots that captured readers for years at a time. On a positive note, Tony can now put aside a concern that he has expressed more than once in his blog “The Nickels of the Man” - he knows now that The Phantom strips won’t go out of production on his watch. And, with his bookend stories covering both the origin of the 1st Phantom (1536, Sunday 197, February-September 2026) and the death of the 21st Phantom (Phantom’s End, Daily 261, April-October 2022), Tony can stand down from his watch secure in the knowledge that he has provided a level of completion for the character. Despite this, his sudden departure marks one of the most significant creative changes in decades. ‘A New Shadow’ Taking over as writer is Alex Segura, an award-winning novelist, comic-book writer, and editor whose profile has risen dramatically in recent years. Segura is best known for his mystery novel Secret Identity, which won the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller, along with extensive work for Marvel, DC Comics, and other major publishers. Born in Miami and the son of Cuban exiles, Segura will no doubt be seeking to breathe new life into the Phantom universe. Many phans will already be familiar with Segura's work. He recently co-wrote "Phantom 2040: A New Shadow", the Comics Kingdom digital webcomic revival of the classic futuristic Phantom concept, alongside Michael Moreci. The series introduces a new generation of readers to the Phantom universe while demonstrating Segura's ability to balance established lore with fresh storytelling ideas. Like DePaul, Segura also began his career as a journalist before moving into comics publishing, where he held senior roles with DC Comics, Archie Comics, and Oni Press. Alongside his prose work, he has written titles including Star Wars: Battle of Jakku, Spider-Society, The Question: All Along the Watchtower, and the acclaimed Pete Fernandez mystery series. His existing connection to the Phantom franchise through Phantom 2040 makes him a logical choice to continue the newspaper strip while potentially introducing new ideas and perspectives to Falk's enduring creation. Recently, we were lucky enough to chat with Segura in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode #346. Below is the YouTube video of that chat. You can tell he has an understanding and love for the character. The Phantom is Dead ~ Long Live The Phantom The transition from Tony DePaul to Alex Segura represents a rare changing of the guard for one of comics' longest-running adventure features. DePaul's contribution to The Phantom over the past quarter century is difficult to overstate, having effectively served as steward of the character's newspaper adventures for an entire generation of readers. Phans’ eyes will now turn to Segura as he assumes responsibility for one of the most iconic characters in comic-strip history. As the only third permanent writer for the strip in its 95-year history, and with so many phans regarding this context as the original and so the one true lore, he has enormous shoes to fill and a great responsibility to bear. Whether Alex chooses to maintain the established direction of the strip or introduce a distinctly new vision, his appointment ensures that The Phantom enters its next era under the guidance of a creator who has already demonstrated both respect for the character and enthusiasm for expanding his world. For Phantom phans worldwide, a new chapter begins today. *Update: Since publication of this post, we have learnt that Tony DePaul's public run on the Daily strip will expire on December 5, 2026, and that he has completed the script for the current Sunday, meaning that Alex Segura takes up the reins for the Daily from December 7, 2026, and the Sunday from April/May 2027. It has also been confirmed that Mike Manley and Jeff Weigel remain artists for their respective strips. Our next X-Band: The Phantom Podcast, we will be doing an emergency discussion on this huge news, if you have any thoughts you would like to share and be read out and discussed, please send them through to us. KFS & Tony DePaul's release of the news You can read the King Features (KFS) PR release of the news here You can read Tony DePaul's announcement here

Felmang is one of the most loved and enjoyed Phantom artists ever! Phans love his detail, his amazing penmanship, and the ability to tell a story with his artistic talent. It has been over 10 years since he last drew a story for the Fantomen comic, and it is exciting to see he is returning with a new story in Fantomen 22-23/2026. In this issue, we also see something different. Normally during the creation process of a comic story, we see inking and colouring after pencils. However, this story is different. The comic features the whole story skipping those stages and just in pencils. It is the first time this has happened with a Phantom story and presents a different unique style. Does it work? Is something lost without the inking? Skipping the inking stage is not entirely new and has been done before; usually it is for a style decision where printing the finishing pencils offers a soft, textured, and atmospheric look. Some notable examples of pencil-only comics are: Mind MGMT by Matt Kindt: Features a distinct, raw watercolor and pencil aesthetic that matches the espionage and mystery tone. Empowered by Adam Warren: Uses tight, clean pencil linework for certain sequences or stylistic choices. Nathaniel Dusk by Gene Colan: Famed comic artist Gene Colan often worked with a loose, highly atmospheric pencil style that was reproduced directly with minimal traditional ink. The comic comes out in shops on 14 October 2026, and the story is titled "Det gyllene svärdet" ("The Golden Sword"). We have included some of the panels below. Do you think the artwork works not being inked?

The author of this article saved this Better Little Book from Village Booksmith in Baraboo, WI. Tucked away in the back of a vintage and used bookstore in Baraboo, Wisconsin, a compact, worn copy of The Phantom and the Sky Pirates sat clustered with vintage children's books. A plastic bag protected it against dust, and the book sat there for days, weeks, months, and even years, with bookworms and visitors passing it by. Closing in on a century ago, this book and its format were big business for Whitman Publishing, which created a style and format that was copied and aped by many other publishers. Today, it's an echo from an earlier era, waiting for the right eagle-eyed Phantom phan to find it (spoiler: they did). Bearing the Better Little Books label, this was one of 6 titles adapted from The Phantom newspaper strip in the 1930s and '40s. Though based on the second newspaper story, The Phantom and the Sky Pirates was the 5th Phantom-related book published by Better Little Books. The Phantom and the Sky Pirates: What's Inside? Question for the phans: Have you collected any Better Little Book titles? Tell us about them. Comment on the video above, or contact us here or at chroniclechamber@gmail.com. Details about The Phantom's Adventures in Better Little Books Better Little Books (formerly called Big Little Books) published 6 different Phantom-related titles between 1936 and 1947. Each book has a corresponding series number, and most Phantom books do not use the story title originally featured in the newspaper strip. They are either adjusted or retitled altogether. Below, find a chart that lists all Phantom BLBs with their corresponding newspaper story. Books are listed in order of publication year. Book Series No. Publication Year Book Title Original Newspaper Story Title 1100 1936 The Phantom "The Singh Brotherhood" 1474 1939 The Phantom and the Sign of the Skull "War in the Jungle" / "The Diamond Hunters" 1421 1941 The Phantom and Desert Justice "The Slave Traders" 1489 1942 The Return of The Phantom "Fishers of Pearls" 1468 1945 The Phantom and the Sky Pirates "The Sky Band" 1416 1947 The Phantom and the Girl of Mystery "The Mysterious Girl" Because some of these books were published before The Phantom Sunday strips were introduced, the first two books feature The Phantom in a red costume. Later editions updated the suit color to purple. For a deep dive into the hundreds of Better Little Books titles out there, the University of Arizona has a large collection of titles. While you can't access them, you can read up on details and search for titles in the university database. About Whitman Publishing & Better Little Books Whitman Publishing started as Western Printing & Lithographing Company in Racine, Wisconsin, in 1907. In 1915, Western Printing agreed to publish children's books for the Chicago-based Hamming-Whitman Publishing Company. Within a few years, hard times hit Hamming-Whitman, and Western stepped in to assume control of the company. The company name was changed to Whitman Publishing. Between 1932 and 1969, Whitman Publishing produced hundreds of Better Little Books (originally called Big Little Books until 1938), covering a range of characters including Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Flash Gordon, Batman and Robin, Dick Tracy, Buck Rogers, The Phantom, and many more cartoon and newspaper strip characters. The size was similar for each Better Little Books title, typically around 90mm x 110mm. The formatting included copy on the left side and images on the right. Readers were able to treat titles like a flipbook, which added to the fun of these compact stories. Due to the success of these titles, many competitors worked on their own variations of the Better Little Books format, leading to several copycats. Whitman Publishing also introduced other lines of children's books, including the popular Little Golden Books (which is now owned by Penguin Random House). Why are These so Hard to Find? Better Little Books (or Big Little Books) were intended to be a cheap, easy-to-digest, and compact entertainment option for children. Like other "dime" books, they originally debuted for 10 cents in the United States. In order to keep costs low, these were printed on lower-quality pulp paper, which meant these books would break down more easily. Time, of course, plays a factor, and as the years tick away, it will be harder and harder to find these out in the wild.

Christian Moller reviews Zauberstern Phantom Album #1. Issue #1 was released in August 2026 and contained the following stories from the Team Fantomen 22nd Phantom saga: "Der leere Thron" ("The 22nd Phantom, Part 1: The Empty Throne") by Claes Reimerthi and Paul Ryan "Die Feuertaufe" ("The 22nd Phantom, Part 2: Baptism of Fire") by Claes Reimerthi and Alex Saviuk You can purchase this comic and other back issues of Zauberstern Phantom comics from their website. They also sell their comics from shops throughout Germany. These issues only costs 7.99 euro, are in full colour and each issue contains 52 pages. Interestingly, this comic comes with two variant covers. Cover A is by Timo Wuerz, which is a brand new cover design. Cover B is from Henrik Salhstrom, which is a reused cover design by Fantomen that was published for the first story in this arc. This comic also includes an editorial by Andreas Erikkson, which gives the fans and readers an insight into this series, which is very helpful. As per usual, the print quality is great with thick glossy paper, and the colours are very bright with sharp printing. This magazine does these stories justice. This is the first time that these stories have been published in Germany. For many readers it will be the first time they have read these stories. Are you enjoying these modern-created stories? Ensure you read our interview with the publishers and editors behind Zauberstern here - Interview with Simeon Hrissomallis and Charles Bone. We also review Zauberstern special magazines on our platforms. All Zauberstern and other German comic 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. If you would like to join the team and review new comics being released around the world, please contact us.

In this episode, Jermayn Parker will be dissecting the latest Sunday Phantom story that has just finished in newspapers around the world and on Comics Kingdom. This story is titled “1536” by Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel and is a continuation of the origin stories by Lee Falk. If you would like to ask any specific questions to him about the series that we have missed, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com or leave them on our YouTube channel and/or at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We have four main origin retellings so far, which is actually not that much out of 2000+ odd Phantom stories created from around the world. We may have probably missed a couple, but these would be the main ones: In 1936, Lee Falk and Ray Moore gave us a week of the origin story. In 1971, almost 40 years later, we get a Sunday story that tells us the origin of the relationship between the Bandar, the origin of the poison arrows, the costume, and the rescuing of the Bandar from slavery, and something we will discuss more in this podcast. In the late 1980s, Team Fantomen, led by Ulf Granberg created several stories, which added on to these stories and snippets. "The Avenger", we see the Phantom getting revenge on the man behind the attack on his ship, the Singh Pirates, and we see the origin of the name "The Phantom". In 2025 at the start of “The Spark”, Mike Manley and Tony spent two weeks expanding the origin from leaving England to be found on shore by the Bandar. In many stories, we get four panels or one page in comics of the origin retelling, which has famously been called “For Those Who Came In Late”. This is important, as it catches up potential new readers to who the Phantom is. I would like to see comics do this more. The Phantom is one of the very few heroes with a legacy passing of the mantle. You have Black Panther, Green Lantern, and Blue Beetle, and the others are all manufactured post-creation, as they see the problem that the Phantom never has that sees the mantle passed from one generation to the next. The Phantom is unique. In “1536”, we see the soon-to-be first Phantom found by the Bandar, and in short, this story features the decision of the first Phantom choosing to be the Phantom. By the end of the story, we see the Phantom swearing the oath. In between these two points we get a lot more. This next part will contain spoilers, but you can read this story for free on the Comics Kingdom website, and it will be republished in the next few months by Shakti Comics (India), Fantomen (Sweden), and Frew (Australia). I think the first thing Phans need to know and remember is that Tony DePaul has not retconned or used one phans words “fiddled” with the lore. He has on purpose extended the stories, especially what has happened in between panels in past stories. This is not like "The Chain" retelling, where he has moved that into a ‘dream’ and ‘removed’ it from his universe (for lack of a better term). There are two main changes. Tony DePaul has made in this new story are: The change of the prophecy from saving the Bandar to being the Phantom The change of the origin of the cloth for the costume The other thing Tony DePaul didn't include was the Wasaka Tribe enslaving the Bandar. Lee Falk never wrote about them again. I only remember two other stories featuring this tribe again, and those were one by Moonstone and one by Fantomen. Tony on his blog has talked about not liking this potential ‘white saviour trope’, maybe other creators do not like it either, and that is why they have left it alone. One could argue that for the phans who like this story, this happened during this story or afterwards. Tony in my opinion cleverly and wisely did not retconned that story or on purpose striked it out like he did with the Chain storyline. He has left it alone for those who like it to fit it in their universe. Do you like this story? Did Tony DePaul give enough respect to the character with this “expanding” of the origin? Did you notice any other changes that I have missed? Are you happy with the Wasaka not being featured in this story? 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.