Hands up if you're enjoying the Phantom by Gaslight series and the very recent prequel to the Princess Sin saga? If so this is your chance to own something cool, historic and very awesome ... the original art! Jason Paulos has a long history of quality comic art, not just in Australia but also for DC. His Australian work has included Mad Magazine, Black House Comics and Hairbutt the Hippo, his own story that stars an anthropomorphic hippopotamus named Hairbutt who works as a private detective. One Hairbutt story even included a Phantom cameo / spoof story (available in our Phantom Preservation Project collection). His only published Phantom work before Gaslight was a trading card for the Gallery Trading Card Series. Together with Gaslight author Christopher Sequeira, we interviewed Jason on Episode 65 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast. His most recent story is the The Rise of the Red Dragon, which is a prequel story studying the genesis of one of the most famous femme fatales the Phantom has ever battled. It was recently published for the first time in Frew #1813, and is connected with the board game that writer Dale Maccanti is working on (more of this to come very soon). if you are interested in the art for either story and want some prices, contact Jason directly via his email (jasonpaulos@bigpond.com). Jason's work speaks for itself but if you want to have a look, check out the gallery below. Thank you to Dale for the use of his photos. #JasonPaulos #ChristopherSequeira #Gaslight #Games #DaleMaccanti #P3

Earlier today the good folk at Supanova published the digital version of their program for Sydney and Perth, and there's a healthy helping of Frew and Phantom included! Access the PDF of the Sydney program here, and head straight to page 72 for the Frew advertisement showcasing their newest Pholios, and then pages 73-78 for the launch of Kid Mandrake (Boydrake) via a very special Kid Phantom story! It's a nice little episode of Kid Phantom, and once we get past the fact that it's not the familiar artistic styling of Paul Mason, very enjoyable. As for the Frew ad, to be fair, it doesn't really tell us anything we didn't already suspect about products, with information about Jam covers and Pholio items having already been released in various forms. Possibly the big surprise is the Jam cover Pholio, which is actually advertised as a mini-Pholio ... A4 as opposed to A3 as per every previous Pholio collection. When CC queried Frew publisher Glenn Ford about the change, as always he was thinking of the phans, "to save you guys some money". The mini-Pholio will be sold for $40, a great saving on the $60 cost for the previous Pholio sets. We have confirmed that the set of five prints will be sold in the same folder style as the previous Pholios - just half the size. While we do appreciate the savings we will be able to make here, and the opportunity to spend money on other Phantom merch, there will certainly be some completists who would have rathered that all Pholios had been kept the same size. Either way, it's great to see some news coming out about what will be there, and it all serves to whet the appetite for phans who will be descending on Sydney next weekend! For all your Supanova tips and tricks, see our planning post here, and to get caught up in all our excitement, make sure you've listened to Episode #96A of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast where we discuss everything we know, wish we knew, and expect to know! #Frew #Supanova #Pholios #Mandrake #GlennFord #DrPaulMason #KidPhantom

Shane Foley is fast becoming a phan phavourite of Frew readers with his covers, Giantsize stories with a heavy Phantom influence of past Wilson McCoy classics and art gallery submissions. We'd recommend re-listening to Episode #92 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast, featuring our interview with him. Recently Shane featured in a video (see below) promoting an upcoming exhibition in regional Queensland in the Hervey Bay suburb of Pialba, south of Bundaberg, between June 22 and July 29. Much of Shane's published Phantom work will feature in the exhibition, including the original artwork for the covers of Frew #1754 (his first cover), #1810 (the most recent), his Phantom / Sir Falcon Pholio pic (to be released as part of the Frew Heroes series at 2018 Sydney Supanova) and a piece called 'Ghost Who Walks' (shown right). The display will highlight the process of creating the comic book from roughs right through to the finished inked pages from some of his Giant Size Phantom crossover stories..There are two pages from 'The Stolen Chronicle', with the rough pages and plot as well as the original art - and there are the roughs for 'The Prisoner Who Didn't Exist' cover - as well as a version I stopped doing because there was a problem with the Phantom's figure. All the nuts and bolts for aspiring cartoonists and those who are interested in how it's all put together. Of course, as you can see in the video Shane is far more than just a Frew Phantom artist, and will also include other black and white artwork. The question many phans will ask is, "Can I buy the art?" The answer is YES! Shane assures us that ALL pieces, Phantom and otherwise, will be for sale. Shane himself will attend on opening night, June 22, if you want to meet him and discuss Phantom, art and life. If you can get there, set the GPS for: 166 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay, Queensland 4655. #ShaneFoley #WilsonMcCoy #Giantsize

After their last announcement that Phantom's Vault was now re-releasing the 99.94 Generation Phantom Gallery Prints, we now have more to spend our hard earned cash on. This is highlighted by the Scarlet Sapphire comic which many phans were starting to fear would never arrive. Scarlet Sapphire Available to Buy Now First is something all Australians have been waiting for over a year: the Lightning Strikes Scarlet Sapphire comic. Yes, it's phinally arrived from Ireland! It is worth relistening to Episode 90 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast with publisher Eoin McCauly as we discussed his new upcoming series and the Scarlet Saphire comic which was originally released May 2017. So after a year, Australian's can finally buy a signed copy for $25 (plus GST & Shipping) via Phantom's Vault. Unfortunately there is still no sign of the cheaper, unsigned version of the book. $25 may be pricey for a single book, but anyone who can get the money together will find that it's worth a read. It will give you a great insight into their planned new upcoming series. Phantom's Vault has announced it will also be available at the Frew Booth at Sydney Supanova, but be warned there is limited stock. Guy Poissant's Postcard Series 4 Guy Poissant is a busy man! Only a short period of time after releasing his Diana series (as reported here), he has now previewed a fourth series on Facebook which includes coloured scenes from classic Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy stories and as an added bonus, also includes a Sala sticker expressing her love for the Phantom. Sala has always been a phan phav and the way Ray Moore drew her, it's not hard to understand why. These are now available, so contact Guy here before they all run out as only 40 sets of each exist. The postcard set price is $32 Canadian dollars and the Sala Sticker is $3 Canadian dollars - postage is extra. Jeff Weigel Has Now Started Drawing His Sundays on Old Fashion Paper On Saturday 19 May Jeff Weigel posted his first Sunday drawn on 'old fashion paper' on Facebook (view here). It was first discussed in his interview in Episode 70 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast (re-listen here) and then again here as he gears up for his Australian adventure in 2019. The Sunday shown is dated 19th of August, twelve weeks in advance, and by the time he comes to Australia in 13 months time, he could well have 60 or more for everyone to fight and clamor over... plenty for everyone - but will you get the date you're really keen on?? Will this one be worth more as the first of the 'ink and paper' series? Jeff has not indicated a price on these yet. So without any further delay, Wham Bamm WHUMP here is Jeff's first Sunday inked on paper: So save those pennies, get that extra side job and start your secret Phantom slush fund. #JeffWeigel #LightningStrikeComics #GuyPoissant #PhantomsVault #Supanova #RayMoore #Podcast #XBand

Anyone who has been following Massimo Gamberi on Facebook would have seen this cover of the Phantom with Guran, Hero, Devil, the Skull Cave and an exploding volcano in the background. Well for those who did not know its for an Italian Language comic related magazine for the art / comic festival which was just held. Massimo was asked to do the cover. Big Massimo phan and phriend Anthony Gillies has worked out a deal to get some copies to Australia. If interested in a copy read on... Interested in a copy of the Italian-language Fumetto 106, the Phantom-themed issue, sporting the red-costumed cover by Marvellous Massimo Gamberi? Paolo Galliniari, the president of Associazione Nazionale Amici del Fumetto e dell'Illustrazione (ANAFI) and producer of the mag, is happy to supply copies of Fumetto 106 to Australian phans, should there be sufficient interest. If there is sufficient interest, he proposes at this stage that a small bulk delivery of the mags be sent to me, so that I can forward them on to phans. The reason is economies of scale. It will be cheaper per mag to send many rather than one. At this stage the price is $31.00. The final price is uncertain but it should be in the vicinity of $30. A mag will cost 12 euros and shipping in bulk to Australia is estimated to be about 5 euros per mag. The cost to send them on in Australia is uncertain but is estimated to be between $5.50 and $6.00. A mag can be sent as a large letter (stamp cost of $5.00) but I will have to construct cardboard envelopes to send them on. A price of $31.00 should crystallise your focus. Please note I do not wish to and I will not make any money out of this. I just simply do not wish to be out of pocket buying stamps and adequate cardboard/packaging to send the mags on and in money transfers. The idea is to supply a copy of the mag at the cheapest price to Australian phans. Please indicate your interest by 11.00pm Monday night. Please contact me either by personal message on Facebook or at astas@octa4.net.au. I will supply bank details so that you can make an upfront payment of $31.00. When the mags arrive I will ship them out to you and refund the difference between $31.00 and the costs of postage, both for Italy to Australia and internally. I wish to thank Paolo for making these mags available. Below is a gallery of the process of the cover from pencils, to inks, to colours to being received by grateful phans. #MassimoGamberi

It's been a couple of months since the last bit of news filtered out about The Phantom: Treasures of Drakon - the upcoming board game due to be funded via Kickstarter later in 2018. Creators Alex Wynnter and Dale Maccanti are getting excited about Supanova in a few weeks time though, when a playable demo version of the game will be available for attending phans to check out! Dale told ChronicleChamber, "A basic prototype will be at Supanova. It won't be the final art, which is still in development. Alex and I will be there to demo it and let people know about the Kickstarter in October." According to Alex, "We'll be at the Frew booth on Saturday and Sunday, where we'll have a running sheet for people to book in a quick game. We'll also be running short demos and answering any questions through out the day." And they've even begun teasing us with some very vague but oddly exciting pics of - well, cards, playing pieces.... who knows? The images on this page have been sprinkled throughout a range of Phantom-related Facebook groups over the last few days like clues in some sort of elaborate treasure hunt! To read all about the origin and generation of the game, make sure you check out our in-depth piece that introduced it here. . And stay on top of all the news you need to know about the game as it breaks by following the creators on Facebook yourself - Dale at https://www.facebook.com/whitecatpress/ and Alex at https://www.facebook.com/AlexWynnterGames/ #Games #Supanova

With a simple email from his son to Egmont editor Mikael Sol, the world began to find out that long-time European Phantom artist Carlos Cruz has passed away. Carlos Cruz González was born in 1930. He was born and raised in Spain and began to work as a professional artist at the age of 17. In 1949 he moved to Argentina where he continued his art career. In the 1960s he returned to Spain, where he began working for British firm Fleetway Publications on their British comics. His work appeared in Eagle, Tiger, Buster, Smash! and others. His most significant work in British comics was his three-year stint on the series Dan Dare in the relaunched Eagle from 1985 to 1988. You can read more about Carlos' non-Phantom career here. Cruz joined Team Fantomen in 1988. In 2004, he drew his last Phantom story, which also was the last story of Norman Worker. Over that period of time he drew over 50 full length stories. Some of the classic stories he brought us in the 1990’s was the first time we saw the Phantom visit Australia in The Black Fire, the Boy from the Sea (one of my favourites) and the majority of the Lubanga vs Luaga saga which controversially saw the Jungle Patrol's Unknown Commander's secret well entrance destroyed. Cruz was also in charge when Colonel Worubu stood down and depicted Lubanga defeating the Phantom several times as well as Diana’s UN Morristown office get blown up. Crazy times... I grew up and fell in love with the Phantom in this era. While he may have not been a huge phan favourite like high profile artists like Felmang and Hans Lindahl in this same period of time, his mark left has been huge and on behalf of the team at ChronicleChamber and every phantom phan our thoughts, well wishes and prayers are with the family left behind at this sad time. #CarlosCruz #Egmont #Fantomet #Fantomen #MikaelSol #NormanWorker #HansLindahl #Felmang

A specially commissioned series of Phantom portraits is being re-launched! Long-time fans of the X-Band podcast might remember Episode 47 when we chatted to the co-curators of The Phantom Art Show, Peter Kingston and Dietmar Lederwasch. In the course of the conversation with Dietmar, he recalled a set of Phantom prints that he commissioned over a period of many years, his 99.94 Editions - The Phantom Portrait Gallery. For those who came in late, the 99.94 Phantom Portrait Gallery series was conceived by Dietmar in the 1990's. His dream was to commission leading Australian and international artists to produce new and innovative images of the Phantom, with each painting to focus on a different generation. "It was one of the greatest days of my life when I came upon the idea of issuing a set of Phantom prints of every generation. I worked on it for every day of my life for at least twelve years to get seven prints out." In those 12 years, Dietmar was able to release unique and original Phantom artworks from a range of acclaimed artists: Birgitte Hansen, Barry Dean, Sy Barry, Paul Newton, Rosemary Valadon, Fred Fredericks and Frantz Kantor all contributed. Sy Barry (The Phantom newspaper strip artist 1961-1994) is of course the most familiar name for Phantom phans, and most will recognise Fred Fredericks (1995-2000) as well. While the other contributors may not be as well known to phans, they are each accomplished artists in their own right. As can be seen from the Gallery of images below, each produced a distinctive piece featuring our favourite hero. The 99.94 prints are huge - roughly 700mm x 900mm and printed on archival quality card, double varnished, signed in graphite and numbered (1-400). They were reproduced faithfully from the amazing original artwork, and printed onto archival, museum quality paper. 400 Australasian copies and 400 export copies were produced at the time, and with the production run having stopped well over a decade ago, clearly there will be no more. Unfortunately, only seven of the planned twenty-two portraits and prints were ever completed. In the podcast Dietmar revealed that, with his enthusiasm to move onto each new print, he had not actively pursued sales of these. "I guess I never really marketed them in any way at all. As soon as I had one tidied up and printed off and signed and numbered I went onto the next one and just left them gathering dust." Not all has been lost, as the unsold 99.94 prints have been put to great use over the years, "I always donate at least one print to each [Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorer's Club] dinner and that gets raffled off, which raises about $300 per print for the Westmead Children's Hospital," explains Dietmar. Time waits for no one, however, and Dietmar has recently decided to sell all the remaining prints to Phantom's Vault, who have now made them available and accessible to the general public in this exciting re-launch. Dietmar has always been very proud of the results of his commissions and prints, as are the artists who produced them. "The signature of the artist in graphite confirms the authenticity and limitedness of each print as well as confirming that the artist is satisfied with the fidelity of the print to the original," read the copy in the original advertising for the prints. The re-launch of these prints represents a great opportunity for modern phans to acquire a rare and wonderful piece of Phantom artwork. To purchase one or more of the prints, visit the Phantom's Vault website and place your order today. For more information on The Phantom Portrait Gallery prints, see Bryan Shedden's excellent analysis on the Deep Woods website. #DietmarLederwasch #SyBarry #XBand #FredFredericks #PhantomsVault

Phan and phriend of Bill Lignante, William Higgins, has confirmed that Bill Lignante passed away on the 27th February 2018, about three weeks before his 92nd birthday. While his Sunday reign was short lived most phans would be aware of his work, if only because of the infamous 1962 Sunday story: Queen Samaris XII. Bill sensationally drew the ears and eyes on his Phantom in the story, which remains the only time The Phantom's eyes in particular have been depicted in the newspaper strip. Undfortunately some nasty untruthful rumours started in Australia surrounding the story, namely that Bill was actually sacked from the newspaper strip by Lee Falk and King Features as a result The rumour was first published in a Mallon Diary and has been quoted several times, including in Frew comics. It is worth noting that if King Features had an issue with the eyes and ears they could have done what Frew did and edited the panels, as they had their own artist and editorial team on staff back in the 1960's . In our Sy Barry interview Sy helped further clear up the mess by stating that he never took the job off Bill but from Wilson McCoy, and as he was doing assistant work for Flash Gordon at the time, Bill came to the rescue as a temporary replacement. In a Friends of the Phantom interview (Winter 1998) Bill Lignante explained it to readers personally, via interviewer Ed Rhoades. [ChronicleChamber Patreon supporters can read the whole interview in the Phantom Preservation Project]. Apart from his brief tenor as a Phantom newspaper artist, Lignante also drew more than 45 Phantom comic book stories, authoring several of them, including the Girl Phantom which we recently saw in the 2017 Frew Annual. He also created three covers for Charlton. In the Winter 1998 Friends of the Phantom interview Bill expressed that the greatest highlight of his time creating Phantom stories was doing the Girl Phantom and was "..an excellent character and should be continued..". Outside comics, Bill's greatest legacy would probably be his courtroom art for ABC for many famous cases including Sirhan Sirhan, Charles Manson, Rodney King and many more. He covered more than 50 major trials in a 26 year period. On top of that he created six Palm restaurants and an Adelphi Inn which featured some original Wilson McCoy art on a wall. You can read Bill Lignante's full Phantom bio here. From everyone from team ChronicleChamber and every Phantom phan, we thank you Bill Lignante for your huge impact and work you have put into the hero we adored over the many years. Our thoughts are with his widow and family left behind. Thank you to William Higgins for the confirmation of the passing. #BillLignante #BillHarris #FriendsofThePhantom #Frew #EdRhoades #Charlton #Sundays #Mallon #SyBarry #WilsonMcCoy

Work on the sequel to the Bengali phan film Choloman Oshoriri has begun! ChronicleChamber can announce that Writer/Director Abir Roy and his team have started work on a sequel to the 2017 phan made movie Choloman. Sagardeep Roy will be returning in the role as the Phantom aka Choloman. No word yet if the actor who made a huge hit with his portrayal of Guran will be cast again - let's hope he does. At this stage we will see Diana and Rex in the movie, no word yet on who will be playing them or anything about their back stories. In past conversations Abir has expressed a love for Rex as a character so we would expect his back story to be fairly consistent with Falk lore. Indeed, almost everything Abir created in the first Choloman was consistent with Falk lore and so there is no reason to believe a sequel would be any different. In searching for clues about the possible plot, we have heard that Abir has been recently re-reading the Sunday Wilson McCoy story The Belt several times, and he has also expressed interest in Rama Singh being the main antagonist with the passing off role from 20th to 21st in his interview podcast with us. In the first movie we saw Keela Wee, the Bandar village and the Skull Cave at the end. Hopefully we will see more of Deep Woods and we can also confirm Eden will be making an appearance and indeed, work has began on building the set. One common criticism of the movie was the costume and we can also confirm that a beefier Phantom will be depicted this time, while a more lightweight and faithful costume will be portrayed in the sequel. Another concern for some phans has been the "Indianness" of the narrative. Now personally we at CC do not agree with or understand this. The Phantom's country was placed in India for so long and even while being in Africa since the 1960's we still see a heavy Indian influence. While Australians and the Scandinavian audiences may have been incidental viewers of the original Choloman, the primary intended audience is the India market so it makes sense, that it would be influenced by Indian culture. Phantom phans from around the world are starved of a great movie depiction of the Phantom. So how can anyone help or support this sequel? Abir Roy and the team are looking for financial backers who can help finance and support his movie. At the moment the budget is extremely low by Western standards, at around $1,000 USD. If you would like to help, feel free to contact them or if you would like us to introduce you to them, contact ChronicleChamber. #CholomanOshoriri

There was a Fantomen Facebook post a few days ago making mention of Egmont's Fantomen editor Mikeal Sol and others going through volumes of hard bound Fantomen comics from the 1960's onwards, looking for articles on the Phantom and pirates. Eagle eyed phans soon spotted a cover that was listed as a pre-order on a local Swedish website called www.ginza.se. After some detective work and reading between the lines, we at ChronicleChamber believe this will be the fourth release of the very popular Fantomen (and Fantomet) Softcover Books / Trade paperbacks. This series includes the popular Wedding anniversary edition from last year which we discussed here. Fantomet (Norway) and Mustanaamio (Finland) have also released their versions - Norway had a different cover for their wedding issue. No word yet if they will use the same as Sweden (pictured above). There is no official word on the cover artist at the time of writing, but despite looking similar to the work of Henrik Salhstrom, based on the signature and other insights we can confirm it is not him and looks to be a new artist to Phantom readers / phans. This is the first time the cover art is somewhat different, going away from the pop / retro look and using classic Sy Barry style art. Based on the link above and past issues in this series, this beauty will be 129Kr ($20AU) plus shipping and will be between 130 and 150 pages. Normally it has been released at the Swedish Gothenburg Book Fair which this year is held between September 27 and 30. One to add to your list for sure as the past three have been amazing! Thank you to Team CC phriends Andreas and Thomas for helping us to fill some gaps in this article. #Egmont #Fantomet #Fantomen #MikaelSol #Mustanaamio

A recent Egmont story, created by Philip Madden and Alex Saviuk and with covers by Henrik Sahlström, has gained attention in mainstream media and generated an unusual volume of commentary on social media. This is all based on a few images of the Phantom hitting a roughneck with a rainbow flag. Sexual preference and equality has been a media hot button topic recently, and some media and a number of Phantom phans have made ill-informed comments and judgements based merely on a cover and a few interior panels. As the story has only just made it to newsagent stands in Sweden (not even available in Norway yet, let alone Australia) I have contacted CC phriend Andreas Eriksson who has supplied us with a plot of the whole story. Polish nationalists are after an old artifact (The Golden Eagle, also the title of the story) which is hidden near the Phantom's castle Vacul. They want to use it as a national symbol and create an uprising. During the chase for the Golden Eagle, the gang happen to pass by the Pride parade, which the bad guys happen to dislike. They then try to attack the Pride parade, but Phantom steps in, protects the marchers, and then the chase for the golden eagle continue. The Gay Pride event is 3-4 pages of the 22-page story - it is not the central focus of the story. CC has spoken to the writer Philip Madden, who told us, The Phantom is a heroic character who fights for justice and decency. He defends and protects those who are in need of a hero and punishes those who side with evil, hate and the exploitation of their fellow human beings. The story I wrote is about The Phantom upholding those values. Philip refers to a very important theme here, which I believe is the point of these 3-4 pages and perhaps the whole story. The Phantom fights for justice and decency, and defends and protects those who are in need of a hero no matter their race, sexual preference, religion or background. According to this plot summary, these people were in need of help and the Phantom helped them - I would like to believe anyone with a decent heart and compassion would do the same, no matter their preference, skin colour or background. It is worth noting that in past Phantom stories created by Lee Falk and Team Egmont, The Phantom rarely took sides in wars, political parties and religious conflicts (The Phantom Goes to War being an example of an exception). He always defends the weak and oppressed ,and fights for justice. Let us re-examine the Phantom's oath: "I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, and cruelty in all their forms, and my sons and their sons, shall follow me." This is something I believe every true Phantom phan should follow. Some parts of the media have called for a boycott of the story and some individuals have made some horrible comments on various social media platforms. Below are some of the images of the pride parade scene for those who have not seen the story. There has been no word yet if or when Frew will publish this story in English. You can read some of the media stories on this here: https://aktuelltfokus.se/sd-politiker-och-nationalister-rasande-pa-fantomen-han-stodjer-vansterextrema-ideer/(Sweden https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/fantomen-skyddar-pride-slar-ner-nationalister/ https://www.medievarlden.se/2018/04/fantomen-forsvarar-pridetag-mot-nationalister/?mc_cid=544b2dad8c&mc_eid=27274d5bb2 NB: You can use Google Chrome's auto translate tool to help you read the article if you do not speak Swedish. One interesting late development regarding this story has been a local newspaper in the city of Ludvika (Sweden) asking for help and protection over a legally permitted Nazi demonstration seemingly in reaction to comic. he article is behind a paywall, but here is some context regarding the situation:: Although the story is set in Poland, Sweden is not without its own right wing nationalist extremists. They take full advantage of their rights in a democratic society while they at the same time want to get rid of democracy and enforce their own views. Most notably, a group of Nazis sought permission to hold a demonstration in Gothenburg during the 2017 Gothenburg book fair - on the street right outside the fair. They disrupted the whole city during the day and the attendance at the fair was the lowest in decades as a result. Another such legally permitted demonstration by a Nazi group is scheduled in the city of Ludvika, where the local newspaper's editorial now asks the Phantom for help: "Let the jungle drums sound when the Nazis come to Ludvika - perhaps the Phantom will come to help". Thank you to Andreas Eriksson, Philip Madden, Alex Saviuk, Henrik Sahlström and the editorial team at ChronicleChamber for their input and help in this article. Putting aside any disagreement we may have, none of us want to see anyone get hurt physically or verbally, and we all applaud the Phantom helping people in need no matter their background. #PhillipMadden #AndreasEriksson #HenrikSahlström #MikaelSol #Egmont

Back in January, Egmont Sweden and Norway held a competition for readers to vote for their favourite stories and covers of 2017. The best stories have now been announced; the best covers should be next month. Sweden's Best Phantom story of 2017 was the 245th Daily Phantom story Farewell to the Deep Woods by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley. This was published in Fantomen 25&26/ 2017 and has NOT yet been published yet in Norway. It has been a while since a newspaper story has featured in the top voted stories in Egmont. This seems to be a clear sign that the Swedish market is now ready to read and enjoy more of the newspaper stories. For many years neither Sweden's or Norway's Egmont magazine produced many new newspaper stories; hopefully this demonstrates that Swedish readers  enjoy a good newspaper story which I am sure will keep the Falkists happy. This story was published by Frew in issue #1772, back in 2016. Before the conspiracy theorists suggest that Norway rejected any stories, we need to remember they release fewer issues than Sweden (13 compared to 19).  Farewell to the Deep Woods  was published in Fantomet 1/2018, so it will be worth seeing how it fares in next year's vote. Norway's Best Phantom story of 2017 was The Sect of Constantinople by Philip Madden and Joan Boix which was published in Fantomet 6/2017. There is no word yet when this story will be published by Frew in Australia, but we expect it will be soon as Madden is one writer that now has a few Best Story credits to his name, and is a phavourite for many Australian phans. Thanks to Andreas and Thomas for informing us of the results. #TonyDePaul #MikeManley #PhillipMadden #JoanBoix #Egmont

Sammy J's Hero Complex came to an end in Melbourne last night, and thanks to his former school gardener Duncan Munro, the show went out with a bang. Phans who have seen the performance would know that, together with The Phantom and Billy Zane, Duncan plays a small role in the tale that Sammy tells. Last night Duncan wrote something of a resolution to that tale. As the conclusion to the finale, Sammy called his former school gardener onto stage to share the limelight. Calling the show, and their friendship, "an enduring treasure that I will cherish forever", Duncan presented Sam with a gift of thanks for sharing the story of their interweaving journey. That gift, as you can see here, was a beautifully commissioned Sy Barry painting. However the real treasure was delivered before the picture was revealed, and it's a genuine audience pleaser. Fair to say, it literally knocked Sammy to the floor. Thanks to Sammy for sharing this with all of us - enjoy! #SammyJ #HeroComplex #SyBarry #BillyZane

Sydney in June has become something of a 'must do' pilgrimage for Australia phans over the past decade or more. With the Supanova team bringing their A-game for the Sydney event, this is a natural attraction for comic book lovers and pop culture fans. Frew Publications now make a point of attending with an ever-expanding presence (1 booth in 2016, 2 in 2017 and we're hearing 3 for 2018), so this is a fantastic opportunity to pick up the latest in Phantom comics and merch without paying postage, and more importantly the chance to meet and talk to Phantom creators. Then there is the Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorer's Club dinner, an annual gathering of Phantom phans who come together to share a meal, listen to a guest speaker and raise money for the Westmead Children's Hospital. This year for the first time, all members of the Chronicle Chamber team will be there... They all have very different experiences and expectations when it comes to the weekend, so let's have a look at how they're preparing for the big event: Stephen Sydney trip debut: 2018 Sydney trip experience: 0 Planning & Saving: To say that I’m excited to be going to my first Sydney Supanova with all of the Phantom related events surrounding it would be an understatement. Being a part of ChronicleChamber these past few years has allowed me to embrace my inner nerdom and get further into the Phantom than I ever thought possible. Supanova: One of the best things about ChronicleChamber has been the opportunities it has provided to meet up with like minded people and this is probably the thing that I am most looking forward to about Supanova weekend. As many of you know Dan and Jermayn met, physically, for the first time at Supanova last year but as of yet all three of us have not been in the same room at the same time- maybe we will go back to that after sharing a hotel room together over the weekend. Technology has granted us the opportunity to communicate with others (pretty much) no matter where they are but there is still something to be said for that physical touch - it’s why I prefer to actually go into a shop rather than order online. You can imagine my excitement when I heard that the Frew booth, now in its 3rd year of being at Sydney Supanova has continued to expand their stall! Being able to see all of their products in the flesh rather than rely on photos is great and is probably going to lead me to buy more than I thought I would. Something else that I’m very keen on is meeting the Phantom creators who will be present at the Frew booth. I don’t have a lot of original art so I am looking to rectify that, particularly with the sketch that Jamie Johnson has promised me- that Mark of Cain cover is still awesome! LFMBEC: Since joining ChronicleChamber I have heard so much about the LFMBEC Dinner from Joe, Jermayn and now Dan that it would be an absolute tragedy if I had gone all that way and not attend the dinner. I am very much looking forward to socialising with phans and creators at this event, and though I don’t have the deepest of pockets I do hope to make some contributions to the Children’s Hospital. The little tidbits that I’ve picked up from past dinners (such as the specially made napkins etc) are enough to pique my interest just as much as the stories that phans have been shared. I’m intending to make a great weekend of it, getting there on the Friday and leaving as late as possible on the Sunday so that I can enjoy all that Supanova and The Phantom have to offer. Dan Sydney debut: 2017 Sydney trip experience: 1 Planning & Saving: If only this were easier! It takes some serious dedication to save the money required to get to Sydney in June. There are so many Phantom collectables I have had to pass on this year as I try to stock the Minor Treasure Room in readiness - it's been tough and not necessarily successful, if I'm being honest, some things are just too hard to walk past! A dedicated Phantom bank account is helpful to keep track of it all, and then it really is a matter of discipline, focus and sacrifice. I won't (can't) be spending as much in 2018 as I did last year - flights, accommodation and venue tickets mean that the base price for the weekend is getting close to $800 before you even get to the Frew booth! Now, many phans would say that this is money that could be better spent on comics or collectables, but what price do you put on the social side and the opportunity to actually talk face to face with a bunch of like-minded phans? $800+ apparently... Supanova: As a first-timer last year I was a little blown away by the size and scale of the convention. Something I'm hoping to do differently this year is to get out there for an extra few hours on either the Friday or Sunday. Last year Saturday was great, but to be honest I spent 80% of my time just hanging around the Frew booth and barely saw anything else. Getting a couple of sketch covers drawn up by Phantom artists was unreal because not only could you see it come to life before your eyes, you could also chat to the maestro scribbling it for you as well. However, I am keen to see a little more this year - although my personal focus is 100% Phantom, it is interesting to see what else is out there. Oh, and the best piece I was given before my first con came in our podcast prep talk last year: take a decent backpack and document folder/s for the gear you will be buying! LFMBEC: The key to really enjoying the LFMBEC dinner if you are lucky enough to attend? Make sure you put yourself out there and talk to people! There may not be too many familiar faces for newcomers, but there will be a a number of familiar names, and at the end of the day we all have one of our phavourite topics in common so you will not be stuck for conversation starters. Trying to keep a little loose change to bid in the charity auctions is fun and there were some very cool items up for grabs last year - some well out of my budget but there was certainly more than I expected that were within range. The best way to feel that you are contributing to the fundraising effort however, is to actually make a donation to the auction. Last year I donated a little something I had picked up from The Phantom Art Show, and got more pleasure seeing the numbers go up on this than I did from anything I purchased on the night. Jermayn Sydney trip debut: 2009 Sydney trip experience: 8 Planning & Saving: My biggest tip as someone who has come for the last 7-8 years is to be open to change and book early!! If you have a wife/ partner, get the time booked early and request the time away after you’ve mowed the lawn, cleaned the house so they are more likely to say yes. Airlines usually have weekly special nights where their flights are slashed. At the time of writing, Jetstar has Tuesday nights and Virgin Thursday nights. If you can save $50 here & in other places it gives you more spending money especially with Frew likely to be releasing many different items. Many of the regular attending Phantom phans stay in the city at Mecure Hotel which is nice but unless you book early and get it on a special it can cost you up to $200 per person per night. Within 2-5 minutes of Mecure there is a few cheaper alternatives including hostels and back packers for those who don’t mind roughing it and sharing a bathroom with Bosco. This will allow you to catch up and spend time with everyone else but won’t mean you have to spend as much to put your head down on a pillow. As a father of two now I have had to rely on saving money as that will become my spending money. I booked my flights back in January and return from WA I saved $100-150. Booking a three bed hotel room 2 minutes from Mecure meant I saved another $40 compared to last year. Supanova: If you’ve been requested to get stuff for friends, get them to send you the money beforehand otherwise it will cut into your spending if your on a budget. Remember you are doing them a favour and the least they can do is give you the money beforehand. The majority of Frew's stuff can be brought online after the event so if you're not going, you can purchase then. LFMBEC: A lot of phantom phans go to the Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorers Club dinner which is a members only club. There are no blood or skull oaths to perform to become a member but it’s worth remembering it is a club and attendance is by invite only and you cannot buy a ticket from a website like Supanova. Just being a phan doesn't get you a ticket. A couple of firm rules for the LFMBEC dinners are: Don’t bring items for the guests to sign. They are there to enjoy themselves as you are. Enjoy yourself, have a beer or phantom cocktails Remember we are raising money for the children so while you could buy it cheaper online elsewhere it’s for a good cause. Donated items help raise more money for the children. We are all looking forward to seeing you there. Happy Phantoming! #Supanova #Sydney #LFMBEC #Frew #JamieJohnson