You asked so we answered! In this episode of X-Band , the ChronicleChamber team is delighted to spend a couple of hours speaking with the publisher of Phantom comics in Australia - Glenn Ford . We last spoke to Glenn on Episode 33, almost exactly two years ago, and so much has changed since then! To find out about the phan, the creator and the artist, go back and listen to that one. To find out about Frew Publications - listen to this one! It's a monster recording, but only because we covered so much territory. Glenn really is an open book, and shares with us lots of ideas from throughout the Frewniverse: The process of taking over Frew Publications , and the reaction from phans to the new Frew Crew. The legacy of Jim Shepherd Impact of changes the Frew Crew have brought in General operations at Frew, and future plans - including new concept comics Relationships with King Features , as well as with Local Comic Store owners Insights into the 2018 Annual, with revelations about the theme and included giveaways Upcoming products from Frew - so many cool things!! Reasoning behind and goals for Phantom’s World and Giantsize Thoughts on the impact of Kid Phantom , and a few insights into upcoming issues Artists posting commissioned Phantom work on social media New stories commissioned by Frew , with Australian and international creators Release of trade paperbacks Plans for Heart of Darkness and Phantom by Gaslight The dream of international distribution And of course, we also had to quiz Glenn a little on Phanfare ! Plans for more jigsaw puzzles The phantastic life-size bust Upcoming products Cave gear – a "man cave" sub-line from Phanfare And finally, Jermayn couldn't miss the opportunity to ask: Where are the Gallery Series pt 2 trading cards? It's a long one, but it's totally worthwhile. Fascinating listening, we know you will enjoy - you may even have to listen to it twice to get your head around everything!! Happy Phantoming! #XBand #Podcast #GlennFord #Frew #Phanfare #KidPhantom #PhantomsWorld #Giantsize #AndrewConstant #JoanBoix #AndreasEriksson #Kizilmaske #DudleyHogarth #ReneWhite #JimShepherd #JudithShepherd #SteveShepherd #KingFeaturesSyndicate #Supanova #Mandrake #DrPaulMason #ChristopherSequeira #MassimoGamberi #JamieJohnson #Gaslight #JasonPaulos #GiancarloCaracuzzo #Pholios #PaulBulman #TommyHughes #PeterChapman #UlfGranberg #Egmont #Fantomen

As promoted by Glenn Ford in his Message from the Publisher in Frew's Giantsize #4: it's time to vote for Frew's Best Story and Best Cover of 2017 . Working in partnership, Frew and ChronicleChamber have created this competition for you to enter - specially timed with the release of Frew's digital poster giveaway! (Both the posters you see on this page are available for free download at www.phantomcomic.com.au ) All you need to do is vote for Frew's Best of 2017 , using the link below. Final votes and the winners of Frew Crew badges will be announced and published, both in a Frew Phantom comic and here on ChronicleChamber.com. The best news is there will be TWO chances to win a Frew crew badge: one for Best Story and one for Best Cover. It will be drawn randomly, so you must enter your name, email address and mailing address so they can send you your badge. VOTE HERE Voting closes March 12th 2018 , so get in now and Happy Voting! #Frew #Giantsize

When Frew released their latest incarnation of their Pholio Series (#5 - Frew Heroes), we were introduced to a brand new artist that many phans wouldn’t have heard of before: Daniel Picciotto . Today, ChronicleChamber is lucky enough to sit down with Daniel and find out a little more about the newest contributor to the Frewniverse. ChronicleChamber: Thanks for joining us Daniel! First off, can tell us about yourself? How old are you, and where are you from? Daniel Picciotto: I’m 37, and based out of Sydney Australia CC: Did you study art at school? Self taught? DP: Ironically I actually failed art in years 9-10 in high school, and didn’t elect it in 11-12 as the art teachers back then were focused on painting and sculpture, so I didn’t think comic art would be as respected. I do wish I did do a major work now. CC: What comic work have you done that we might be familiar with? DP: My first published work came from Comixtribes Scamthology trade paperback. I’ve had pin-ups printed in Image Comics’ Proof 18 and Low 16 . Though my work has also been on TV in Nutrigrain ads and on the TV show Ready for This on the ABC. CC: And any comic work recently? We hear you have a new title coming soon? DP: I’ve created a character named John Mercer, of the book Mercer: The Pursuit of Honor , which is a high stakes CIA thriller. The story is written by Gareth Skarka ( Lazarus, Dr Who, Star Trek ) and the first issue has been printed, but haven’t announced it’s publication date yet. CC: Cool, we look forward to seeing what it looks like! How would you describe your artistic style? DP: I’d like to think it is a personal stylistic approach to classic comic book art while also trying to achieve a sense of verisimilitude. CC: Did you read The Phantom or other comics as a younger man / boy? Do you still? DP: I definitely used to read strips in the paper every Sunday. I loved the art. Now I’m enjoying reading the trades put out by Frew Publications. CC: So tell us, how did you get the opportunity to do the piece for Pholio #5? DP: I was lucky enough to meet Glenn Ford at Comic Con last year, and I was grateful he liked my work. So I said I’d happily do some Phantom work if it became available. I’ve always wanted to draw him. CC: Tell us about your Pholio piece? What is the story behind it? DP: I’m not sure how much I can say here haha, but Frew has asked me to do a poster of Phantom, and with him also re-introduce an old character from the 50’s back into the mix. It was exciting as they gave me full creative control on re-designing the character to make him more current. Frew and Glenn have been great to work with in that regard. CC: C'mon Daniel! The Pholio images have already been released via an ad in the back of a Frew issue - surely you can tell us which one is yours? Which character, what sort of research did you have to do, and what did you consider in your re-design? DP: Oh has it? In that case it’s a Phantom team up with Catman. Catman is a character created in the early 50’s, and so I looked back at those old illustrations to try and adapt that look as best as I could. I thought a cape would no longer suit, and I had been asked to make him more militant so I researched military equipment like goggles and straps to try and make his outfit one that looked more easily wearable, as far as tight body suits go! CC: Any other possible work for Frew? DP: I may have some more things coming :) CC: Very mysterious... we'll probe no more on that then - although we have seen your Instagram post (below - wink!) So, what is your process in creating your art? Do you use the traditional paper and ink or more new school with the computer? DP: Great question as the process of making comics continues to evolve. I love working traditionally, but this past year I moved to producing all my layouts on iPad Pro using Procreate. Once I’m happy with the layouts I still print them out onto 11 x 17 comic boards and ink it traditionally. CC: Do you accept commissions? DP: Yep, but I’ve been so busy I’ve still got ones I need to do. If you’re prepared to wait I’ll get it done CC: Will you be at Sydney Supanova? DP: Yes! All weekend. CC: Excellent! Are you spending time at the Frew booth, or located in Artist’s Alley… ? DP: No details if I’ll be at Frew just yet but I’ll definitely be exhibiting in Artist's Alley with prints, some comics, and doing commissions. For anyone who picks up the Phantom/Catman poster I’ll be more than happy to sign it for free. CC: Excellent! Where can phans check out your other art? DP: My Instagram is best for regular updates @picci8 , or my website www.picci8.com. CC: Sensational, thanks Daniel. We'll be sure to check them out, and look forward to seeing you at Supanova! #DanielPicciotto #GlennFord #Frew #Pholios #OzComicCon #Supanova

Over the last month, ChronicleChamber and Frew have been running a competition for phans to determine the Best Covers and the Best Stories released by the Australian publishing company in 2017. Well the votes are in and the comp is over - check out all the results in the clip below! Congratulations to Rodger Dean and Peter Vucemillo on winning the Frew Crew badges! Full details and a complete break down of the final results of the Best Cover and Best Story votes will come out over the Easter weekend. #Frew #YearinReview

In his Message from the Publisher in Frew #1806, publisher Dudley Hogarth relayed some fascinating information about the 'new' cover artist featured on that issue. However, space constraints prevented him from telling the full fascinating story of Jonny Nordlund , so Andreas Erikkson has kindly allowed us to share the tale with you here. Frew readers with a keen eye may have taken a look at issue #1806 and thought that a new cover artist was making his debut. But they would be wrong, because the artist Jonny Nordlund has already created a Frew cover... all the way back in 1988! The cover of Frew #911 from 1988 is based on a drawing by Nordlund, which was first published in the reader pages of Fantomen 3/1985 , when Jonny was only 17 years old! Apparently, someone at Frew also spotted Nordlund's talent, and a slightly modified tracing of his fan art drawing from 1985 became a Frew cover in 1988! (Fanart by Jonny Nordlund, images from http://www.seriesjoberg.se/11757848) i Amazingly, this was not even his first published Phantom drawing; a piece he drew in 1983 appeared in Fantomen 7/1984 . With such a display of talent, he was quickly scooped up by Semic Press and became a professional comic artist, but not for their Fantomen magazine. Instead, Nordlund has worked only on Semic's (and later Egmont's) humor comics. At the tender age of 17, Jonny was hired to work on the long-running military humor comic 91:an , which he continues to do to this day. He's also one of the artists on another long-running comedy strip called Åsa-Nisse . Both comics are occasionally written by Pidde Andersson , one of Frew's latest Phantom scriptwriters. Self-portrait by a teenage Nordlund shorty after he became a professional comic artist. Image from http://seriewikin.serieframjandet.se/index.php/Jonny_Nordlund Both Jonny and Pidde have inserted Phantom references in their comedy stories when possible. Two examples drawn by Jonny can be seen below, the first example from 91:an where the primary antagonist is visited by the Phantom in a dream sequence. Second, from Åsa-Nisse where the title character in a delirious state imitates the Phantom's quest for justice in a homemade crime-fighting suit. Images from www.harnby.com/Seriesida/Fantomen/parodier.htm Nordlund has also created comics of his own, and although he has developed a cartoonish and comedic style over the years, one episode in particular of his comic Spurt showed that he still has a talent for realistic artwork—set in Africa, no less! Panels from "Spurt" by Jonny Nordlund, published in Seriemix #4. For a time, Jonny assisted the American comic artist Bud Grace by inking his syndicated comic strip Ernie (aka The Piranha Club ), which was syndicated by King Features. Nordlund rekindled his Phantom interest in the tribute book Från lila vålnad till blågul hjälte ( From purple ghost to blue-yellow hero ), published in 2010. There, he detailed his interest in the Phantom and contributed a drawing specially made for the book. Image from www.phantomwiki.org/Från_lila_vålnad_till_blågul_hjälte Until last year, Nordlund himself was unaware that his fanart drawing had been used by Frew in 1988. It's only fitting that Nordlund now, 30 years later after his first uncredited Frew contribution, returns as an official and credited cover artist at Frew.

The latest in Frew's growing stable of artistic talent is Wendall Cavalcanti, an extremely talented artist from Brazil. This interview comes to us courtesy of Professor Gláucio Cardoso, a dear friend of ChronicleChamber and himself a published Frew author, with one of his short prose stories published in Frew's 80th Phantom Anniversary special . Gláucio is also author of the Fantasma Brasil Blog & TV Channel. This interview originally appeared on his blog; Gláucio has graciously allowed us to translate and re-publish here. Gláucio Cardoso: Tell us a little about your growth as an illustrator. How did it begin? At what age? Which artists serve as your reference? Wendell Cavalcanti: I draw drawing since I was a kid, just like everyone else. Many stop drawing as a child, I just kept on, because I loved the act of scratching the paper and seeing something that was in my imagination appearing there at the tip of the pencil. I started around 1997/98, but only became serious in a professional and continuous way from 2005 onwards . I'm a voracious reader of comics as well as an artist, so the list is immense. Like all professionals I've been influenced by many artists over the years. We're learning a little bit with each other on this walk, right? But I could say the ones on my shelf (a shelf right in front of my drawing board) and that I currently use frequently for studies (from time to time this list changes): Alex Toth, Sean Gordon Murphy, Pia Guerra, Mozart Couto, Greg Tochinni, Mastantuono, Marco Mateu-Mestre and others ... Maybe someday I'll learn to draw with all those talents gathered on this shelf. GC: And you're also a long-time fan of the Ghost Who Walks, are you not? Who are your favorite artists who have already worked with the character? WC: Yes, yes, I've been a fan since I was a kid. My father introduced me to the Phantom. And right away I liked the character (and Batman too). The jungle mix, uniformed hero and action widened my eyes. It was the beginning of the 80s, I understood myself by people and getting interested in TV and cinema (where my father also took me). It was a time of discovery. Comic books were a much nicer trip than TV. I collected Phantom from there. As for the artists, there are not many, but I'm attracted to Ray Moore . Although at the time I did not know what a noir climate was, that was what attracted me. The dark setting, the slim and mysterious hero ... He has always been on my list for so long. Sy Barry , for that classic trait. I really like Paul Ryan and Graham Nolan too. GC: How did the invitation to draw the Phantom for Frew come about? WC: Some time ago, after finishing my work in the Image series called BLACKACRE, I continued working with independent authors (a lot of my material is independent), and an Australian writer called Tor Dollhouse contacted me, ordering some illustrations. Over time, keeping in touch, we became friends. I knew about the longevity of the Phantom in Australia, but I knew nothing of the market there. And we talked a lot about it, until we came up with the idea of ​​sending a pitch to the publisher. Tor wrote five script pages and one synopsis and I was to five pages. But I had another job taking me time and Tor was eager to send the pitch to Frew. It turned out we sent the script and only two pages I had complete. A few weeks passed without reply, but one day Tor was invited to go to the publishing house. The publisher, Glenn Ford , had liked the two pages I had made and was particularly interested in one of the Phantoms I drew on those pages. Glenn made a video call to me (it was 6 in the morning here) to say that Tor and I would be part of the creative team. Since that day we are Team Phantom! Tor is developing ideas for a new script, but the editor sent me another script by a Swedish scriptwriter Pidde Andersson and I've already started working. GC: The Phantom is one of the most iconic characters in comics. How is it for you, as a fan and also as a professional, to now be working with the character of Lee Falk ? Is there a great sense of responsibility? WC: Man, I read the script, which is here in front of me and I still can not believe it. I never imagined that one day I would draw the Phantom. Although when I was a kid and for a good part of my teenage years I spent my free time drawing several Phantoms in my school notebook, it was not something I thought I would accomplish. Even when I started as a comic book artist, I still did not think it would happen. Well, we know the life of a comic book professional, and in my view I had a very loooooong road to go through before thinking about such an iconic character. I feel the responsibility, yes. It's big. Although in Brazil there is no longer an interest to publish the Phantom, in Australia the character has its legion of fans and has been published continuously for almost seventy years. Every artist who takes a title hopes to be able to do a job that pleases the fans. I feel the cold in the belly, but here we are. I'll face it and do my best. After all, there are incredible artists who did the work before me and that intimidates. I still have a lot to learn. And I'm learning in practice, with a character I admire. GC: A friend and fan of the Phantom, Celso Nunes, asked me to ask you if you think of putting "brazucas" marks on your art, as Eduardo Ferigato did while working on The Last Phantom (Dynamite)? Can we see some kind of homage to Walmir Amaral , who designed the Phantom for the longed-for RGE? WC: I usually make jokes with close friends, inserting them into stories as supporting characters or just extras. In the pages I've submitted as a proposal, there is a discreet reference to the Phantom of the 1943 series, with Tom Tyler, for example - I hope one day these pages can be published. LOL I bought some time ago, that edition of Opera Graphica, with the biography of the Phantom and I was amazed to know that other Brazilian artists, besides Walmir, had worked with the Phantom. Gutemberg Monteiro, for example. I knew there were Brazilian artists, but I did not know who. If there's any opening on the scripts so I can do something, yes, I will. GC: What kind of stories will we see in this phase of Frew? What are your expectations for this job? WC: Frew wants to bring in new readers, with new stories and a little more modern, but, of course, keeping the essence of the Phantom. The expectations? Jesus, expectations ... I expect to feel the cold in the belly and heavy anxiety. Maybe a little nausea. We do not want to reinvent the wheel, make a super-spectacular reboot or something. We want to tell good stories, trying to modernize without mis-characterising. Perhaps even more adventurous stories, perhaps with a hint of the unknown - that gripped the imagination of Phantom fans before ... We are discussing ideas and Glenn, the editor, is quite excited about the new concepts. There are other projects being considered, but unfortunately nothing I can talk about now. The team and I will try to tell exciting stories, have fun, make readers look back at the Phantom and see him as a relevant character. GC: Thank you very much for your attention and, on behalf of the Fantasma Brasil Team, we wish you much success in this endeavor. This space is free for you to send your message to all fans of the Ghost Who Walks. WC: Thanks for the kind words. To the fans, I hope you like what's coming. I speak on behalf of the (immense) team: We will give our best. Thank you and a big hug to everyone. #Frew #WendellCavalcanti #RayMoore #SyBarry #PaulRyan #GrahamNolan #TorDollhouse #GlennFord #LeeFalk #DynamiteEntertainment #RGE

When Frew Publications released their 100-page "Femme Fatale" issue earlier this month, we were introduced to a brand new artist that many phans wouldn’t have heard of before: Camillo Di Pietrantonio . Camillo created the back cover for the newsagent release of that issue, #1813. Chronicle Chamber: Thanks for joining us Camillo! Can you tell us a little about yourself... How old are you, and where are you based? Camillo Di Pietrantonio: I'm 29 years old and based out of Western Sydney. CC: Did you study art at school, or would you say you are self taught? CDP: Nah, I didn't study at school. I didn't even choose Art as an elective in high school. I studied industrial design at university which helped a tiny bit because there was a lot of concept sketching involved. CC: Very interesting! And so what sort of experience do you have in the comic industry… What comic work have you done that we might be familiar with? CDP: Apart from the Phantom, I've done a wrap around cover for the Killeroo comic, which is a pretty popular Australian comic. CC: How would you describe your style? CDP: I think my style is still in development. I see changes in my art all the time. But I like to think it's modern with a slightly more animated feel. CC: Did you read the Phantom or other comics as a younger man or boy? Do you still read it these days? CDP: I read it briefly as a young boy. I used to read the comic strip in the newspaper and the comics I'd get from showbags. I also remember being excited over the Phantom movie as a kid. As of more recently, I've started picking up the Phantom again since Jamie Johnson , who's a mate, has been getting on the covers. And I'll definitely be checking out the new trades Frew has coming out. CC: So how did you get the opportunity to do the Frew back cover? When we met at Supanova you told me that it was a two-year journey? CDP: Yeah, I bumped into Antonio Lemos one day about two years ago, and we got talking about the Phantom and about art. He’s such a nice guy and he was the first to show my work to Glenn Ford . I did Glenn a trial piece just to show him i could draw the Phantom. But it never got the green light. My art wasn’t up to scratch. Then I bumped into Glenn at Free Comic Book Day this year and showed him my latest portfolio. He was impressed with my improvement and asked me to have a go at fixing the Phantom piece I did two years ago. I just re-did the entire thing and next thing I knew it was on the back cover. CC: We see that you have already sold the original art for that back cover. You must have been happy that an enthusiastic phan snapped it up so quickly? CDP: Yeah I was very pleased. I also sold the piece I did two years back that wasn't approved. It felt really good that someone wanted to buy it. Along with all the sketch cover commissions I got, I'm very thankful to the Phantom community for that. CC: And is there any other possible work for Frew in the future? CDP: I think so. I'm a bit superstitious so I don't want to say for certain. But I'm pretty sure I'll have something else coming out soon. CC: What is your process of creating your art? Do you use the traditional paper and ink or is it always newer school with the computer? We certainly enjoyed watching you colouring digitally in your presentation at Supanova, opposite the Frew Booth on Friday. CDP: That was a fun presentation. I always start my work on paper. I start with pencils, and then ink my pencil work. I only use computers for colouring my work digitally. There's just some effects you can't achieve when it comes to colour without a computer. I do colour traditionally also. But if it's something that's going to be printed those traditional forms of colouring never scan and translate perfectly to print. So I tend to use digital colours for that reason. CC: There seems to be a growing trend of younger up-and-coming Frew artists with yourself, Jamie, Daniel Piccioto , Jeremy Macpherson and Paul Mason all getting a go. Is this important for the Australian comic scene? CDP: I think it is. The Phantom has a great fan base here who are really supportive of the artists. Ultimately I think it's all of our dreams to be able to do art exclusively and full time. And being such a competitive industry it's so good that Frew give local talent a go. I think it's better for us and also better for the fans to have Australian artists on the book. It can attract new readers and also help artists build a career. CC: We could not agree more! Now, the important question: Do you accept commissions? CDP: I do accept commissions. I have a few backed up from Supanova but they should be done soon. CC: On that, how did you find Sydney Supanova this year? Did you get to meet many Phantom Phans? If so, were we well behaved? CDP: This was my second Supanova as an exhibitor and it was great. The Phantom phans made it that extra bit special. It was really good to meet so many of them and get feedback on my art. And yes they were all very well behaved. Super nice people. CC: Good to hear! So where can phans check out your other art? CDP: I have an instagram account @instacam_illo and a Facebook page @camilloart CC: Excellent - thanks so much for your time Camillo and all the best for the future. We look forward to seeing more of your work in a Frew comic again very soon. #Supanova #Frew #GlennFord #AntonioLemos #CamilloDiPietrantonio #JamieJohnson #DanielPicciotto #JeremyMacpherson #DrPaulMason #1996movie

After what has been a very busy month in the CC Team's non-phantom part of their lives we have now published episode #104 of X Band: The Phantom Podcast. In this episode Jermayn, Dan and Steve are joined by author and board game designer Dale Maccanti. Dale shares the latest news relating to The Phantom board game and also joins in with the phellas as they review Frew's 2nd Trade Paperback, "The Man Who Cannot Die". The team also review and talk with Dale about his work on the Princess Sin prequels and we get a wonderful insight into the writing processes of one of the most exciting new authors in Frew's stable. So kick back into your favourite skull throne, pour yourself a cold glass of milk and enjoy episode #104. Happy Phantoming! #DaleMaccanti #Podcast #TPB #Frew #TradePaperback

There was a bit of a rude shock for Frew readers this week, with publisher Dudley Hogarth using the Message from the Publisher in issue #1827 to announce that prices will be rising in 2019: I feel I should let you know that due to rising print production and postal costs it will be necessary in increase our cover price next year. The cost will go up by 25 cents per regular issue and yearly subs will now be $190. To emphasise the change in price, this means that: A regular 36-page comic will go from $3.50 to $3.75 The annual subscription increases from $175 to $190 It's early days yet, and perhaps there will be more awareness of the price change after it actually takes effect in the new year, but at this stage there seems to be very few qualms from readers - and perhaps that's because they know how good they've had it! In fact, this price rise is the first in six and a half years. A look at the trend of Frew cover prices over the years shows that the era of $3.50 comics has been the third longest period of unchanged prices in their proud 70 year history. As you can see, the price was held at 1 shilling for almost 10 years from 1956-1966, and at $1.50 for an incredible eleven and a half years while Jim Shepherd was at the helm in the 1990s. Perhaps that's why so many Australian phans have $1.50 in their head as the standard cost of the book. Those periods of stability are more the exception than the rule, however, as can be seen more plainly on the following: * Note the last rise in the graph is the move to $3.75 scheduled for January 2019. The big question of course is - why do the costs need to go up? Most people obviously understand printing and postage costs, but inflation has had a very strong impact as well. When we look at the indexed cost of a Frew Phantom, we see that the iconic Australian publishing company has actually done a very good job at keeping the comics at about the same relative price over the decades. This table shows the change in cost of purchasing a regular issue Frew over their history. For example, the 6 pennies you would have had to fork out for issue #1 in 1948 are worth $1.50 in today's money. As you can see, each time a new price is set, the relative value of that almost immediately begins a downward trend - thanks very much inflation! It's then a matter of seeing how long the company can afford to hold that price before it needs to move up again. At the end of the day, we all need the comic to remain profitable; the demise of Norway's Fantomet is stark reminder of what would happen if the publisher could no longer afford to produce the book. Interestingly we've found that readers started paying the equivalent of around $3.50 back in 1987, and haven't really had to pay a great deal more than that in the three decades since. Even this newest price rise is relatively lower than what we were paying in 2011! One of the reasons often given for the popularity of The Phantom comics in Australia is affordability and despite this latest small rise, that remains true. Indeed, next time you pop out to pick up a Phantom comic and a coffee to read it with, the coffee will still cost more. And there's not many comic books you can say that about! Inflation data and 2018 equivalency information sourced through the Reserve Bank of Australia 's pre-decimal and decimal inflation calculators. #Frew #DudleyHogarth #JimShepherd

Yes, it's that time of year again.... it's time to vote for Frew's Best Story and Best Cover of 2018 . Once again working in partnership, Frew Publications and ChronicleChamber have created this survey for you to contribute your ideas and opinions. All you have to do is pick: your favourite Frew covers of 2018 your favourite Frew stories of 2018 and you are in the running to win one of two Frew Crew badges! Just vote for Frew's Best of 2018 , using the link below. Final votes and the winners of Frew Crew badges will be announced and published in a Frew Phantom comic, on X-Band-The Phantom Podcast , and here on ChronicleChamber.com. The best news is there will be TWO chances to win a Frew crew badge: one for Best Story and one for Best Cover. They are drawn randomly, so you must enter your name and email address so we can send you your badge. VOTE HERE Voting closes January 12th 2019 , so get in now and Happy Voting! #Frew

Have you read the 2019 Frew Annual yet? Every single page contributes to a great collection of past classic and new stories. It's a well printed volume filled with content from great storytelling masters, all wrapped up in a stunning and eye-catching cover. Well done Frew and all the creators! We loved the Annual so much we decided to do an early video review. Join us as we go through every story in detail looking at what was well done and what missed the mark (spoiler - not much missed). Please note that in the video we do discuss the stories (plot and artwork) and show spoilers about each story, so you have been warned if you have not yet read through the volume. Rest assured, we will still review the Annual and each story in even greater detail in an up-coming Comics & News podcast.

Canberra local comic store Impact Comics has released their top selling lists for the year 2018, including their Top 100 Superhero trade paperbacks / books, and their Top 100 All comic books. From a Phantom phan's point of view, these lists make very interesting reading! In exciting news for Frew Publications, their two books For Those Who Came In Late and The Man Who Cannot Die (also known as the 70th Anniversary Special) featured prominently in both lists. While many phans may be a little chagrined to hear our hero classified in this way, each of the TPBs featured prominently in the Best Selling Superhero books , and in fact were both in the top 15 for the year which is a huge achievement. Incredibly For Those Who Came In Late was released back in 2017 and achieved fourth place on their list. What is even more amazing is that even though The Man Who Cannot Die was only released in September and would have only had four months in their store, it was still successful enough to jump into twelfth! Have a look here for the full list and consider the books that the Phantom out-performed. These include Wonder Woman , Flash , Guardians of the Galaxy and Deadpool which all have movies and TV shows to help their popularity. Only three other books in the top 12 are brand new 2018 releases: Dark Knights Metal , Batman White Knight & Marvel's Infinity War Prelude . Impact Comics also released their top 150 sales for All books , which includes manga, science fiction, children's books and popular fantasy series like Saga and Walking Dead . Impressively, against all-comers For Those Who Came In Late was 28th and The Man Who Cannot Die was 59th. While these results are only for this one local comic store in Impact Comics, if you add this to anecdotal reports we have received from comic books stores around Australia, it seems that phans, comic buyers and casual readers are buying the trade paperbacks in droves. We do not have exact numbers sold for each trade paperback directly by Frew or any other online sources, but this is a great result for Frew and would seem to justify the move into the production of these full-colour themed volumes. We are very much looking forward to Frew's next trade paperback. As divulged in a past podcast by writer Dale Maccanti we are likely to see at least two in 2019, apparently including the Red Dragon saga. Stay tuned later in the week as we continue to reveal results from the 2018 year, with full results from the phan survey run by ChronicleChamber in conjunction with Frew on the way! Thanks to long-time ChronicleChamber and personal friend Luke Geaghan for spotting Impact Comics' Top Sellers list. #Frew #TradePaperback

So which were the most popular Frew stories and covers published in 2018? After a huge response from the phans the Best of Frew 2018 survey has been run and won, and many of you will have already heard the results on Episode #109 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast . However today we're releasing the full set of results in written form so you can sit back and take it all in at your leisure! We were blown away by the entries - over 300 responses to the survey just about melted down the google form document as votes came in thick and fast. It's an increase of numbers from last year, and great to see so many phans, new and old, getting involved. Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to reflect on the year that was, and nominate your favourite Frew covers and stories from 2018. Of course, we acknowledge that this a highly subjective list and many phans will disagree with the results. A reminder that the final placings are based on popular votes. It is important to point out here: NO story or cover was left completely unloved; there was NO cover or story with zero votes. Every cover or story that Frew published in 2018 was in someone's Top 3 or 5, so they're covering all bases and are clearly doing a whole bunch of things right! Phan votes for Best Frew Cover of 2018 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 covers of the year: Some points of note: Special congratulations to Jamie Johnson , who incredibly took out the Top 3 positions! 7 of the top 10 positions were taken by Australian artists Both TPBs released in 2018 were in the Top 15 In a huge surprise omission, Glenn Lumsden did not get a cover in the Top 10 Four places in the Top 10 were taken by artists who only had one cover in the mix: Christopher Wahl , Freddie Williams III , Jeff Weigel and Sy Barry . Phan votes for Best Frew Story of 2018 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 5 stories of the year: Some points of note: Special congratulations to Dale Maccanti , who incredibly authored both the Top 2 stories! 7 of the Top 10 positions were taken by Australian authors (8 if we include New Zealand's David Bishop !) 6 of the Top 10 positions were filled by entirely Australian creative teams Amazingly, the four Kid Phantom stories released in 2018 all finished in the Top 7, a huge credit to Andrew Constant and Paul Mason Claes Reimerthi , incredibly prominent in 2017, only snuck into the Top 10 with a single story Lee Falk 's highest entry was in 11th place - but he had 4 stories in the Top 20 Phantom's World would not seem to be highly read by phans, with its first contribution to the list coming in at 46 with Felmang 's Saba saga Prize Winners! After all that, of course we need to say a special congratulations to the two lucky recipients of the Frew Crew badges, drawn at random from all respondents. Tammy Hocking and Kelley Craven are our lucky winners - well done: please respond to the email we sent you and then you can keep an eye out in the mail for your prize! So what are your thoughts? Did the right cover & story win? Any surprising placings for you? Please let us know via the comments below or on any of our associate social media posts! #Frew #YearinReview #XBand #Podcast #JamieJohnson #ChrisWahl #FreddieWilliamsIII #JasonPaulos #GrangeWallis #JeffWeigel #SyBarry #DrPaulMason #GlennLumsden #JeremyMacpherson #GlennFord #ShaneFoley #AntonioLemos #AlexSaviuk #AngeloTodaro #EdenSmall #Felmang #JonnyNordlund #DaleMaccanti #AndrewConstant #TonyDePaul #MikeManley #DavidBishop #RafaelRuiz #ChristopherSequeira #ClaesReimerthi #KariLeppänen #LeeFalk #GeorgeOlesen #KeithWilliams #MagnusKnutsson #JaimeVallve #DonneAvenell #HeinerBade #PiddeAndersson #JimShepherd #KeithChatto #NormanWorker #OzcanEralp #WilsonMcCoy #TerryBeatty #CésarSpadari #MassimoGamberi #UlfGranberg #KnutWestad #JamesBrouwer #JoanBoix #RayMoore #JanneLundstrom #PhillipMadden #BillHarris #BillLignante #JoeGill #PatBoyette #JimAparo #CarlosCruz

The Phantom may still be living in a cave, but Frew Publications has jumped into the digital age by offering their books as digital comics via the popular ComiXology platform. At this stage it is nothing more than a soft launch with only three volumes available, but word from Frew is that more will be added soon. [ Note: They now sell their digital comics on their own platform instead of ComiXology which you can view and buy here ] Phantom comics have been available digitally for decades, albeit in a very non-Phantom way, with the vast majority found on various pirate websites and torrents. So far as legal downloads go, a limited range of titles from Hermes Press have been available for some time, however Frew's move marks a massive entry into the digital world for our hero. This is the first time that a current producer of new stories has moved towards digital publication, and it could well help bring The Phantom to a new mass audience. Frew have proven that they are not afraid of trying something new, with recent innovations including: Kid Phantom ; continuing Giantsize after 50-odd year break in publication; the board game sold via Kickstarter and now; digital comics. Indeed, Frew have already dabbled with providing digital content through free downloads of posters etc direct from their website . Obviously they recognise the need to keep trying to reach the next generation and we applaud this latest attempt. Chronicle Chamber have confirmed that, as a general rule of thumb, the prices for digital content will be approximately half the recommended retail price for a hard copy of the comic or trade paper back. See below for a current comparison of prices between comiXology (digital) and Frew's website (hard copy). Trade Paperback #1 - For Those Who Came in Late comiXology: $12.99 RRP: $24.95 Trade Paperback #2 - Phantom: 70th Anniversary comiXology: $16.99 RRP: $29.95 Giantsize Issue #1 comiXology: $4.99 RRP: $10.00 Digital comics may not appeal to many of the current Australian phans who enjoy reading and collecting their hard copy comic, whether via subscription or the fortnightly visit to their local newsagent. However, digital comics have a massive global audience creating a market that no reputable publishing company can ignore. In North America alone, sales for digital comics are $90-$100 million each year (measured 2013- 2018). That's a lot of reasons to go digital. Read more about the impact of digital sales here . As an arm of the online retail giant Amazon , comiXology is the big fish of digital platforms. ComiXology includes comics and content from over 125 publishers, as well as thousands of independent creators from around the world. This allows them to use the best software available for viewing and reading comics and, of course, helps them limit the biggest problem for all media - the pesky pirates! All in all this will be very welcome news, especially if you're already a reader of digital comics or a Phantom phan located outside Australia. To download the comiXology application on your devices follow these links: iPhone Google Play Kindle Reader #TradePaperback #Giantsize #Frew #HermesPress #comiXology

Frew's first ever Graphic Novel Sword of the Caliph was released at Frew's booth at Sydney Supanova 2019 and discussed on our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #121 with a chat with Glenn Ford. Illustrated by Italy’s Giancarlo Caracuzzo and written by Gabriel Henriquez (also wrote Kid Phantom #1), it introduces us to a new villain, who acts as a major adversary for our hero. The volume is 90 pages long, full colour and slightly over sized (like the Swedish Soft Cover Album). The team at Chronicle Chamber enjoyed the book. Below is a detailed review by one of the team. #GiancarloCaracuzzo #GabrielleEnriquez #KidPhantom #Frew