Frew have recently established a great tradition of attending the Sydney Supanova comic convention, and an even better one of releasing beautiful items for Phantom phans to enjoy. This post is a wrap up of all the items that Frew have published on their Facebook page, as well as those that Glenn Ford told us about in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #121 . The Phantom Gallery - Series 2 Trading Cards While they're not necessarily a 'Frew Publications' product as such, the release of the Series 2 cards is arguably the biggest news in terms of products available for sale at the Frew Booth. We've dedicated a stand alone article on these, as they are seriously big and exciting news that we've been waiting over 20 years for. You can read all about the cards here. Sword of the Caliph - A graphic novel by Giancarlo Caracuzzo and Gabrielle Enriquez It’s a brand new story featuring both the 21st and the 6th Phantom, with the two characters sharing a dream (albeit in different centuries), while the current Phantom is trying to stop a terrorist attack on the USA. This book was first discussed by Glenn back in 2017 - you can read about that here. Illustrated by Italy’s Giancarlo Caracuzzo and written by Gabriel Henriquez ( 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). Supanova Price: $16. Regular price: $20 Supanova Special edition comic: Black Glove The Frew issue timed for release with Supanova this year is the much-requested 1985 Team Fantomen story Black Glove by Michael Tierres ( Claes Reimerthi ) and Knut Westad . This popular story has only been printed once before by Frew, back in 1988. The newsstand version is a superb cover from Sunday newspaper artist and Supanova guest, Jeff Weigel , but the Supanova Special edition is wrapped in another Frew jam cover, featuring artwork from the some of the regular Frew Crew: Jeremy Macpherson , Jamie Johnson , Jason Paulos , Shane Foley and ‘Chewie’ Chan . Price: $12.50 Pholio Set #7: Pirates The newest in the series of Pholio sets that Frew is releasing will feature A3 size prints of the artwork that was used to create the Black Glove jam cover, as described above. Supanova price: $60. Regular price: $75 Mini Pholio Set #2: Giantsize Phantom covers At Supanova 2018 we saw the first mini Pholio set and this year there will be another released. This is an A4 size collection of all of Glenn Lumsden ’s wonderful Giantsize Phantom covers, along with a special ‘faux’ cover drawn up to complete the set of 8 prints. Supanova price: $50. Regular price: $60 Posters - Set of Five Frew also have a new set of posters for Supanova this year. These include: A Jason Paulos "Vultures" tableaux, the magnificent recolouring of the cover for Frew issue #1834: The Dark Chalice Pt 2, by Grange Wallis , the gorgeous wraparound used for the 2019 New Year's Prince Rex special, by Glenn Lumsden , a new piece from veteran Sal Velluto a recently discovered retro piece from Keith Chatto . All posters are A2 on thick stock. Supanova price: $14 each. Regular price: $18 each Special Edition Hard Cover TPB The highly successful 70th Anniversary trade paperback released by Frew in late 2018 has come in for some special treatment! Printed as an oversize hardcover book, only 60 copies have been created, making it an extremely limited edition. To make these books just that much more special, they have traveled all over the world (Italy, Sweden, USA, Australia) to be signed by every living creator involved in the six stories. The freight costs in this alone contribute to the price point, but make it a remarkably high-end collectible. The hardcover also features a unique Sy Barry drawn bookplate. No photos have been released yet, but Chronicle Chamber has spoken to one of the signatories, who said simply: "It's so beautiful." Price: approx $200 Door Poster? This stunning Chris Wahl image is being used by Frew as the cover of an upcoming release, the first volume of a hardcover collection called Legacy Series . You can listen to details of this series in our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #121 interview with Glenn Ford . The series will collect some of the rarer stories from the 1950s and 60s, with Volume 1 being an anthology of Phantom Adventure stories. Also intended for release at Supanova, this publication has suffered delays at the printers and so unfortunately will not be ready in time. However, Glenn cheekily stated that if more than two people expressed interest in a door-sized version of the print then Frew would look into getting them made. With over 30 people in the Facebook comments putting up their hands (as well as two in the podcast interview!), it would not be a massive surprise to see these on sale at the Booth as well. Projected price: around $60 Attending artists One of the greatest things about Supanova and the Frew Booth is the opportunity for phans to meet the creators behind the stories, to engage with them and have a chat, and to watch them work. We've been touched by the Good Mark in 2019, with a veritable smorgasbord of writing and artistic talent attending. Published cover and story artists 'Chewie' Chan , Shane Foley , Glenn Ford , Jamie Johnson , Jeremy Macpherson , Paul Mason , Jason Paulos and Grange Wallis are all linked to the Frew Booth, with many of them displaying pre-drawn sketch covers and artwork that they will have for sale on their personal social media platforms. Jeff Weigel and Andrew Constant will be present at the convention but largely in their own VIP booths, while Duncan Munro will almost certainly emerge from the shadows at one point or another! All of these items will be made available on the Frew website shortly after the comic convention. We have also been informed that Frew are aiming to have much of this stock at the Perth Supanova event the weekend 29th and 30th June. Only time will tell if Frew will release anything else new. ChronicleChamber will be at Sydney Supanova and on the look out for anything else, so ensure you keep an eye on our website as well as social media platforms as we report from the weekend. #Frew #Supanova #GlennFord #XBand #Podcast #TradingCards #TradePaperback #Pholios #GiancarloCaracuzzo #GabrielleEnriquez #JeffWeigel #ChewieChan #ShaneFoley #JasonPaulos #JamieJohnson #JeremyMacpherson #Giantsize #GlennLumsden #GrangeWallis #KeithChatto #SalVelluto #ChrisWahl #ClaesReimerthi #KnutWestad #DrPaulMason #DuncanMunro #AndrewConstant #SyBarry

Yes, it's that time of year again.... it's time to vote for your FREW Favourite's of 2019 . 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 2019 your favourite Frew stories of 2019 your favourite Frew issues of 2019 and you will be in the running to win one of two Frew Crew badges, or one of three sets of ChronicleChamber stickers! Just vote for Frew's Best of 2019 , using the link below. Final votes and the randomly drawn prize winners 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 FIVE chances to win a prize. They are drawn randomly, so you must enter your name, postal and email address so we can send you your prize. VOTE HERE Voting closes January 12th 2020 , so get in now and Happy Voting! #Frew

So which did you think were the best Frew issues, stories and covers published in 2019? After a huge response from the phans, the Best of Frew 2019 survey has been run and won. Today we're releasing the results - very exciting! It was an expanded survey this year as we added a "Favourite Issue" category, and we were blown away by the entries - over 230 responses in all. The google form document went into hyperdrive on the last day in particular as votes came in thick and fast. It's 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, stories and issues from 2019. Before the individual results, a few points that we noted about the overall voting: 90% of voters come from Australia Votes were shared around. Almost every cover and almost every story received recognition as being in someone's Top picks, so Frew are certainly catering for a wide audience - and doing it successfully. We all need to remember that this a highly subjective list and some phans may disagree with the results. A reminder that the final placings are based on popular votes. Phan votes for Best Frew Cover of 2019 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 covers of the year: Points of note: Special congratulations to Jeremy Macpherson , the only artist to have two covers appear in the Top 10 7 of the top 10 positions were taken by Australian artists, but only 2 of the top 5 3 of these covers have already been made into posters by Frew - Grange Wallis ', Glenn Lumsden 's and Chris Wahl 's (NB the Lumsden has been sold out for some time). Phan votes for Best Frew Story of 2019 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 5 stories of the year: Points of note: Australian-created stories matter for Australians. Their patriotism shows in the survey, with 6 of the 10 phavourite stories being original commissions by Frew. Three of the four that were not Aussie-made are KFS newspaper strips: Phantom Goes to War (1942), The Sky Band (1936), and A Reckoning with The Nomad (2018) Two phavourites in 2019 are reprints of stories over 70 years old At only four pages long, the filler story The Man Who Cannot Die is a reasonably surprising entry at equal 3rd favourite story of 2019 Blood Rain was the only Team Fantomen (Sweden) story to feature in the Top 10. This story placed second in the Fantomen fan-voted Best of 2018 list, beaten by The Ghost at Gallows' Inn. Gallows' Inn was also published by Frew in 2019 (#1847), but finished outside the Top 15 in our poll The much-maligned Phantom by Gaslight will surprise some people in 9th place 8 of the top 10 stories appeared in Special issues. Clearly, the extra effort in an issue makes the story stand out Of the 69 stories to be published by Frew in 2019, only 4 were written and drawn by a single creator. Two of these made the top 10. Phan votes for Best Frew Issue of 2019 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 issues of the year: Points of note: The Annual has been a phan-favourite since its inception and will likely always remain so. The care and detail taken with #1830 was special, and it showed with roughly 1 in 3 respondents voting for that issue as one of their favourites. Classic reprints together with new and modern stories would seem to be a winning combination for Frew - placings 1, 2 and 4 explicitly feature this mix, with the 3rd-placed A Day at the Races arguably fitting into both categories. ​ Overall Without question #1832 has to be declared the overall "winner", placing first in every category. #1850 probably edges out the Annual #1830 by a nose at the post for "second". Thanks to all voters, and a huge "Well done!" to everyone who finished in the Top 10 of any category - with Frew pumping out 41 books and 69 stories last year creating a highly competitive field, to emerge as a popular favourite is no mean feat. And we must say a particularly massive congratulations to Duncan Munro , Jeff Weigel , Matt Kyme , Paul Mason , Pidde Andersson and Wendell Cavalcanti , the creators whose work contributed mightily to the success of the three dominant issues of the year. But most of all: well done, congratulations and THANK YOU to Glenn Ford , Rene White and Dudley Hogarth - the core of the Frew Crew and the men who make all of this possible. Prize Winners! After all that of course we need to say a special congratulations to the five winners of our lucky prize draw, selected at random from all respondents. You can follow the draw in the video below. Miles Chambers and Tony Bates are our lucky winners of the Frew Crew badges - well done. The next three voters drawn at random are winners of a set of ChronicleChamber stickers - congratulations to Thomas O'Donnell , Chad Kyme and Peter Thorley . Make sure you all keep an eye on your mail for the next few days as the prizes make their way to you! So what are your thoughts? Did the right issue, cover and story win? Any surprising placings for you? Please let us know via the comments below or on any of our social media platforms! *Yes, the nose-at-the-post pun was deliberate. #Frew #YearinReview #JeffWeigel #Tessa #WendellCavalcanti #ChrisWahl #LucaErbetta #GlennLumsden #JeremyMacpherson #GrangeWallis #ClaytonBarton #DuncanMunro #MattKyme #LeeFalk #RayMoore #PhillipMadden #TonyDePaul #MikeManley #DrPaulMason #AndreasEriksson #SalVelluto #HeinerBade #AlexSaviuk #JoanBoix #KariLeppänen #CarlosPedrazzini #CesarSpadari #RafaelRuiz #ChristopherSequeira #JasonPaulos #Henriquez #GiancarloCaracuzzo #TeamFantomen #PiddeAndersson #GlennFord #ReneWhite #DudleyHogarth

Frew Publications , home to the world's oldest edition of " The Phantom " comic magazine since 1948, has on more than a few occasions opted to redraw selected episodes of its flagship title. Sometimes this was due to local censorship - in the mid-1950s, Frew Publications either deleted or redrew segments from stories which were considered too violent amidst the anti-comics outcry at the time. Gordon & Gotch , then Australia's largest magazine and comics distributor, required publishers to submit forthcoming issues ahead of publication, so Gotch's staff could review them for potentially controversial content, and ask for it be removed or altered. This was because, in some states, Gordon & Gotch as the distributor could be held legally liable for the sale & distribution of objectionable comics and other "offensive" periodicals. On occasion, these redrawn sections were handled by the late Peter Chapman , who was drawing " The Shadow " and " The Phantom Ranger " for Frew, and working as an in-house editor and artist for them as well. When Chapman was responsible for such work, the altered sections looked good, and made good visual-narrative sense, and compared favorably with the unaltered sections of the Phantom stories concerned. On most occasions, however, the results were very "rough and ready", and looked atrocious. Thankfully, such was the popularity of The Phantom that most readers clearly didn't care - or, at least not in large enough numbers for Frew Publications to take their complaints seriously. However, there is one issue of The Phantom (no.355), published towards the end of 1967, where sections of the original story (" Diana, Aviatrix Lost ", by Lee Falk & Ray Moore ) were clearly it is redrawn by a local artist. (Editors Note: The first two images are the redrawn art examples, the following four are the original by Ray Moore . Click the images to view a larger version) I suspect the reason for this modification had less to do with censorship, and may be due to the fact the original artwork was damaged or misplaced, and therefore unusable. Or Frew Publications couldn't reprint the entire story within a single issue, and opted to have an in-house artist redraw and condense the story to ensure it would fit within the allotted 28 pages - excluding four pages for the covers. Personally, I find these redrawn pages thoroughly charming and enjoyable, and quite skillful in their own way, not least because I think they're a considerable improvement on Ray Moore 's original artwork. And they capture the old-fashioned "look & feel" of the early Phantom stories which I loved so much as kid. But the question remains - who the devil drew this? Their style is completely unrecognizable to me, which is why I've included two examples of the redrawn pages, in case anyone out there can "spot" the artist. No guess is too wild, no conjecture is too fanciful - let the nominations begin! To get us started, I thought these pages might have been drawn by Fred Cul Cullen , who drew the " Jolly Swagman " comics in the 1970's, but I've since discarded that idea. (Editors note) This article was originally posted on the " Australian Comics History - 1960-2010 " Facebook page and has been published here with Kevin Patrick 's permission. If you would like to learn more about Kevin, you can listen to a podcast with him here . If the interest is there, we will bring some more local edited / censored / redrawn examples of past Lee Falk and Ray Moore / Wilson McCoy stories. Please let us know.

Bild & Bubbla has a long tradition of writing about the Phantom in their magazine. We have previously written about the magazine and some of their earlier covers here. In the latest issue of Bild & Bubbla (issue 222) there are two pieces about The Phantom in Australia and its influence by Swedish creators. One of the articles is written by Andreas Eriksson and is about the history of the publication from the debut in Australian Women's Mirror in 1936 all the way to present day with Frew . The magazine also includes an interview from Frew creators in Andreas Eriksson and Pidde Andersson written by Fredrik Strömberg . The questions are along the lines about how they came in contact with the Frew Crew , what the differences are between Frew and Team Fantomen and also the differences between phans from Sweden and Australia. One of the most interesting parts of the interviews is the number of scripts written by the two. Pidde has sold 16 scripts to Frew at this point, where we have only seen 5 published to date of this article including Shangri-La (Phantoms World #4), Jungle Love (Frew Trade Paperback #2), Requiem (Frew #1830), Evil Lurks in the Night (Frew #1854) & Inked in Blood pt 1&2 (Frew #1861 & 1862). A couple others have been drawn and are awaiting publishing, and another 3-4 are being worked on at the moment by different artists. Andreas on the other hand, has sold 4 scripts, with the first being drawn at the moment, and he has some more plots approved that need to be written into full scripts. You can buy and become a member of the magazine on their website to receive your own copies of future editions.

From 1992 - 2016, Frew Publications produced 31 issues of the Phantom every year. When the new Frew Crew of Glenn Ford and Rene White took over in January 2016, they implemented an annual publishing schedule of 28 regular issues regular issues, but also started bringing in new titles like Phantom's World , Kid Phantom and also reprised Giantsize Phantom . As we head into 2020, we have become aware that the number of regular issues per year will drop again, down to 26. Not announced with any fanfare, rather the reduced production schedule appeared via subscription renewal notices letter going out to subscribers. While not specifically stated, eagle-eyed phans noted the issue numbers slated for the year. It must be noted that the regular subscription price dropped accordingly from $190 to $185, with a commensurate drop in the cost of a Signature Series subscription. Initially this may seem like a shock to the system with readers getting fewer comics, but that would be an unfair appraisal. Since 2017, Frew have released those extra special issues Giantsize , Kid Phantom and Phantom's World , as well as broadening their scope into Trade Paperbacks, The Phantom Adventure s and the graphic novel Sword of the Caliph . These have been successfully received by the Phantom public and look set to continue into the future. If you include all comics and books from the last three years, it averages out that roughly once a week something new is being released by the crew at Frew. Not in the almost 85-year history of The Phantom have readers been this blessed and spoiled for choice. Naturally we contacted Frew for comment. Publisher Dudley Hogarth had this to say: "Yes, the annual subscriptions has been reduced to 26 per year which includes the Annual. We (Frew) have found during our research that the market has been oversupplied with Phantom's and the staff has been stretched way too thin. If we can keep it at one regular approx a fortnight then we will have time to get Trade Paperbacks and Graphic Novels onto the shelf. Fear not, there will still be Phantom aplenty! We don't see a reduction from 28 to 26 in the regular sub as a big deal. It is plainly stated in the renewal notices and the price has reduce from $190 to $185 despite a rise in postal costs; this reflects the drop of 2 x 36 page comics which will be offset by additional surprises." Some may take this as a sign of the company failing and struggling and we did ask this of Frew. Interestingly, they replied that some phans have been commenting to them that there is too much Phantom available to buy with a special issue released almost every month along with a regular Frew comic every 1-2 weeks. Common wisdom has it that the average Phantom Frew buyer would be over 50 years old. While Frew comics are still cheaper than most, a recent price raise would add to the fact that some may not be able to afford to buy everything. The team at Chronicle Chamber do not see this is a problem and if anything, may even be a positive as Frew continue to make hard decisions to streamline and make the business prosperous into the new decade. We would love to hear what your thoughts are of this recent development. You can comment either on our social media accounts or feel free to drop us an email. We do want to take this time to say that if anyone has a problem with this, they should contact Frew themselves instead of taking to social media with their angst. We will be commenting on this in our next Comics & News podcast, and will include any comments made by the phans. Thanks to Frew for replying to our questions regarding this and to those Frew subscribers who helped confirm the change of numbers with a copy of their subscription letters. #Frew #TradePaperback #DudleyHogarth #ReneWhite #GlennFord

Luca Erbetta is one of the few artists who draws covers for Frew Publications and also Egmont and as you will learn he also has a new cover coming out soon for a third Phantom publisher. In this podcast we learn all about Luca, his history as an artist for European and USA publishers and his blossoming Phantom career. Luca goes through in detail his 9 Phantom covers and other illustrations including commissions, the Frew / Phanfare Trading Card and his past Phantom costumes. We ask the question a lot of art collectors want to know is if any of the covers are done in traditional mediums for purchase. You will have to watch and listen for the answer. You can follow Luca Erbetta at either: His website His Instagram page His ArtStation page His patreon page

In Frew 1875, Dudley Hogarth announced that Frew Publications are now having their comics distributed through a major Australian supermarket chain in Coles . In the Message from the Publisher Dudley said the comics are now distributed in 500 stores Australia wide. Approx 80% of all Australians shop at either Coles and Woolworths (the other main Australian supermarket chain). According to the Coles website they have 2,500+ stores in Australia and 21 million visitors to their shops weekly. That is a huge amount of customers who can become new phans and to help reconnect old phans. Time will tell if this move brings about an increase of sales, however getting the comics to where the public can see the comics is a start. Now it is over to Frew, to get these customers to buy and become long life phans. Gary on Facebook has already posted a photo of Frew 1875 in the wild. It is also worth noting that Coles do not offer the comic on their 'click and collect' service.

Frew sneaked in a new concept at the back of Frew 1876 with the publication off the short two page story "Heloise on Adventure" which is a 2014 Team Fantomen story, written by Alan Sonne, with art by Kim W. Andersson. It is the first in the The World of the Phantom series of short stories and the first Frew Publishing has published in their comic. With the "Heart of Darkness" saga soon coming to end, it is important to see what Frew are going to do with the left over pages in their 36 page regular comic. The stories created by Team Fantomen and Frew are normally 22-24 pages. While forum letters are phun to read, majority would prefer another Phantom story to read. Since "Heloise on Adventure" which was the first "World of the Phantom" stories Team Fantomen has published 18 short stories ranging from two pages to four pages. Alan Sooner, is a psydeum for Fantomen editor Mikael Sol. The other creators are: Kim W. Andersson, Jimmy Wallin, Karl Johnsson, Lars Krantz, Elin Jonsson, Cristiano Crescenzi and Anders Végh Blidlöv. Majority of the stories are focused on either familiar secondary characters like Guran, Kit and Heloise, or Hzz, or other original characters while clearly set in the same continuity as the regular Team Fantomen universe. However some are tribute stories with the art style in Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy and Sy Barry which you can see below. If you would like to learn more about the series, I would suggest the Phantom Wiki - link to the "World of the Phantom stories". It remains to be seen if Frew publish all 18 and even if Team Fantomen creates more or if Frew will use these as fillers and create their own. As raised in the X-Band: The Phantom Podcast episode #169, we all wonder if these style of stories will suit the potential Coles market more as well?

So which did you think were the best Frew issues, stories and covers published in 2020? After a huge response from the phans, the Best of Frew 2020 survey has been run and won. Today we're pleased to be releasing the results, both here and in conjunction with our "Best of 2020" podcast. Once again we were blown away by the entries - over 210 responses in all. It's 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, stories and issues from the year that was 2020. Before the individual results, a point to note about the overall voting - 2020 was a very even year with only one or two stand outs as you will soon see. For the most part, votes were very much shared around this year: 31 of 32 covers received votes (i.e. in someone's top 3) 56 of 60 stories received votes (i.e. in someone's top 5) 33 of 34 issues received votes (i.e. in someone's top 3) Obviously Frew are catering for a very wide audience - and doing it very successfully. Phan votes for Best Frew Cover of 2020 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 covers of the year: Points of note: With his first two covers for Frew, Daniel Picciotto takes out positions 1 and 5 - looks like Frew have unearthed a new phan phavourite! With only two cover contributions for the year, perennial vote-getter Jamie Johnson has placed in 2nd and 3rd A wonderful effort from Grange Wallis , the only artist to have three covers appear in the Top 10 9 of the top 11 positions were taken by Australian artists, and all 5 of the top 5 Phan votes for Best Frew Story of 2020 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 5 stories of the year: Points of note: 2020 was something of a return to form for Team Fantomen stories, filling 4 of the top 6 positions after only having one in the top 10 last year. That said, support for local creations continues, with 4 of the top 10 phavourite stories being original commissions by Frew. Interestingly, 6 of the top 10 stories were serials. Of these, only The Triads was collected into a single book with the others all spread across multiple issues. Phan votes for Best Frew Issue of 2020 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 issues of the year: Points of note: Featuring such a popular cover and story, as well as a couple of Lee Falk / Sy Barry classics, it's probably no surprise that #1869 would be the leader in the 'Best Issue' category too. Likewise, the Annual has taken its traditional position near the top of the podium. It probably is more surprising that a trio of regular issues would appear in the top 5, above more fancied releases such as the Trade Paperback and Christmas special. ​ Overall Without question #1869 has to be declared the overall "winner" of 2020, placing first in every category. This is the second year in a row we have seen such a clear-cut result after #1832 last year - interestingly both of these issues are specials featuring a Duncan Munro / Jeff Weigel original story paired with Falk / Barry classics. Thanks to all voters, and a huge "Well done!" to everyone who finished in the Top 10 of any category - with Frew pumping out 34 books and 60 stories last year creating a highly competitive field, to emerge as a popular favourite is no mean feat. Most of all: well done, congratulations and THANK YOU to Glenn Ford , Rene White and Dudley Hogarth - the core of the Frew Crew and the men who make all of this possible. Prize Winners! After all that of course we need to say a special congratulations to the five winners of our lucky prize draw, selected at random from all respondents. We conducted the draw during our "Best of 2020" podcast - check it out in the video below. Daniella Colombara and Nick Moles are our lucky winners of the Frew Crew badges - well done. The next three voters drawn at random are winners of a set of ChronicleChamber merch (keyring, pin, sticker) - congratulations to Shane , Glaucio Cardoso and Adrian Wade . Make sure you all keep an eye on your mail for the next few days as the prizes make their way to you! So what are your thoughts? Did the right issue, cover and story win? Any surprising placings for you? Please let us know via the comments below or on any of our social media platforms!

There's no doubt that across the globe, 2020 delivered many of us the ultimate Skull Mark. However, the same cannot be said for Frew Publications as they continued to pump out high quality and increasingly original stories and covers. As the year thankfully comes to a close, the Frew Crew and the Chronicle Chamber team are keen to know what you thought of this year's Phantom releases. What were your FREW Favourite's of 2020? 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 select: your favourite Frew covers your favourite Frew stories your favourite Frew issues and you will be in the running to win one of two Frew Crew badges, or one of three sets of Chronicle Chamber merch, including a sticker, pin and keyring! Just vote for Frew's Best of 2020 , using the link below. Final results and the randomly drawn prize winners will be announced and published in a Frew Phantom comic, on the "Best of 2020" episode of X-Band-The Phantom Podcast , and here on ChronicleChamber.com. The best news is there will be FIVE chances to win a prize. They are drawn randomly, so you must enter your name, postal and email address so we can send you your prize. VOTE HERE Voting closes January 11th 2020 , so get in now and Happy Voting! #Frew

Frew issue 1877 is an 84 page issue which features the classic daily newspaper story " The Adventures of Lucy Cary " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry . It also features a new story titled " The Outlaws " which is a follow on story with the 19th Phantom, his wife Jane / Janie and his brother in law Dr Bart Cary. This is a new story by Swedish writer Pidde Andersson and Brazilian artist Rafael Dantas . Pidde is not new to Frew readers but Rafael is. In the comic, he was incorrectly given credit as Rafael Lopez but we can confirm it is Rafael Dantas . We are lucky enough to have spent some time with Rafael and now you can to. Introducing Rafael Dantas... Chronicle Chamber: Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What country and region are you from? Rafael Dantas: Hello everyone, well I am Brazilian, I was born in Ceará , a state in the northeast of Brazil . I have been working for almost 15 years with comics, I was an assistant to a great artist called Al Rio , who gave me the first opportunities, since then I have worked in some small publishers and with advertising hype and I was part of the Instituto dos Quadrinhos agency. I am also a author and creator of stories with a Brazilian theme, I am the author of " Mandacru Vermelho" and the designer of " Lâmina Azulada" (this is a current success in Brazil) as well as " Cavaleiro Avante" , a comic that I drew with characters created by my son. 3 years ago I updated my line of work to a more classic style and since then I have achieved great projects in the market, I designed Dr. Who for Titan Comics , Black Betty for Action Lab Comics and several independent works that are about to come out on the market until I arrive to The Phantom. CC: Did you study art and if yes, where did you study? RD: I didn't have the opportunity to study art in big centers or colleges, but I did excellent courses with great local artists who worked and work for the international market. I took courses in the studio Daniel Brandão , a great artist and teacher in my region, a course with the late Al Rio and recently the artist Rafael Tavares , a great illustrator. CC: Is there anyone in particular who has inspired you and influenced your work? RD: Yes, I was very influenced by the way of looking at the art of my former teacher and master Al Rio . And recently some artists have directly influenced my art, Alex Toth , Corrado Mastantuono , Chris Samnee and Moebius , after I met these artists and started to study them my work took new directions. CC: What made you want to be an artist? RD: That feeling started early, very young with my first Daredevil magazine, I fell in love with comics and when I started reading X-Men at the stage of Chris Claremont and Jim Lee I was sure it was what I wanted. CC: How would you describe your style? RD: Well, I believe that readers can evaluate it better, I confess that I still feel in the search to find my identity, I study a lot today designers like Alex Toth , Jean Giroud and Corrado Mastantuono , I believe it is a more classic line that I'm looking for, I hope this is reflected in the public. CC: Do you like working on the Phantom? Did you know of the Phantom before you started work on those stories? Did you ever read the character? RD: Yes, I already knew Phantom, when I started collecting comics in my childhood, Phantom was published in Brazil, I read a lot and he ended up becoming my favorite character. Do I love Phantom? Drawing Phantom is a dream come true, I say without fear that the character I always dreamed of working with. CC: How did you get the role of the Phantom for Frew Publishing ? RD: It was a big surprise. Phantom was not published in Brazil in a long time, except for some special editions. I didn't know Frew and thought Phantom didn't have any more publications until I saw a friend's Facebook post talking about an Frew edition. I quickly ran to research and to my surprise found that Phantom was a success in Australia. I sent my portfolio and a few days later Mr. Dudley Hogarth responded by offering me a job. Wow, it was a great moment. Incredible moment. CC: Your first Frew story has just been published (Frew 1877) and you also had a card design for the (Australian) Frew Gallery trading card series. Do you like working on interior comics? RD: Yes, I do, I really love drawing comics and I intend to do that until my last days. CC: Do you have any other Frew / Phantom work in the pipeline? RD: Yes, I still can't say much, but I am very pleased to announce that I am working on a new Phantom magazine. CC: How Exciting! With " The Outlaws " Frew story, did you use any references for the time period of the story and for the known characters like Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid ? RD: Yes, for sure, the adventure takes place in a past century, everything was researched, from photos and references of cities, towns, trains, cars to the characters with their clothes and costumes. I consider this fundamental to the final quality of a good story. CC: How was it working with Pidde Andersson and Glenn Ford from Frew Publishing ? RD: Pidde is a lot of fun, a very friendly guy and with sensational responses hahaha, I hope to work with him again, always accessible, a great writer. Mr Glenn is a great editor, always attentive, patient, I just have words to thank for the opportunity to draw Phantom. CC: Do you work traditionally using pencils, inks on paper or do you prefer working on the computer? What is your process? RD: Nowadays I work digitally, using an Ipad Pro. But the Phantom's work was all done in the traditional way, with paper and inks. I confess that I have preferred to work in digital, but Phantom is a job that deserves a more traditional look. Digitally work in layers using two programs, Procreate and Clip Studio Paint. In the Traditional way, I make small thumbnails on offset paper, then reproduce the layout on the appropriate paper using pencil and mechanical pencil, finally comes the artwork with Uni-Pin pens and brushes. CC: You are currently doing some ‘ Inktober ’ Phantom pieces, will they be for sale? RD: Yes, I will soon put them on sale, I am still not sure if on eBay or on the Phantom fan pages, I will soon decide that. CC: Before we go we must ask, do you accept commissions and how can they contact you? Also do you have a place where phans can see your work? RD: Yes of course, even since the announcement of being a Phantom artist I have already received orders. You can contact me via social media. I will leave the contacts below. CC: Do you have a place where phans can see your work? RD: Yes, follow the links of my social networks and gallery. A big hug to everyone and soon another Phantom story on the way. Instagram: @rafaeldantasart Behance: @Rafael-Dantas Facebook: @Rafael.Dantas.3956

The trade paperback from Frew Publications is now available to buy from their website plus comic book stores and book shops. Attached is our detailed review of the book plus the seven stories inside. Our review of the board game will come soon. This is the fourth Frew TPB and follows the standard layout with the other three that does not disappoint with a slick, professional and eye catching presentation that makes it a TPB die hard and casual phans a-like will want to buy. The details for the seven stories are: " Rise of the Red Dragon, Part 1 " written by Dale Maccanti and drawn by Jason Paulos Originally published in Frew #1813 " Rise of the Red Dragon, Part 2 " written by Dale Maccanti and drawn by Jason Paulos Originally published in Frew #1823 " Pirates of the Red Dragon, Part 1: Princess Sin " written by Norman Worker and drawn by Georges Bess Originally published in Frew #1781 & Fantomen 6/1979 " Pirates of the Red Dragon, Part 2: Fatal Passion " written by Norman Worker and drawn by Georges Bess Originally published in Frew #1782 & Fantomen 9/1979 " Pirates of the Red Dragon, Part 3: Sentenced to Doom " written by Norman Worker and drawn by Georges Bess Originally published in Frew #1783 & Fantomen 12/1979 " The Adventure of the Dragon's Leg, Part 1 " written by Julie Ditrich and drawn by Wendell Cavalcanti First time published " The Adventure of the Dragon's Leg, Part 2 " written by Julie Ditrich and drawn by Wendell Cavalcanti First time published As you can tell by the video review, there are not many things wrong with the presentation and or the stories. This is a book that I suggest all to buy. The whole team will be reviewing this TPB in our next X-Band: The Phantom Podcast . We would love to hear from you on what you think of this Princess Sin - Treasure of Drakon TPB and review. You can email us at chroniclechamebr@gmail.com or via our social media profiles: Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREW CREW!!! Tuesday 23 February we celebrated 5 years of the Frew Crew releasing their first comic and we discussed what they have done throughout the years. Plus we will try and play Nostradamus on what we think they will do in the future. Tale of the tape After Jim Shepherd 's death in April 2013, Judith and their son Stephen stepped in and kept the title alive. Stephen introduced a number of initiatives, such as the Frew website, purchased a license for the posters and brought in the infamous Replica Series. Stephen also started the process of improving the covers. In 2014 Dudley Hogarth came in to replace Stephen. Then in December 2015 Judith signed off and after almost two months of no Frew comics, Frew issue 1745 was released on 23 February 2016. It has been often described, particularly by members of Chronical chamber, as a Frew-naissance ever since. The Frew Crew are: Glenn Ford : Co-Director Rene White : Co-Director Dudley Hogarth : Publisher Sha Hua : Production Coordinator Frank Schultz : Production Manager Issues per Year Frew released are: 2016: 28 2017: 36 2018: 42 2019: 38 2020: 34 Key milestones of each year 2016 Colour (1748), first of heaps of Spada comics (1753), kiwi covers, 80th anniversary (1763), christmas album colour/theme (1772), Signature Series, Supanova stall and accompanying Supanova jam cover (1755) and posters Pholio series, Frew Crew badges 2017 Kid Phantom, Phantom’s World stand alone, Gaslight, Giant Size, first TPB, first themed annual (1774), Triptych cover (1792-4) and then poster, Phantom Universe cards and folder, Phile cards and folder (1775), sketch cover 2018 Frew 70th (1820), sequel/prequel stories to classics (Sin 1813) and Frew 70th, TPB 2, Kid Phantom Kollection 2019 War annual (1830), 1850 (Matt Kyme), 1852 (colour daily and BZ on cover), Frew trading cards, Jam story printed (1855), first graphic novel, Frew games boardgame kickstarter, Phantom Adventures Collection and door poster 2020 Kid Phantom & PW cancelled, TPB #3 out, Comixology 2021 (so far) Frew Games boardgame released, TPB #4 out, We then asked a heap of questions: What has been the THREE best things they have done What has been the THREE worst things they have done If Frew Crew were to end tomorrow, what would be their lasting legacy? Which has been your top THREE moments with Frew? What’s been your favourite Frew product? What’s been your favourite Frew comic/tpb? Looking into the future. What is the next step for Frew? If you were to join Frew, what would you do? What's your Best Frew year? Make sure you stay with us and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and or our YouTube Channel . We would love to hear from you on what you think of this podcast episode and want to know your answers to our questions. You can email us at chroniclechamebr@gmail.com or chat with us via our social media profiles: Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram .

Phans have long suggested strongly that Frew Publications needed to hire a social media manager to take control of their accounts and promote the character and their products better. It is unfair for Dudley Hogarth and Glenn Ford to do that on top of producing comics and merchandise for us to buy. Finally something has happened and Frew have now hired someone who can help them. This is a quick interview with Trenton Ryder the social media manager hired to take Frew into the next century. We plan on getting Trent to join us in our next comics and news X-Band: The Phantom Podcast . In the meantime, read on to learn about him plus his strategy for Frew . ChronicleChamber: Hello, welcome and thanks for your time. First of all, what is your name and how old are you? Trent Ryder: Trenton Ryder and I’m 19, turning 20 in February. CC: Did / do you ever read the Phantom? TR: I do. the first issue I ever read/owned was Frew #1722 "A Plague in Venice" , I saw it in a store back in 2015 and was captivated by the cover artwork which led me to buy it and begin my Phantom comic reading journey. CC: How did you get the role at Frew ? TR: I’ve spent the last two years working in the film industry, I did 2 movies for Vertical Entertainment and then managed the digital marketing for Bret Easton Ellis ’ Smiley Face Killers which was a big deal to me, I loved Bret’s novel and film American Psycho and it was such an honour to work alongside Lionsgate to get the film out there, i was so stoked to be apart of that project. I’m so proud of the work I did on those movies but I didn’t want to be known in my career field for only working on film campaigns, I wanted to do something more hands on and branch myself out and test my creativity. I’m currently at University full time getting my Bachelors Degree in Marketing & Communications, which means I’m unable to work for a company in person due to the scheduling not working well for me. but I also didn’t want to halt my career entirely given how good things have been going for me the last couple months. That’s when me and Rene White from Frew got into contact, Frew were looking to dabble into the digital space and I was looking to direct social campaigns in a way that fits my schedule, after bouncing some ideas to each other we agreed to test the water on giving the publisher a social media presence for up to 12 months to see how things turn out. CC: What is your aim for the Frew role? TR: I think The Phantom is such an amazing character, but he’s not really remembered that well following the influx of superhero’s that spawned from the DC and Marvel brand over the decades. I was chatting with my friend Michael who is the Associate Editor at this massive Superhero / Comic Book news website called Bam Smack Pow the other night about it, we both agreed that this character deserved to be represented in the comic book community based off how big of a part he played in evolving the masked crusader character type we see everywhere in pop culture today. My main goal for my year at Frew is to push the character as much as I possibly can in the social space to try and boost his relevance and get him the attention he deserves amongst comic book fans. If I’m too move onto a new job in a years time I hope I can leave knowing I helped give this character the hype he deserves. CC: What do you look to bring to the table? TR: I love my career field, I have such a great time doing what I get to do; but a big part of that for me is creating stuff that isn’t usually seen from other Social Media Managers and other Digital Campaigns, for example the SFK campaign earlier this year I was chatting with the lead actor, Ronen Rubinstein , about what sort of approach we wanted to take towards the films social marketing, because the marketing plan the studio had invented wasn’t boding well amongst fans and critics - I might get in trouble for this but what the studios marketing team was doing was just straight up awful. Around January we completely revamped the accounts and essentially made the account less of a Professional Work account and more of a friend-like presence amongst Ronen and his fandom. The movie gained a lot more popularity following the change of social media and it was just genuinely such a fun thing to execute for me creatively. So to answer the question, I hope I can bring something new to the table that hasn’t been done before from other brands like DC or Marvel , something that’s less on the professional side and more on the creative side; cause there’s nothing I enjoy more than giving the social pages I run their own voice that is outside the normal of what people expect. I haven’t exactly figured out what I want that special thing to be when it comes to this character and this campaign, but when I eventually figure it out you bet it’s going to be something you wouldn’t expect. stay tuned, it’s only the beginning for PhantomComicsAU ;) CC: We see a new Twitter account @PhantomComicsAU . What's your plan for twitter? TR: I chose to launch the Twitter first because in my opinion it’s the best social platforms out there and it’s a great place to handle fan engagement; The twitter is going to be a great place to showcase fans, fan art, fan projects as well as the talent artists who work for Frew Publications and bring these comics to life.. and obviously on top of all that It’ll be the best place to find out information on all upcoming Phantom related releases and projects. CC: What about Facebook? TR: Frew currently have an existing Facebook Page they’ve used over the last couple of years and we’re currently in the process of transferring ownership of the account to me so I can begin Facebook campaigning. CC: Any other social media platforms you are looking at using? TR: I just launched the Instagram account yesterday and I’m also interested in bringing Phantom Comics to TikTok. Also, I’m developing plans to extend Kid Phantom on social media, but that will come into effect a little later down the line once I’ve established the Phantom socials first. CC: Thank you so much for your time and look forward to chatting with you on our next X-Band: The Phantom Podcast ! TR: Thank you and it will be a pleasure to joining you guys on a podcast!