Frew announced via their mailing list on 11 November 2024 that after the phile card 2000 has been released, they will be stopping providing them at number 2000. Back in 2017, Frew announced them initially as a subscriber incentive idea. Philecards are trading card-sized collector cards, showing the cover to every single Phantom comic that Frew has produced, starting at #1. On the back are all the relevant information about that issue including the publishing date, the name of the story, the name of the original story, the cover artist, number of pages and cover price. This information was gathered by historians Barry Stubbersfield and David Budds , distributor Gordon and Gotch , and their own archives. Issue 2000 will be released around June 2025 and if our math's is correct, that will also mark the comic when the last packet of phile cards are released. What may ruin some phans OCD is the fact that it wont end at a perfect set of 9. For those who are still collecting and have paid for their Philecard subscription, Frew have announced that any outstanding subscription will be refunded. Please note, we are talking about the philecards ending and not the Frew comic.

Fabio Alves (or Fabio Walker as he goes by) is the latest sequential artist from the Frew stable. We first saw his work in Frew 1976 as he took over from Daniel Piccitto for the ongoing "Operation Domino" series written by Duncan Munro . The series features the Phantom interwoven in the second world war with real life SOE agents who are fighting undercover against the Axis. You can listen and or watch our review of the first two parts in our July 2024 Comics and News podcast from the 32 minute mark. With the series continuing in Frew 1979 , we present an introduction interview with the sequential artist, Fabio Alves . Chronicle Chamber: Welcome to the team and to start off, Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What country and region are you from? Fabio Alves: I'm an illustrator, who lives in the northeast region of Brazil , in the city of Solânea , state of Paraíba . CC: How did you become an artist? Where did you study art? FA: I was a very young child, my aunt had a fiancé, who taught me how to draw a cube. From then on, what I learned was empirically and I continue to learn. CC: Is there anyone who has inspired you and influenced your work? FA: My biggest influences are the art of Mike Mignola , from the 1990s and Sy Barry . I really admire other artists like John Paul Leon ! However, I don’t have a specific reference in my art. Probably everything I like added to my own style. CC: Did you know of the Phantom before you started work on those stories? Did you ever read the stories prior? FA: Of course, the Phantom is my favorite character. CC: What do you think of the stories created by Duncan Munro ? FA: I really enjoy working with him, because in addition to really liking what he writes, he also gives me freedom within his script. So, I'm quite happy with that. CC: Did you have any stories you want to share with us about working with Glenn Ford and or Duncan Munro ? FA: I believe we are fans of The Phantom! So this important detail makes the work special. CC: Do you work traditionally using pencils, inks on paper or do you prefer working on the computer? FA: I work through traditional means, but I prefer digital, as it is more practical and offers more possibilities. CC: Could you go over your process for us? Do you get the script in English? FA: I receive the script, I translate it. I ask for references, do research and carry out the work. CC: What is your favourite moment with the series of short stories you have drawn with Duncan Munro ? FA: Chapter 5, in which The Phantom meets Winston Churchill . CC: Do you have any other Phantom Frew work in the pipe line after this series? FA: Yes, we are already in production with a story that I like even more than the previous one. CC: Do you accept commissions and how can they contact you? FA: Yes I do! Just get in touch by email at phabio.pio1@gmail.com CC: Do you have a place where phans can see your work? FA: I'm thinking about a website. However, at the moment, through my Instagram you can see some clippings of my work: @phabio.alves CC: Thank you for your time and we look forward to reading your stories in our Frew issues.

The results from Chronicle Chamber's annual poll of Frew phans' phavourites results are in! We greatly appreciate all the phans who cast their votes during the Christmas break, sharing their appreciation for the work of Frew Publications from the year that was 2024. Voting numbers remained consistent with last year's figures, and we saw a diverse group of phans from across Australia and indeed the world taking the time to express their opinions, providing us with clear insights into Frew's successes over the past year. Through the year Frew continued to appeal to a large phan base with 17 different cover artists appearing on a proven variety of issue sizes and types, with seven brand new stories, 23 stories never before published by Frew and 24 reprint stories (these mostly appearing in the now familiar replica series).. By way of an overview before moving through the individual results, it's clear that FREW continue to produce something for everyone: ALL 30 covers received votes (i.e. was in someone's top 3) ALL 54 stories received votes (i.e. was in someone's top 5) 27 of 30 issues received votes (i.e. was in someone's top 3) For a full break down of the results, the team have a full examination and exploration in episode #298 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast . Phan votes for Best FREW Cover of 2024 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 covers of the year: Points of note: A massive congratulations to Daniel Picciotto , taking first place with his only Frew cover for the year. Daniel is clearly a phan favourite, having previously topped this poll with first place for his covers in 2020 and 2021. Another serve of congratulations to Jeremy Macpherson , with his two Frew covers for 2022 sharing in a tie for second place in the phan poll. A Frew cover artist since 2014 (Jeremy actually produced the cover for #1735, the first issue under the new Frew Crew regime), this is his second year in the top 3 having also placed twice in the top 3 of 2023. A thoroughly-deserved honourable mention to Lauren Marshall , who joins Jeremy as the only cover artist with two entries in the top 10. Welcome to Marcelo Baez , whose fourth cover for Frew earns his first appearance in the annual Top 10 list. Frew readers have again proven themselves to be a patriotic bunch, with 9 of the top 10 positions filled by Australian artists. Phan votes for Best FREW Story of 2024 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 5 stories of the year: Points of note: Demonstrating that serialised stories are still popular with comic book readers, especially when the chapters come out in quick succession, the eight-part Operation Domino series heads the 2024 Top 10. Congratulations to the creative team, especially writer Duncan Munro who reprises his 2019-2021 form when tales from his Prince Rex saga topped the poll in each of these years. Sole creator Matt Kyme is another consistent performer, having previously placed in the Top 3 in in 2019 and 2022. Without revealing the full details, we can say that Kyme's Enter the Phantom and Munro's Operation Domino dominated this year's poll - it was tight in first and second, then a reasonable gap to third. In 2024 the only creators to have multiple entries in the Top 10 were Shane Foley , Pidde Andersson and the pairing of Andrew Constant and Jason Paulos . Oh, and some blokes named Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy ... Well done Shane, Pidde, Andrew and Jason on joining some illustrious company. Continuing the trend, our Top 10 list is once again dominated by original stories developed and commissioned by Frew themselves. While there was a reduction in the total number of Frew Crew stories in 2024 (only seven this year), tellingly all seven of them made the Top 10 list. A reminder that last year there were eight in the final list, with seven each in 2021 and 2022. Phan votes for Best FREW Issue of 2024 According to the popular vote, where people nominated their Top 3 issues of the year: Points of note: Congratulations to Matt Kyme (story writer and artist) and Marcelo Baez (cover artist) on issue #1969 achieving top place in 2024. This is the first time ever that a humble 36-page regular issue has topped the charts in the eight years we have been conducting the poll. #1969 just pipped the 2024 Annual and #1972 the 2000th issue, which shared second place. This is probably something of a surprise, as at the beginning of the year the 2000th issue would have been a short-priced favourite to win the poll this year (backing up from the success of the 75th Anniversary issue in 2023). Having Operation Domino pop up as a 'back-up' story certainly does no harm to a comic book, with their offerings featuring in 5 of the 7 regular issues to make the top 10. ​Thanks to all voters, and a huge "Well done!" to everyone who finished rear the top of any category - with Frew pumping out an amazing 30 books and 54 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. The live draw of winners was conducted toward the end of our "Best of 2024" episode X-Band: The Phantom Podcast (#298), which you can listen to on your favourite platform or watch on Youtube. Sean is the lucky winner of the Frew merch pack featuring a Messenger Bag, a Frew Crew badge and assorted paraphernalia - well done. The next four voters drawn at random are winners of a set of ChronicleChamber merch - congratulations to Ken, Christopher, Stuart and Adam . Make sure you all keep an eye on your mail as the prizes make their way to you! So what are your thoughts? Did the right issue, cover and story win? Any surprise placings for you? Can you complain if you didn't manage to vote? Please let us know via any of our social media platforms!

The Frew Annual has always been an amazing tradition since it first started in 1991. According to the advert in Frew issue 1987, the 2025 annual will be the Phantom battling monsters. It will be out in shops on Thursday 16 January 2025. No word yet on a list of stories, the cover artist and by judging purely on the preview image will any Lee Falk created or newspaper stories be included in the annual. The annual will have some colour stories with at least one of them created by Jason Paulos. Two of the stories that will be featured in the monster themed annual are "The Mummy's Curse" which is a 1976 Team Fantomen story written by Janne Lundström, with art by Jaime Vallvé. It was last printed by Frew in #1109 (1995) and in Sweden Fantomen 21-22/1992. The second story is "Vultures Over Vacul" which is a 1976 Team Fantomen story, written by John Bull, with art by Jaime Vallvé. It was last printed by Frew in #1652 (2012), Indrajal Comics #341-342 and in Fantomen Krönika 2/2010. From a newspaper point of view, one of the many stories featuring Hzz would surely be featured but two others could be "The Sea God" the 95th Phantom daily story which was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Sy Barry. This was last published by Frew in #1312 (2002). The second suggestion would be "Waterman", the 147th Phantom Sunday story. It was written by Lee Falk and drawn by George Olesen and Fred Fredericks. This was last published by Frew in #1197 (1998). What stories would you like to see in a Monster themed annual? Are you excited by this? Thanks goes to Anthony Gillies for the heads up on this news. If you spot anything we have missed, please let us know. If you would like to join the team, please email us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com.

Never a crew to let the grass grow under still feet, Frew Publications in Australia have had another stellar publishing year. Once again this year, Phantom readers have been treated to a range of brand new Phantom tales, other stories previously only published in non-English languages, classic stories well overdue for a re-print, and beautiful considered artwork. This year they released another 30 issues featuring 31 covers - in 2024 a remarkable 14 of these were genuine wraparound covers with an extension of the front cover art moving seamlessly onto the rear of the book, with a further five having back cover art by the front cover artist. With a number of serialised stories extending their chapters across multiple issues, there are 57 unique Phantom stories for us to enjoy - once again in 2024 Frew have delivered in numbers that other Phantom publishers around the world do not come close to. Now, onto the $64,000 question – what were your favorites? For the seventh consecutive year, the Frew Crew and the Chronicle Chamber team are eagerly awaiting your thoughts on this year's Phantom releases. What stood out as your Frew Favourites of 2024? Frew Publications and Chronicle Chamber have once again joined forces to create a survey for you to share your ideas and opinions. Simply pick: Your favorite Frew covers Your favorite Frew stories Your favorite Frew issues You could be one of the lucky winners! A Frew merch pack - featuring a Messenger bag containing a Frew Crew badge and other miscellaneous merch, and four sets of Chronicle Chamber merch are up for grabs! To cast your vote for Frew's Best of 2024 , follow the link below: VOTE HERE The final results and the randomly drawn prize winners will be revealed and celebrated on the "Best of 2024" episode of X-Band-The Phantom Podcast recorded and published early in the new year, and of course right here on ChronicleChamber.com . And here's the best part – there are FIVE chances to win a prize! The winners are chosen randomly, so be sure to enter your name, postal address, and email address for a chance to receive your prize. Act fast, as the survey closes at 8pm on Sunday January 5th, 2024. Let the deliberations begin, and Happy Voting!

Original Frew comics are the holy grail of Phantom comics world wide. Recently, in 2022 Lloyds Auctions sold the first 5 original issues for $50,000AUD plus with number #1 alone selling north off $20,000AUD +fees. You can view the details of this auction via this page . High quality Frew issues under number 10 rarely come up for sale. At the moment on the Facebook group " Trader Joe's General Store For Phantom Collectables " a high quality ungraded issue two is current on auction with a starting price of $9,000AUD. The auction ends Sunday 2nd February from 9.00pm AEST with anti snipping time added. Click here to bid on Frew #2 The seller is Sam Allen from country NSW has this to say about this piece of Phantom and Australian comic history. I am offering an uncirculated 1948 Frew no 2 comic. This was originally discovered in an Adelaide distribution warehouse with other comics a number of years ago. While I'm not a comic grader. I believe it to be one of the best condition of its type remaining. Uncirculated means this comic was sitting around in a shop since 1948 and was never sold, read, flipped or traded by multiple generations. Conversion guide. $9,000 AUD ($5,600US, 5,400Euro, 62,000sek/nok and 485,000INR) $15,000 AUD ($9,350US, 9,000Euro, 103,000sek/nok and 808,250INR)

Stephen East, Dan Fraser and Jermayn Parker get together to review Frew's celebratory issue 2000. They review every story and element of this bumper 220+ page comic in full colour with a variant cover and a free pull-out poster included. Along with the stories, it includes an article giving a bird's-eye view of the history of Frew which covers their first comic release in 1948. The stories included in this special comic are: "The Golden Circle" by Lee Falk and Ray Moore (coloured by Ivan Pederson) "Return of the Golden Circle, Part 1-4" by Julie Ditrich and Wendell Cavalcanti (coloured by Ivan Pederson) "The Chain" by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy (coloured by Ivan Pederson) "The Chain" by Tony DePaul and Bret Blevins "The Tomb of Zadak" by Pidde Andersson and Giancarlo Caracuzzo "Fury, Part 2" by Paul Mason and Amanda Bacchi In this podcast we have included feedback and phans opinions on this issue. If you would like to have your monkey mail read out, feel free to send us your comments. You can either email us, leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms in Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and/or our YouTube channel.

Yes, it's that time of year again. Frew 's 2025 Christmas Special has landed in shops across Australia, which means we are only 2 issues away from the 2026 Annual. Since 2017, each Frew annual has had a specific theme. Year Theme 2017 The Girl Phantom 2018 The Phantom Goes West 2019 The Phantom at War 2020 The Isle of Eden 2021 Sy Barry Special 2022 The Eastern Dark 2023 Graham Nolan Collection #1 2024 Graham Nolan Collection #2 2025 The Phantom vs The Monsters 2026 ???? On 18th December, Jason Paulos shared a WIP image of a Frew cover that he had been working on. Later in the day he shared the color version. As you can see, a character who seems to resemble a certain magician with a tendency to "gesture hypnotically" features predominantly, and another character pictured seems to have a striking resemblance to a certain Prince of the Seven Nations. Due to the timing of the release, phans soon speculated that this could be the cover for the 2026 Annual. Could the 2026 Annual have a Mandrake theme? Chronicle Chamber put the question to Dudley , the Publisher at Frew, who affirmed our speculations. "The 2026 Annual will be 228 pages, fully coloured and the theme is The Phantom and Mandrake crossover stories. It will also contain a new Frew 3-part story with art by Boris Kay, who previously did The Pinstripe Wizards story. Any further colouring that was needed was done by Ivan Pedersen." So, with confirmation of the theme and news of a brand new 3-part story in the mix, speculation now turns to what stories will be included. Not including flashbacks, DotE promotions, and one-off cameos, there are 10 crossover stories featuring both The Phantom and Mandrake in the Daily/ Sunday Canon, according to PhantomWiki . Three of these stories include the characters' respective weddings. These stories do include Daily and Sunday Mandrake stories created by Lee Falk and/or Fred Fredericks . What stories would you like to see in the Annual? Has Jason Paulos put in any further hints with his choice of roughnecks who are getting their just deserts? Will there be any other non-newspaper stories apart from the Boris Kay -created story? We will just have to wait till 2026 to find out. Until then... Happy Phantoming!

Every year since Lee Falk 's death in 1999, Phantom phans from around the world and Australia gather to celebrate Falk's legacy and the Phantom. In 2026, the tradition is still going strong, with only a worldwide pandemic causing a stop in the yearly celebration that is close to 30 years in total. The event in 2026 will be held on Saturday, 20th June 2026, which will coincide with the Sydney Supanova event held over the 19-21 June weekend. About the LFMMBEC dinner If you would like to learn more about the past LFMBEC events, you can go to their website at www.lfmbec.org . The best way to get an invite to the event is to sign up to the email subscription list on the website. We can announce that the guest speaker for the event is Uruguayan-born Antonio Lemos who is royalty among many Australian phans with close to 200 Frew covers published over a 30-year career working on the character. We were lucky enough to interview Antonio Lemos in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode 159, and you can watch or listen to it her e. Antonio Lemos (left) with phan Chris Hill (right) at a past LFMBEC dinner event. Sydney Supanova 19-21 June 2026 At this stage, the comic-related guests for Sydney Supanova are not announced and will be likely closer to the date. We will update this article when they are announced; however, you can purchase your Supanova tickets now at their website . In 2025, Frew had a booth at the convention with several new releases to be sold at their booth, including their special number 2000 issue ( you can watch/listen to our review here ). While there is no official announcement yet, we have received unofficial word that Frew will NOT be having a booth in 2026. However, in better news, Frew will be releasing their 90th Phantom birthday celebration comic around this time, which will be a collection of old and new stories all printed in colour. At this stage, details on the stories and which stories are being included are not yet released, but we believe one of the stories will be a new installment of the new Vietnam war series written by Duncan Munro , with art by Ken Steacy . The first part was released in the #2008 issue released in 2025 for the Brisbane Supanova event. Learn more about the event & how to join in on the fun Generally, most phans meet up during the event on the Saturday and during the weekend. if you have not attended before and would like to join up to meet with like-minded phans, send us an email, and we will invite you to the private group chat. Attached is the video with our interview with Antonio Lemos and attached to the article are some of the speeches from past Phantom phan weekends at SUpanova and the LFMBEC dinners. Sounds from the 2025 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2024 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2023 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2022 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2021 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2019 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2018 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend Sounds from the 2017 LFMBEC dinner & Supanova weekend

In this episode, the boys Dan Fraser , Jermayn Parker,  and Stephen East come together to review and discuss Phantom comics, stories, and related news from around the world including new products to buy, and updates on the video game. Christian Moller joins the team with his review of the latest comics from Germany. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. If you agree and/or disagree with us, you can either email us; leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms on Facebook , Twitter , and/or Instagram . If you're one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed. Note: "Hunters Prey" was included in Frew issue's 2017, 2018, and 2019. For the sake of discussing these parts together, we have included our review of these parts together instead of reviewing them in the individual comics. Comics Kingdom stories Daily 269: " The Muckmen of Zumaridi River " by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley : 3 Minutes Sunday 198: “ 1536 ”: by Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel : 18 Minutes Frew (Australia) comics Frew #2017: 29 Minutes " The Secret of Polymos " by Donne Avenell and César Spadari Frew #2018: 42 Minutes " Arms Trafficking " by Idi Kharelli and Knut Westad Frew #2019: 56 Minutes & 30 Seconds “ Ninth Hour ” by Shane Foley " Hunters Prey pt 4, 5 & 6 " by Shane Foley : 1 Hour & 8 Minutes Germany comics Zauberstern #23:  1 Hour & 18 Minutes " Falsches Spiel " (" Framed, Part 1 ") by Mark Verheiden and Luke McDonnell " Die Hochzeit -Am Ende ist alles Liebe " (" Framed, Part 2 ") by Mark Verheiden and Luke McDonnell " Der Fluß der verlorenen Seelen " (" The River That Never Ends ") by Don Jon Arneson  and Jim Aparo " Aufruhr in Baronkhan " (" The Baronkhan Sedition ") by Tony DePaul , Paul Ryan , and Mike Manley The Phantom news from around the world The Phantom Video Game updates:   1 Hour & 23 Minutes Photos of the Newstalgia lounge at the Comic Con Cruise ( link ): 1 Hour & 35 Minutes Read Bengali Books release mug ( link ): 1 Hour & 39 Minutes Mad Cave Studios update ( link ):   1 Hour & 41 Minutes Phantom comics in PNG newspaper:  1 Hour & 45 Minutes Finnish TPB out now ( link ):  1 Hour & 48 Minutes Mythos Editora re-releases Dynamite Entertainment Kings Watch TPB ( link ): 1 Hour, 49 Minutes & 30 Seconds Frew poster of 2000th issue for sale ( link ):  1 Hour, 52 Minutes & 30 Seconds Original art to buy ( link & link ):  1 Hour & 57 Minutes Phantom donation of Bob Griffin ’s collection ( link ): 2 Hours & 1 Minute We can only report and discuss what we have seen or been told by the phans. We may miss something, especially conventions in your corner of the world with Phantom-related guests, so p lease let us know of them so we can promote them on our website, socials, and podcasts. We are also looking for reviewers who can review comics from India, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, and some other locations that publish the Phantom. If you would like to join the team with regular reviews, please contact us. You can email us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com  or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook , Twitter , and/or Instagram . We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel .

As we celebrate the 90th birthday of the Phantom, the team at Chronicle Chamber released our special X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #329 . On top of this, many creators have added their tributes to our hero's birthday - this article is an attempt to collect all the articles, videos, and drawings from creators around the world. If we have missed any, please let us know via social media and/or email at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com . Video by Tasq-Art, Eoin McAuley and Joel Folda Video combination by Phantomcave Reviews AI-generated video with unique original music by @ DaniCocoMusic Articles By Matilda Arborelius for Dagens Nyheter newspaper with input by Robert Aman . Read article . By Ashley Tuchin for Supanova , Australia's comic convention. Read article . By Ben Herman . Read article . By 13th Dimension. Read article . Images by artists If we have missed any tributes, please let us know via social media and/or email at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com . We would love to include them here.

Australian Phantom publisher Frew in June 2025, celebrated their 2000th comic, which featured a bumper 220+ page comic in full colour with a variant cover and a free pull-out poster included. You can watch or listen to our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast review of it in episode #311 . The cover was designed by Daniel Picciotto, and 9 months after the release, Frew has released an A2-sized print for sale on their website. Buy the print here on their website The cost is $25AUD ($17USD, €15, 1600INR and 160 sek/nok). Frew on their website has noted that the poster will be mailed in a tube; if you buy a comic or something extra, you are likely to get charged twice for postage. Frew do have multiple other posters for sale on their website if you have some spare room on a wall in your Phantom room or office. You can browse their collection for sale here . It must be mentioned that it is weird the print is only now for sale and wasn't made available at Sydney Supanova when this 2000th celebration comic was originally released. It is also interesting, Frew has yet to celebrate or note the 90th birthday of the character. Will you be buying the poster?interesting;

When someone says to you, "Who's this Phantom guy, anyway?” How do you reply? While the answer to that question may be "He is a force for good whose mantle has been passed from generation unto generation," it is the images, scenes, and events your mind sees from the comics and strips that really define who and what the character is. A comics character can only ever be as great as the creators working on him. Despite the “character potential” that a lot of creators like to spout about nowadays, a character is only ever as good as what ends up on the page. For a character who has had as long a publishing history as the Phantom, there are sure to be many moments that stand out to phans as being the highs of his published career. Those highlights are often due to creators—artists and writers—who wanted to try something new, to take a character or the “voice” of a book in a different direction than what had been seen previously. These are not always huge, jolting changes; they can be subtle nudges. Often when these things happen and they are successful, people say, "Why did no one think of that before?” And that’s why they become fondly remembered story arcs or creator runs: because no one had done anything quite like it. When I first heard Moonstone Comics was going to be publishing the Phantom in 2002, I must admit I was skeptical. After all, they are an American company, and all Americans think the Phantom is a Batman rip-off, right? However, what was coming out of Frew / Egmont at the time was just not doing it for me, and my interest in the character was beginning to wane. Loath to stop reading the adventures of my favorite hero, I decided to check out this new publisher. While I missed out on the original graphic novels, I was able to be there at the start for the original ongoing series. Only a few pages in I could tell I was going to love that first series. Moonstone’s first arc, Stones of Blood , written by Ben Raab (who had also written stories for Egmont) with art by Pat Quinn captured the world of the character beautifully. Raab’s script was tight and fast and Quinn’s art had a beautiful pulp feel while also looking modern. To this disillusioned Phantom phan that first issue was what I’d been wanting in my Phantom comics for a long while. Most impressively, Raab was able to do what only Mark Verheinden (writer of the DC maxi-series) had done 12 years earlier: launch the Phantom successfully into a modern world. While it can be argued that the Phantom has always been a modern character, acting in the same time period that the stories were written in, it would be safe to say that the stories for the most part didn't feel modern. The Phantom seemed stuck in an earlier time, at best the early 90s. Raab however changed this and arguably did so more successfully than Verheinden before him. Raab and the writers that were to follow were able to bring the Ghost Who Walks into the modern day without changing any of his classic heritage. All the hallmarks that phans loved were still there, but so were some modern additions, such as high-tech gliding suits for the Sky Band. Although it would be misleading to say that all phans were happy with Moonstone’s output, the majority believed it worked, it fitted and above all it felt right. This was a Phantom for a modern age. This trend continued when Mike Bullock took over as writer in 2006. Bullock pushed the Phantom further into the modern world than even Raab had. His stories featured the Phantom battling modern terrorists, organ smugglers, and child slave labour and told, as Mike likes to put it, “stories ripped from today’s headlines.” When the series re-booted as The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks in 2009, Bullock updated things a little more, giving the Phantom a techno-savvy 'sidekick'; a Kevlar costume—something a modern crime fighter would be simply stupid to step into the field without – and an even bigger emphasis on tackling problems the affect the real world Africa. Even with these additions the hero’s classic 1936 origins were not lost and the character in Bullock’s stories was obviously the same purple clad mystery man who appeared in Lee Falk ’s The Singh Brotherhood way back when. Moonstone had not changed the Phantom; they’d simply accustomed him to the world of 2002 and beyond. Moonstone’s dedication and willingness to experiment with the character did not stop there. By the time all of Moonstone’s books have been released (some series are yet to conclude, and there are several trade paperbacks yet to hit store shelves), they will have published 66 individual comic issues across nine series, eight original graphic novels, two prose collections, and thirteen trade collections, and that’s not even counting the variant editions and second and third printings. It’s safe to say Moonstone has had not only the biggest output of Phantom publications by any American Phantom publisher but also one of the biggest outputs and impacts of Phantom publications in the world! Many of those aforementioned series were built upon clever ideas of how to use the Phantom, his world, and his heritage in new, exciting ways. Generations looked back at past Phantoms but rather than tell a straight comic story the issues took the form of journal entries written by those very Phantoms. Similar to this was the graphic novel Phantom: Legacy , a retelling of the first Phantom’s origin, again in journal format. Legacy divided phans but none could argue the books’ ambition. KGB Noir saw a somewhat grittier adventure for our hero, cast in stark black and white. Upon seeing how well the Phantom suited the noir setting phans were left wondering why it had taken so long to bring us such a story. Further series saw the Phantom teaming up with other heroes such as Captain Action and the 16th Phantom’s sister, Julie, got her own one-shot. The graphic novels presented us with a view of the Phantom from a villain’s perspective, and the prose collections featured many new stories of Phantoms past and present. With the release of issue #12 Moonstone’s The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks the series will have wrapped up. Some of the miniseries, such as KGB Noir , still have a few issues to come out but for all intents and purposes GWW #12 marks the end of Moonstone’s Phantom run. It’ll be a sad day for many phans as Moonstone has spoiled us over the past eight years with a flood of amazing stories. Sure, not every issue hit its mark but many did. In the mind of this writer there has not been a Phantom publisher or creative team that has been more innovative in the use of the character and his world than Moonstone. When the dust settles and that final issue has been read, catalogued, bagged and boxed, Moonstone’s books will be back issues, no longer new, current adventures. This raises the question of how Moonstone will be remembered? For this phan Moonstone will be the publisher that saved his Phantom phandom. In my opinion, Frew was not producing anything of interest and my love of the purple clad hero was at risk of fading into obscurity among all those other amazing comics out there. While I did – and still do – read many of those other titles, Moonstone’s books kept my interest in the Phantom alive. Indeed, I credit Moonstone for completely reinvigorating my interest in the character, out of which grew this very website. So, when I slide that last issue into its mylar bag I’ll remember Moonstone as a publisher who actually meant what they said by seeing a lot of potential in the Phantom. They experimented and tried new things and gave us some of the best and in my opinion, some of the most original Phantom publications we’ve seen since Lee Falk .

With Moonstone’s Phantom issue Silvestre Szilagyi becomes the series new on-going penciler. In the lead up to #16’s release we sat down with Silvester to talk about his career, how he came to draw The Phantom and all manner of important topics… ChronicleChamber: G’day Silvestre, thanks for joining us here at ChronicleChamber.com. Starting with issue #16 (out this month), you’ll be taking over as on-going artists for Moonstone’s Phantom series. Although we’ve seen a few samples of your work, you are a fairly new name to Phantom fans. Could you tell us a little about yourself and your previous work? Silvestre Szilagyi: I’ve been drawing comics since I was thirteen, as an amateur, for fun. Of course, I wrote my own stories that had to do with spy world and DC Silver Age superheroes. When out of high school, at 18, I took samples to the local publishing companies, and they sent me to study comic book art: I landed with Alberto Breccia for two and a half years. Once Lito Fernandez was around looking for somebody to help him and he liked what I was doing on the practices, so he hired me to ink backgrounds, later for some ghost penciling, which brought about my main stream for years; every now and them I go back that way. While ghosting, I began working on my own for Columba publishing (the main company those days here in Argentina). Later I worked for every local publishing company, till they went out of business, around the mid-nineties. Also, simultaneously, I began working for Italian publishing Eura, later also for Universo, plus some works for Great Britain (IPC) and Basteii of Germany. I did all kinds of stories: romance, detective, adventure, war, science fiction, and historical themes. I’ve drawn some thirty pages per month (penciling) and inking some twenty of them, as an average for quite a number of years. I’m working much slower now, trying to focus on better story-telling and better general drawing. I’m married, and have a daughter…and a bunch of feline monsters. CC: As I mentioned fans have seen some samples of your work already. From those few images alone fans are already comparing your art to the great Phantom artist Sy Barry. Everyone seems very excited for issue #16 and your art looks to be a big factor in that. Are you pleased with the fan reaction to your work thus far? SS: Let’s hope they like it when they read the whole story. CC: Fair enough. As I’m sure you are aware The Phantom comic has a huge history and many, many artists have drawn the character. Did you do any research on him or look at any other artist’s work while drawing the Ghost Who Walks? SS: The Phantom was one of the daily strip characters that had been generously edited by local companies. I know the character and love him from the days when we were receiving Lee Falk/ Wilson McCoy’s Phantom (in black and white!). He was the best at telling the story visually. Some time later, we got the colored edition (from a Chilean publishing) of Gold Key’s Phantom, with the original painted covers and interior art by Bill Lignante. I still love his work quite a lot. Then came the astounding Lee Falk / Sy Barry, and for years they stole the thunder. I sold the Lignante and McCoy comics…Little by little I got them back. I look upon the three of them. Try to get some shadings and story telling of McCoy, the mood of Lignante, especially his facial expressions, and some general touches, mainly in the black and white, of Sy Barry. (I also admire his inking over Infantino’s Phantom Stranger and early Alex Toth works.)John Carter, local fellow artists, Travis Charest,…I could go on. Let’s add Vermeer, Leonardo’s drawings, most Italian painters from Renaissance, Van Gogh, and Seurat. Movies: Fohn Ford, Sergio Leone, Phillipe de Brocca, Robert Bresson, Kubrick, John Frankenheimer, early Kurosawa (in Black and white!), Riddley Scott, Eisenstein, D.W.Griffith, William Wyler, some of Clint Eastwood, Carol Reed, Henry Hathaway, John Badham, Fritz Lang, Buster Keaton, TV Invaders (the Quinn Martin show), TV T.H.E. Cat (By Boris Sagal, with Robert Loggia)…Plus Hamilton-Matt Helm novels, Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles and some other early works, Graham Greene, Alistair Mac Lean, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Salgari, Jack London and his dogs and wolves, some old legends (Mahabarata, Illiad, Odyssey, American legends, Scandinavians, mainly mythology, Sumerian pages, well you get the idea.), plus Gardner Fox, John Broome, Otto Binder, Bill Finger…And lots of drawing from real life. Of course: these are some influences, and then there are those whom I like and enjoy. Sometimes they are the same ones. CC: Wowzers, that is a lot! It’s a well known fact that every artist puts their own personal touch on a character when they draw them. Are there any aspects of The Phantom’s character, costume or personality you really want to explore with your version of the character? SS: On drawing a story, I try to get as near to the writer’s conceptions as I can. So, it’ll be up to Mike to see how the Phantom gets on. I like the “classic look” on him. CC: Moonstone has gone through quite a number of artists on their Phantom series. How long do you plan on staying with the book? SS: If the readers/ editors/ writers like it, for a long time. CC: You mentioned you’d read the Phantom comics and strips, but have you seen the 1996 film or any of the cartoons? SS: I’ve also got some of the Charlton run by Aparo, and seen the 1996 movie on TV. (I didn’t like it very much). All this was long before it crossed my mind to have something to do on The Phantom CC: Tell us how you landed the role as on going Phantom artists. SS: Joseph Gentile asked if I’d want to do the Phantom #16 as a fill in, then something happened to Carlos Magno’s schedule and …here I am. Still jumping to the ceiling with joy. CC: Are there any Phantom projects outside of the on-going series lined up for you such as Legacy Man-Eaters SS: I don’t know. Maybe Mike Bullock can tell you. CC: Can you give us any hints, art or story wise, as to what might be coming up after issue #16? SS: Again, Mike might have the answer. CC: Other thanThe Phantom, do you have anything in the works? SS: There is one of Twilight Crusade books already finished (story by Joe Gentile), and when I have some extra time (which I don’t have now) I work with fellow writer Ricardo Ferrari on some stories for Italian Eura. (Most recent one was about Samurais) CC: Well, that about wraps us up. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us, Silvestre. Are there any final messages you’d like to send to the fans before we close? SS: Yes. Remember that comics also involve writers, editors, colorists, inkers, letterers, proofreaders, the guys at the print, distribution…and fan pages. Finally, I hope readers enjoy the book as much as I do while drawing. #SilvestreSzilagyi #Moonstone #MikeBullock #SyBarry #LeeFalk #WilsonMcCoy #BillLignante #JimAparo #Charlton #GoldKey

For eight years American publisher Moonstone Books produced arguable the best Phantom stories to come out of the US. In this two parter Joe and Jermayn discuss all of Moonstone's releases from graphic novels to mini series and of course the on-goings. If you're at all a phan of Moonstone's Phantom books or haven't yet experienced them this is an episode you won't want to miss! This is one we've been planning for a while so we hope you enjoy it! #Moonstone #MikeBullock #MikeCollins #BenRaab #JoeGentile #DouglasKlauba #AlexSaviuk