Closing out October, Phantom 2040: A New Shadow - "Heir Apparent" released on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. This release right before Halloween is kismet, as our protagonist, Carlos Oserio, makes a Halloween joke about one of the episode's developments. The story also inches closer to that action opener that kicked off episode 1 over a month back. Read Phantom 2040: A New Shadow Episode 4 Here . After plenty of characters talking about him for a couple episodes, we're finally introduced to series villain Charles Tyrus. This tech magnate, whose villainy definitely precedes him, unveils his latest discovery in the Ghost Jungle , and one can presume that it's going to be the catalyst for an explosive next couple of episodes. If you've been watching our reviews, this episode continues our main critique of too much telling over showing. The art by John Amor remains a delight to look at, especially the neon colors of this dystopian nightmare-scape that our characters find themselves in. That said, we're looking forward to where Alex Segura , Michael Moreci , and John Amor take us next! Phantom 2040: A New Shadow art by John Amor Question for the Phans: What did you think of the big reveal this episode? Did it work for you: Why or why not? Let us know by commenting below this article, on our YouTube, or by dropping us a line . We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Phantom 2040: A New Shadow - "Ghost Jungle" released on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 after a two-week hiatus for New York City Comic-Con . This third episode picks up right where episode two left off , diving more into Carlos and Melinda's relationship as they head toward billionaire tech magnate Charles Tyrus' big press conference. Read Phantom 2040: A New Shadow Episode 3 Here . The creative team of Writers Alex Segura and Michael Moreci and Artist John Amor bring us deeper into the Ghost Jungle in this episode, building upon introductions they established in the last episode. We also get another Kit Walker Jr . sighting, whom we haven't seen since episode 1 . The biggest reveal this episode is that we now have a rough idea of where this story takes place in the Phantom 2040 universe. For those who want to know, read the issue or listen to our review above! Phantom 2040: A New Shadow Episode 3 art by John Amor Question for the Phans: Do you ship Carlos and Melinda, or is it too soon? Let us know by commenting below this article, on our YouTube, or by dropping us a line . We'd love to hear your thoughts!

For those who remember Phantom 2040 , the stylistic animated series that ran from 1994 to 1996, the series has returned in the form of a webcomic from ComicsKingdom.com . This new adaptation, Phantom 2040: A New Shadow , returns readers and longtime fans to the futuristic nightmarescape known as Metropia. The first episode (" Ghost in the Machine ") released on Wednesday, September 24th. Per Comics Kingdom's website, this new adventure will include 20 episodes, releasing every week on Wednesday. Per the webcomic's about page: "The Ghost Who Walks returns for a new age. In a world shattered by climate collapse and corporate greed, ex-soccer star Carlos Osorio must take up the mantle of the Phantom to protect Earth’s last living rainforest—and humanity’s future. Packed with action, intrigue, and legacy, Phantom 2040 reimagines one of comics’ most enduring heroes for a bold new generation." The series is written by comic book veterans Alex Segura and Michael Moreci , who both shared writing duties for Mad Cave Studios' Dick Tracy series, among many other highlights. Eisner-nominated Artist John Amor provides illustration, bringing his experience with both on-page comic book art and digital art for Webtoons. About the creators: Alex Segura: "Alex Segura is the bestselling and award-winning author of Secret Identity, which the New York Times called “wittily original” and named an Editor’s Choice. NPR described the novel as “masterful,” and it received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and Booklist. Alex is also the author of Star Wars Poe Dameron: Free Fall , the Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series, and a number of comic books – including The Mysterious Micro-Face (in partnership with NPR), The Black Ghost, The Archies, The Dusk, The Awakened , and more." Michael Moreci: "Michael Moreci is a bestselling comics author, screenwriter, and novelist. His original comic works include The Plot, Barbaric, Wasted Space (all for VAULT COMICS), Roche Limit , and more. He’s also written canonical stories for Stranger Things, Star Wars, Hack/Slash , and the DC universe." John Amor: "John Amor is a Filipino illustrator and comic artist known for his work on digital and print comics, including the Webtoon series “Urban Animal” with writer Justin Jordan, which has over half a million regular readers. His graphic novel One Week in the Library for Image Comics earned him an Eisner Award nomination for best short story. Amor has contributed to publishers such as Image, IDW, and DC’s webcomic platform ZudaComics, and he is recognized as a skilled storyteller and Dungeon Master." Whereas in the original Phantom 2040 animated series, viewers followed Kit Walker Jr. (the 24th Phantom) under the tutelage of Guran, our protagonist in this webcomic follow-up is a new character named Carlos Osorio, who will encounter this world's current Phantom. Panel from Phantom 2040: A New Shadow #1 by John Amor About the characters: Carlos Osorio: "Once a rising star on the soccer field, Carlos Osorio’s dreams crashed after an injury sidelined his career. Now in his twenties, he drifts between gigs as a sports journalist, skeptical of heroes and reluctant to take a stand. That changes when fate—and the legendary Phantom’s gear—chooses him. Suddenly, Carlos must step into a role he never believed was real: the Ghost Who Walks. An orphan with questions about his past and a future he never asked for, Carlos becomes the unlikely defender of the powerless against ZERO’s corporate grip." Kit Walker II: "The Phantom legacy’s living link. Older, scarred, and still formidable, Kit Walker has carried the weight of being the Ghost Who Walks longer than most men could endure. In Phantom 2040, he’s not just a mentor—he’s a survivor, entrusting a skeptical Carlos with a mantle that has protected the world for centuries. Kit knows the legend is bigger than one man, and in Carlos, he sees both a second chance and the hope of a future." Charles Tyrus : "Mega-billionaire, master manipulator, and CEO of ZERO, Charles Tyrus believes the Phantom mantle is his birthright. Handsome, fit, and driven, Tyrus presents himself as humanity’s savior while ruthlessly exploiting the planet and its people. When the Phantom’s costume rejects him and bonds to Carlos, Tyrus pivots from would-be heir to bitter nemesis—determined to crush the legend that spurned him and remake it in his own image." Phantom and comic fans can check out Phantom 2040: A New Shadow #1 on ComicsKingdom.com right now. We will have an official Chronicle Chamber review of this first episode and the series coming soon. Stay tuned!

If you’ve been following ChronicleChamber since the early days, you’ll know what an absolutely huge fan of Phantom 2040 I am. From the series to the video game to the collectables, it’s one of my favourite aspects of the wider Phantom world. Well, I recently put that passion into a project that I’d been thinking about for some time. I’d like to present to you all… the Phantom 2040 Archive . [Editor's note: This website has now been 'archived,' and the website does not exist anymore. To take its place, we would recommend our own Phantom 2040 page which collects a lot of what the archived website used to present plus keeps up-to-date everything new and old on the TV show in one place. You can access this at https://www.chroniclechamber.com/phantom-2040 ] As the name suggests, the goal of the site is to archive as much information and as many resources about Phantom 2040 as possible. Some of that has appeared here on CC and other places, but the 2040 Archive arranges it all into one convenient space for all fellow 2040 fans to enjoy. Some of the things you’ll be able to find on the Archive are Full information about the TV series Full episode descriptions A full walkthrough to achieve the elusive “good ending” in the Phantom 2040 video game Character bios Guide to the city of Metropia, the setting of the series Merch info And much more! As with most projects of this nature, the 2040 Archive is a continually growing beast. I already have plans for future additions, and of course the site will be updated as and when new information/ details/ merch/ etc on 2040 is released/ discovered. [Editor's note: This website has now been 'archived,' and the website does not exist anymore. To take its place, we would recommend our own Phantom 2040 page which collects a lot of what the archived website used to present plus keeps up-to-date everything new and old on the TV show in one place. You can access this at https://www.chroniclechamber.com/phantom-2040 ]

2020 will likely see two new Phantom games produced and released to the public with the " Treasures of Drakon " Board Game produced by Frew Games and " The Phantom: Card Game " by Mikael Lyck . On the back of this I have reviewed the Spanish Phantom 2040 Board Game including a translation of the rules for when you play the game at home. Note: In translating the text for this game, Google Translate was used. As such, some of the translation may not be 100% correct. Words in brackets [] I have added to make the translation run better and may not be an exact translation. Three years ago we did a general review of all Phantom games including this game but this is a full in depth review including the translated instructions. You can watch the original Phantom Games Review Video at the bottom of this article. Translated Instructions & Rules Note: In translating the text for this game, Google Translate was used. As such, some of the translation may not be 100% correct. Words in brackets [] I have added to make the translation run better and may not be an exact translation. Box Back: During the summer of 2040 in the futuristic city of METROPIA, KIT WALTER is an ordinary boy of 18 years, whose life undergoes an unexpected change when [he] is located by GURAN, a mysterious African who has returned to METROPIA for the first time since the KIT's father had disappeared 16 years earlier. GURAN reveals to KIT that his destiny is to become the 24[th] PHANTOM, in an unbreakable chain that begins [began] in Africa in 1566. The disturbances [that] are spread by [around] METROPIA, and KIT must face the ancient enemies of his father in an attempt to save the city. Box Interior, left: REGULATION [Rules]: During the summer of 2040 in the futuristic city of METROPIA, KIT WALKER is an ordinary 18-year-old boy whose life undergoes an unexpected change when he is located by GURAN, a mysterious African who has returned to METROPIA for the first time, since the father of KIT had disappeared 16 years before. GURAN reveals to KIT that his destiny is to become ep 24[th] PHANTOM, in an unbroken chain that begins [began] in Africa in 1566. The riots are spread over METROPOA, and KIT must face former enemies of his father in an attempt to save the city. OBJECTIVE: Exciting adventure through a tour of the game board where you will meet PHANTOM and his friends who will try to save the city of METROPIA from the clutches of the president of MAXIMUM INC., REBECCA MADISON, responsible for causing the city disturbances, in the company of Dr. JACK GAME PREPARATION: Unfold the board on a table. Each player will take a different pawn color and place it on the EXIT box. Everyone will roll the dice, the first one [player] being the one to get the high score. RULES OF THE GAME: You start counting from box 1 and you will advance as many boxes as points roll [of] the dice, but you have to observe the characteristics of the following rules: A) The color boxes (8 red, 22 blue, 34 yellow, 46 green and 62 pink) are bridge boxes and when they are occupied by two tokens, they close the way to other later tokens. B) The scope of one card per bid in the WHITE boxes forces the first to start a new business from the OUTPUT box. [this must be incorrectly translated as it makes no sense] C) The boxes with the SKULL (Nos 68, 76 and 85) are “advance boxes” and may coincide with two or more Records. Box No 8: KIT WALKER 18-year-old university student who uses PHANTOM equipment to go unnoticed. You will take turns without pulling. [Take turns without rolling] BOX No 15: PHANTOM. KIT turned into PHANTOM [and] starts a tour of the city of METROPIA, to fight against evil and injustice: Move to box No. 31 Box No 22: VANGLORIA. The most important singer of 2040, and that is being used by REBECA MADISON, to wash the brains of the [brainwash] children of the city of METROPIA: You are [must wait] two shifts [goes] without throwing [rolling.] [Basically, you miss two turns.] BOX No 28: The "GOOD BRAND" [GOOD MARK]: GURAN presents PHANTOM with part of his past; a ring with the "GOOD BRAND."[GOOD MARK] The person granted the ring is under the protection of PHANTOM: Go to box No. 43 Box No 34: SPARKS Young 12 year old who takes over the computer of the Den [uses the computer in the hideout] and stays to live with PHANTOM. You will be two shifts without throwing [miss two turns?] Box No. 40: REBECA MADISON She is the president of MAXIMUM INC responsible for causing the disturbances of the city of METROPIA: Go back to box No. 25. Box No 46: BRIDGE BOX. You will be two shifts without throwing [miss two turns] Box No 52: SAGAN CROSS. She is a young Latina of 20 years, to whom PHANTOM granted her the "GOOD BRAND" [GOOD MARK] for helping her by defending him from a command [?] and creating an alliance between the two, forever: Go to box No. 27 Box No 62: BRIDGE BOX. You will be two shifts without throwing [Miss two turns] Box No 68: SKULL. Box gives the "GOOD BRAND," [GOOD MARK] is one of the advance boxes and takes you to the next square of the "SKULL" No. 76 Box No 76: SKULL. Another advance box, which allows you to jump directly to box No. 85: Box No 85: The "GOOD BRAND," [GOOD MARK] last of the "SKULL" advance boxes, if you arrive at this box by means of the dice score [roll] gives you direct access to the "FINAL BOX" No. 93 of Dr. JACK and you would be the "WINNER." If on the contrary you arrive at it by an advance of the "SKULL" box previously, you will have to finish the course through the dice score [roll]. WINNER: It is that player who gets first to the "FINAL BOX," No. 93 of Dr. JACK ATTENTION: IT IS USEFUL TO KEEP THESE INSTRUCTIONS Video Review of all Phantom Games

A HUGE “thank you” must go to Brian for spending some of his precious time with us answering all of our phanboy questions which you can find in article 1 . However, his generosity does not end there as he also provided us with a heap of wonderful content from his time making the game. Brainstorming Notes Photos of notes from brainstorming sessions about enemy and end boss behaviors. Notes made both by Brian as well as the game’s producer. Cart Photos Detailed photos of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System release, including the original poster that it shipped with, the instruction book and an unopened, mint in box SNES cart that Brian didn’t realise he had until looking through his stuff for this interview! Game Design Document A few photos of interesting sections from Brian’s copy of the Phantom 2040 game design document. " This document is an overview of the game created to show the higher-ups what we were building, " Brian says “ It doesn’t contain too much in the way of detail (enemy behavior, script, level layouts, etc). That was just the way things were done back then, as we didn’t have the time to document everything on a project that might last only 9 months. I was never happy with that, and this was the last project I worked on that had such a bare bones GDD – going forward as sole Lead Designer on projects, I always made sure we had good documentation, so that, (and I quote my Producer from post Phantom games) “if the game designer got hit by a truck, the team would still have everything they needed to finish the game.” Show Materials Documents the Phantom 2040 licensor put together to communicate the style and intent of the show. This includes an overview of the show, episode synopsis, and cast list. Brian says “You’ll note that the documents talk quite a bit about the “educational” elements of the show. I believe that was stuff the makers of these shows used to put together to help the networks convince the government that their cartoons (sometimes quite dubiously) fulfilled part of each U.S. broadcaster’s requirement to air “educational” programming.” You can read more about that HERE . Storyboards Brian says “ The only finished storyboard I still have (actually, a photocopy). These were done by me and sent to the animation studio that was creating the show. They would then use them as a guide to create the interstitial scenes for the game. We would get those drawings back, scan them in, and turn them into pixel art for the final art in the game. We did this for key scenes, but I believe other scenes were done in house. ” Sprites Brian was kind enough to share with us some of the original sprites (2D images used for the game's graphics) used in the creation of the game. #Phantom2040 #videogames #Sega #Nintendo #2040 #BrianBabendererde #Viacom

Twenty five years ago we were given a glimpse into the future. In the far-flung year of 2040, mankind has all but fulfilled its destiny of destroying our once beautiful planet. Nearly all flora and fauna has become extinct, and most of the population of Earth is destitute with only the super rich able to eke out a comfortable existence. Mega corporations prey on the poor while oiling the palms of the wealthy to get what they want. The worst of these is Maximum Inc. who desire nothing less than total domination. In the future, it seems humanity has but a ghost of a chance… This was the world of Phantom 2040 , a future in which The Phantom was nothing more than a memory until a young Kit Walker Jr. is made aware of the family heritage he never knew he had. Placing Lee Falk’s 1930’s hero into a futuristic world full of advanced technology and shape-shifting robots may sound strange, but it worked surprisingly well. The series was praised by fans and critics alike and is still very fondly remembered today. These fond memories are due in no small part to the excellent video game released for the Sega Mega Drive and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Loosely following the story of the series, the game allowed players to take control of the Ghost Who Walks as he battles Rebecca Maddison and the Maximum Incorporated. While much has been written about the game, we’ve not really known what went in to making it. Until now. In my quest to learn all I can about Phantom 2040 , I was able to contact Brian Babendererde who worked as one of two designers on the game. Although Brian is the first to admit that it’s been a long time since he worked on the game, he very kindly provided me with many details from behind the scenes. Chronicle Chamber: Hello Brian, thank you very much for agreeing to discuss your time working on the Phantom 2040 video game with us here at ChronicleChamber . You acted as both Lead Designer and Lead Artist on the game. For those who may not know, could you explain what those roles involved? Brian Babendererde: Hi, glad to answer these questions – it takes me back a long ways. A Lead Artist is responsible for art directing the look of the game, working to set schedules for the artists, wrangling the day to day time of those artists, and working with the Producer and Programmers to solve problems and work out any technical issues with overall art production and implementation. A Lead Designer is responsible for overseeing the creation of game play systems— everything from combat to level designs and even overseeing story creation. They also have to work with the art team to convey a sense of what they want in terms of how everything needs to tie together to make the gameplay flow. Now, back in the SNES days we had pretty small teams, so each team member had the opportunity to wear a lot of hats. For this project, on the Art and Design side of things, we had two Lead Designers, a Lead Artist, and two Artists. I acted as both Lead Artist and one of the Lead Designers. So that means we had an Art and Design team of only four people. Because of that, I worked right alongside the other two artists in creating assets for the game, such as sprite animation and level art – so that means I was acting as an Artist, Lead Artist, and Lead Designer all at once. In terms of design, everyone was able to contribute ideas, especially during brainstorming meetings. I ended up working more on the overall story and combat / enemy design, while the other Lead Designer did more of the level designs and final dialogue. CC: Did you have any awareness of either the 2040 cartoon or The Phantom comic/ strip before working on the game? BB: When this project came to us, the Phantom 2040 show only existed in script and character designs. I was familiar with the Phantom comic strips that were pretty ubiquitous in the Sunday comics of the newspaper, but I wasn’t overly familiar with it, having never really followed it. This changed rapidly, as the team delved into the history of the character and where the new show was going to take him. CC: Phantom 2040 was pretty early in your career, but you had worked on previous games as designer and artist. How did 2040 compare to those projects? BB: I had worked on four previous games by the time we started the Phantom . This was actually my third time developing for the SNES, but my first Genesis (Mega Drive) game. And I think it was the first time anyone on the Art and Design team had worked on dual platform development, where the game you’re making is being developed on two platforms at once. This was my first Lead Artist position on a project, so that was a change. In terms of design, I had been involved as a designer on games pretty much from my first project, and by the second and third projects I was co-designing and lead designing. But, on those early, pre- Phantom games, we didn’t really have design titles. We just had Artists, Programmers, & Producers. On the design side, it was kind of a wild west, with the whole team invited to contribute. In practical terms, that meant that team members who had a passion for design, and could back it up with good ideas and instincts, just sort of slipped into the role. Of course, this also meant they were not only doing their regular job (Art, Programming, Producer, etc), but also the whole other job of design. But this started to change around the time of Phantom 2040 . For example, we actually started to get job titles that reflected our design duties, (not just after-the-fact design credits in the game), so that felt like a big change. It also meant that the production pipeline was acknowledging the role that design had to play, taking it into account in terms of scheduling your time, and giving power to designers to enact a vision for gameplay. In addition to being a Co-Lead Designer on Phantom, I was also being lent out to other teams to help with design (and sometimes art) on their projects. Keep in mind that I was something like 23 years old at the time, and the youngest person in the company. It was a lot of responsibility, but I loved working on all these games and helping teams find the fun in their games. So, in all, Phantom 2040 was actually quite the big change—I had started as an Artist, but was quickly moving into a more Game Design centric role, which is where my career eventually took me. CC: Before 2040 you had worked on several other licenced games, such as Rocko's Modern Life . What's working on a licenced game like? Does the licence holder have to approve all art, gameplay and story details or are you just given a basic idea and off you go? BB: All of the games I had worked on up until Phantom were licenses. Back then, licensed games were usually looked down on, and with good reason, because it seemed like publishers were just kicking out poorly made games with a license slapped on it to make quick cash. Around that time, the studio I worked for (ICOM Simulations) was acquired by Viacom, and renamed Viacom New Media. They wanted us to make games based on their large catalogue of properties, from Nickelodeon and MTV shows to Star Trek and other movies. But it quickly became clear that some of the big wigs at Viacom didn’t seem to care about quality. When I was working on Beavis and Butt-head in Virtual Stupidity , I was literally told that it didn’t have to be good, it would sell based on the license alone. Well, you can imagine what the dev teams thought of this attitude. We didn’t listen. We always rejected that attitude, and tried to make the best game we could, given the time and resources we were given. Working on a license game means that, yes, everything has to be run by the license holder. In this case, it was Hearst, which owned the Phantom , and was part of the Viacom conglomerate. They had the right to approve all story, gameplay, art, character designs, music, you name it. Now, as sometimes happens when you work on a licensed property, the Phantom 2040 show was very much in development when we started working on the game. All we had were episode synopses, character and mechanical line art, and some broad property “bible” documents—the kind of docs you put together to try and describe what it is your trying to make. So, because the show was still formulating, we had a lot of leeway in what we did. I don’t remember receiving a lot of feedback from the licensors, or having any trouble getting our ideas and concepts approved. In fact, games were pretty foreign and new to a lot of people in Hollywood back then (hence the “New Media” title they put them under); it wasn’t like anyone at the licensor had any opinions on gameplay. So, my recollection was that it was a fairly smooth process, but I wasn’t as involved with that back and forth as the Producer would have been. CC: In my research I read that originally your team were going to work on an Aeon Flux game - the animated series whose creator, Peter Chung, provided the character designs for the Phantom 2040 animated series - but Viacom decided to go with the 2040 licence instead. Was there any shared DNA between the games, or was no work started on Aeon Flux ? BB: We had actually been working on proposals for several games at the time, based on properties Viacom was interested in turning into video game projects. I remember working on putting a proposal together for a game based on Peter Cheung’s Aeon Flux , which was airing on Viacom’s MTV network at the time, as well as Joe’s Apartment . We were pretty excited about Aeon Flux , as that was something quite cool and different at the time: edgy, adult animated shorts that broke the mold and leaned more towards the Anime stuff that Western audiences were really just starting to discover (but that I was very much immersed in). But, Viacom also had Phantom 2040 , which Peter was contributing to, and they decided to move forward with a game based on that instead. I’m sure that they saw more opportunity there, as this was going to be a more accessible show, and widely syndicated on regular TV. So we switched gears. We had already been doing some test sprites and backgrounds in Peter’s style, (based on the Aeon Flux short War ), so it flowed quite well. But Aeon Flux is definitely one of those “games that got away” that I have always been bummed we didn’t get to do! I remember one of the Aeon Flux ideas we pitched was at least partially in third person, like Atari’s Xybots , or the third person corridor sequences of the Contra games. The big wigs at Viacom didn’t think this was a good use of the Aeon Flux character, as “what player would want to always look at her backside?” Tomb Raider was only a few years away, and well, how times have changed since. CC: There are some very interesting enemy designs in the game, especially Graft's heart-monster boss and the final boss of Maxwell Madison Sr., that have some strong biomechanical themes to them that were only somewhat teased at in the show. Why did you decide to go down that route? BB: Well, we didn’t have much to work with from the show for some of the characters we wanted to include, like Maxwell Sr., and the animation studio certainly hadn’t designed them as “end bosses.” So we had to extrapolate from their original designs and come up with stuff that would work for a side scroller game. But, to be honest, while we really liked the character designs from the show, we weren’t really feeling the mechanical designs! So we took the route of taking their initial designs and putting our own spins on them. I did a lot of the enemy and mechanical designs for new stuff, and really only used the show reference as a starting off point. Graft’s power armor is a good example—I tried to make it beefier and more military looking. My influences were mostly being drawn from anime. Things like Patlabor, Mobile Suit Gundam , and Appleseed . In terms of the bio-mechanical designs, that was really just a design concept that I was really into at the time. There were some anime and manga like Aura Battler Dunbine, Bubblegum Crisis , and Guyver that I remember drawing a lot of inspiration from. CC: Phantom 2040 is an early example of branching storytelling within games. While this is rather common now, was it hard to achieve in 1995? BB: Yes and no. Phantom 2040 was my first project that really had a story with any depth. We wanted to make it more than just a shooter, with a story, and dramatic twists, the way that many Japanese RPG [ Role Playing Games - Joe ] and adventure games were doing at the time. The idea was to make something that was overall linear, but that allowed the player to make choices at certain points. We didn’t want the story to branch out into too many directions and become a spider’s web, as that can quickly lead to making a ton more content than an average player will ever actually see. We couldn’t afford to do that, neither in dev time or ROM space [ “ROM space” is the amount of memory available on a game cartridge - Joe ]. But we also didn’t want something that was linear. We wanted more replayability than that. To achieve this, we set it up so that the main story had a linear path, but along that path there were points where the player was given the freedom to choose where to go and what to tackle next. Major branch points would lead the player to playing one storyline or area, but skipping another. But once they were done with that section, the story would funnel them back to the main plot for a while, and then open back up again after that with another major choice. Rinse and repeat. Sprinkled into that were other minor choices, plus some secret paths that would allow dedicated players to get the best ending. So we were able to easily control the story, allow the player to make meaningful choices, and give them reasons to replay the game. It also gave us an opportunity to have multiple endings, where the player choices were reflected. CC: The game boasts 20 different endings, but most players have probably only seen a handful of these. Are the differences in the endings subtle, or are just some a lot harder to achieve than others? BB: Now it’s been many, many, many years, but my recollection is that there were a handful of “real” endings; endings that majorly changed the outcome. These were based on the major decisions that you made in the game, and the bosses you decided to go after in the final chapter. The other endings were “news reports” that would be tacked on to the major endings, where other minor choices that the player made in the game would further add to the main ending. CC: The game has something of a notorious reputation as being very hard to achieve a good ending with. I've played through the game countless times and I only know of one way to achieve a good ending that requires the player to find a secret room in one of the later levels which is very easy to miss if you're not looking for it. Was this by design, or have gamers been missing something for the past 24 years? BB: The best ending in the game was intentionally made difficult to achieve. It required that the player find a way to tackle ALL the enemy factions/end-bosses at the end of the game—otherwise they simply defeated one enemy to have the others rise to power. That was by design. And yes, the ultimate ending was supposed to require the player to find secret ways to do that. Again, we were aiming for replayability—back in the SNES/Genesis era a good game often needed some replayability to make it worth the investment. Now, for many years, I’ve been under the impression that the very best ending in the game is actually not possible to achieve because we messed up in our final testing. I wasn’t really around at the end of the project. I had been rushed over to Beavis and Butt-head in Virtual Stupidity as Phantom 2040 was readying for release (remember that I was being lent around to a lot of teams, and the company wanted me working on the design for the next game while the previous game was art complete and in testing). Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after the game was done and shipped that I discovered a possible bug that made the best ending impossible to achieve. Needless to say, there were no patches back in those days, and it was a huge disappointment to know that we had missed this mistake before going gold. I don’t blame anyone else for that. I had been moved on to another project, but I should have taken it upon myself to keep a better eye on the final testing. That’s my recollection anyway. In poking around the web, it seems that most guides do list four “good endings.” So it’s possible that the mistake did not make it into all versions. I have seen someone theorizing that the best ending can’t be achieved on the Genesis/Mega Drive version, and that may be the bug I found so many years ago. CC: Do you have any more details on the bug that caused players to not be able to complete the game fully? BB: So it’s my recollection that there were at least four major endings for the game, three of which you can achieve just by surviving to the credits no matter how you get there. I think I may have seen guides online calling these the “good” endings, and so maybe I should have used the term “major endings” instead? However, three of these endings are only “good” insofar as you beat the game and survived. If you get to the end and see the “Try Again” message, then you did not get the “true” or “best” ending. The “true” ending was only supposed to be achieved if you could figure out how to fight and defeat all the different factions in the game (Maximum, Triads, Orbital), while the other endings were mainly based on which faction(s) you did take down, leaving the others to go about their evil business. There may have been other things you needed to do to get the best ending as well, but stopping all the factions was key – i.e. even if you played a perfect game up to the bosses, if you let one escape, you will be asked to “Try Again.” Part of doing that (as far as I remember) is that you had to follow the story in the last chapter to defeat the Triads, and then, instead of moving on to the final boss (Maximum), you needed to find a secret door which would take you to a shuttle which leads to the Orbital Sean One boss, and then after fighting him, make your way into Maximum to confront Max Sr. Now, according to walk-thrus I’ve seen online this seems to work. But, I remember playing a release of the game and NOT being able to access that secret passage to take the detour to the Orbital boss, but I don’t remember which platform I was playing. If the walk through [I read was] for SNES [and] is correct, that may mean that the bug only exists on the Genesis/MD version. I had found this on a website that may confirm there is a problem on the MD version: “As far as I can tell, you can't access the Space Port until chapter 6 on MD, at which point you can't exit the area after entering it (which means you can't get to the Energy 1/2, a damage increaser and an energy bar upgrade without getting a bad ending) - On SNES you can enter the Space Port as early as before the second sewer mission, get the items and continue with whatever mission you were on. You can also enter it in chapter 6 and still exit, to go back and into the Maximum building instead. If this is correct then there's no way of getting 100% on MD, so it might not be.” Having said all that, I also have to remind you that it’s been a long while since I worked on the game, AND I was moved off to work on other projects before it went gold. So it’s very possible that someone made a change, didn’t tell me, and I didn’t realize it, at least on the MD version, which was definitely finalized by the remaining team after I left. In other words, maybe what I found was not a bug, but just a design change that was never communicated to me. The real test is to see if anyone has ever gotten the true ending (by defeating all three bosses and without getting “Try Again” on both SNES and MD). Joe’s Note: Before emailing Brian originally, I actually did play through and complete the game with the true ending, eg all boss factions defeated. While I played via emulator the version I played was the US Genesis version. So, it’s possible that it’s the PAL Mega Drive version of the game this bug exists in. CC: The game has a huge emphasis on exploration, and players can miss huge chunks of it if they don't take the time to turn over every rock. Are there any secrets in the game that players may not have discovered that you can tell us about? BB: So we made the levels large and exploration-heavy to add to replayability. But, as I said above, we really tried to avoid making large chunks of content that players would never see. So I think all of the main area levels should be easy to find, and most of the content is there to explore, based off your decisions, without resorting to secrets. But the levels are twisty, and link to each other in various ways, ways which allow the player to grab power ups and weapons earlier, etc. I think those have all been found. Now, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t secrets in the game that players may not have found. I didn’t do many of the level designs, so I can’t really say. CC: Was there anything left on the cutting room floor that you would have liked to see in the game but couldn't fit in there? BB: Actually, I don’t think so. This was truly an ambitious game for us, and I think I was pretty happy with all the content that we squeezed into the cartridge. I don’t even remember any enemies or mecha designs that wound up on the cutting room floor. CC: In the Ghost Jungle, we can clearly see the initials "JP" spray painted on the walls in the background. Is this in reference to the Jungle Patrol from the original Phantom strips or have phans been reading too much into it? Are there any Easter eggs in the game at all? BB: Sorry, but I can confirm that “JP” is a reference to the level artist who did those graphics— those were his initials. ☺ CC: Something I've always found fascinating about the 2040 game is the sheer amount of differences between its versions. There are simple things such as extra lives being represented by a 1-Up icon on the Mega Drive, while they are an icon of the Phantom's face on the SNES, to the final stage of the last boss fight being completely different. Obviously the consoles ran different hardware, but some of the changes between the Mega Drive and SNES versions seem to be more design choices rather than necessitated by hardware. Can you tell us why these changes were made and which, if any, version you consider to be the closest to what you envisioned for the game? BB: There was nothing planned to be different because of hardware platform. The biggest difference between the two platforms was palette colors—the SNES was capable of more robust and colorful palettes than the Genesis. So, at least in terms of the art production, the SNES version was always created first, and the graphics “downconverted” and touched up for Genesis. That is also the order of implementation—the SNES version of something was coded first, then re-created for the Genesis not long after. I don’t remember why the 1-ups are different. I had a theory that it was because we couldn’t afford to have the Phantom’s purple colors in the palette reserved for the power ups, but according to one of the sprite artists, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Maybe it was SEGA wanting a change? But there’s something else that may have allowed these changes to creep in as well; the SNES version was finished first, and once that version was code complete, the Lead Programmer was moved on to another project. Many of the artists, myself included, were also moved over to other teams, leaving only a couple people left to finish off the Genesis version. Now, without getting into specifics, I can say that the team had some “creative differences.” Once many of us had moved on, those left were free to finish the Genesis version however they wanted. I would guess that any major difference, especially on things that were developed towards the end of the game (end boss, etc) were due to those “creative differences.” The end boss differences might simply come down to them running out of time, as well. As far as which version is my preferred, I would have to choose the SNES. CC: Another strange difference is between the Mega Drive PAL and NTSC territories. In the NTSC version we get the full story line with cutscenes and everything. In the PAL version we only get the summerised story. For YEARS I didn't know there were any cutscenes in the game because I had the PAL copy. What was the reason for this difference? BB: No idea. I’ve never seen the PAL versions and wasn’t involved in their approval. I might seem to recall that someone wanted to fit it on a smaller ROM, and cutting story graphics might have been the easiest way to achieve that? CC: While the game reviewed well for the most part upon release, are you surprised that now, some 24 years on, that it has something of a cult following within the retro gaming community and, of course, among Phantom fans? BB: Yeah, actually! This was the first game I worked on where I felt like my personal art sensibilities just jived with the license. It had mecha, bioengineered soldiers, cyberpunk flying cars—all cool stuff I was excited to play with. But as time went on, it felt like Viacom just sort of abandoned the game. In their desire to get other projects off the ground, mostly development on PC and Playstation One titles, they just kind of moved on from SNES and Genesis projects, which felt like they were left to fend for themselves and get out the door. Then the show itself never caught on, unfortunately. So all that talk about synergy between a show and game never really happened. The game just wound up being out there on its own—a license tie-in with no license to help sell it, really. So it was kind of heart breaking, at the time of release. As game developers we always want to make something that will resonate with players. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes not so much. Sometimes we have the time and money to do our best, sometimes not. I was glad the game got some good reviews. But then I think it was quickly forgotten. I remember about a decade after it released I was at a comic convention exhibiting some of my work, when I ran into another guest who had worked on a Phantom 2040 comic project meant to tie in to the show. It felt like we were the only two people who even remembered Phantom 2040 existed at that point! So for the game to still be out there, still being played, and for players to care enough about the title to seek out more information makes me very happy. Coincidentally, some 20 odd years later I ended up working on another title based on the classic Phantom newspaper strips. It was kind of surreal to be working on Phantom again, and I would regale my co-workers with ridiculous tidbits of Phantom lore I remembered from working on 2040 . And by regale, I mean cause them to shake their heads and wonder why anyone in their right mind would have all this weird trivia imbedded in their brain! CC: Oh, really? What was that other project? BB: It was a slot machine in a mobile casino game called Hit it Rich . It was based on the classic comic strips, and it was released into the casino probably around 2013/14. And it looks like The Phantom slot is still in the app. CC: Before we wrap up, is there anything you'd like to say to the fans of the Phantom 2040 video game? BB: Thanks for playing the game, thanks for keeping it alive, and thanks for taking the time to read about my memories of the development! Please know that a small, but very dedicated team of artists, writers, designers, programmers, and musicians worked very hard to pack it full of content and cool stuff! If you’d like more information about my past and current projects, you can find out more about me at TwilightTangents.com , which includes a Phantom 2040 gallery of the character and mechanical designs I did for the game here . A HUGE “think you” must go to Brian for spending some of his precious time with us answering all of our phanboy questions. However, his generosity does not end there as he also provided us with a heap of wonderful content from his time making the game which will be presented in a new article coming out this week. #Phantom2040 #videogames #Sega #Nintendo #2040 #BrianBabendererde #Viacom

It's almost Christmas, so I wanted to give you guys the first update of our Preservation Project just before the fat man in the red suite arrived as a special little gift from ChronicleChamber. For our first update we'd like to share with you the complete Season Two of Phantom 2040! As I'm sure you're all aware, despite 2040 's cult status among not only Phantom phans but also fans of 90's cartoons the series has only ever seen a release of it's first season on DVD...and that was several years ago. It is looking like we way never see a season 2 DVD release of the tales of the 24th Phantom, but ChronicleChamber is able to provide you with ripped copies of all 17 episodes. As with our previous Preservation Project content, this is only available to our Patrons who are on the $5 tier or higher. If you'd like to join our Patreon and gain access to the Project, you can do so HERE, or read more about the Project HERE . Merry Christmas! #Phantom2040 #Patreon #Downloads #P3

In this episode Joe goes solo and discusses one of his very favourite things - Phantom 2040, from the animated to the video game and other interesting titbits. #Phantom2040 #XBand #Podcast

Phantom 2040 is a French / American animated TV series that aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, 1996 with 35 episodes. The series was generally well accepted by Phantom phans and others. From the series, we got a video game, comic books and some merchandise. Chronicle Chamber has some articles on our website for the video game, How to get the “good” ending on the video game Behind the scenes of the 2040 video game . As well as an interview with Brian Babendererde - The Phantom 2040 video game Designer. A review of the Spanish Phantom 2040 board game . Today we chat with Thom Schillinger who was the art director for the TV Series. If you enjoyed the TV show, you will love this podcast interview as he talks to us about all aspects from development of the show. During the two hours we learn things no one knew before including there was a prototype for a fully articulated figurine that nearly got into development, plus there were more than 35 episodes scheduled. If you are a YouTube viewer, you will love watching as Thom shows us original sketches from the show and an unused movie poster. If you would like to follow Thom Schillinger on social media you can by the following links: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Phantom 2040 group We would love to hear from you on what you think of this podcast episode. You can email us at chroniclechamebr@gmail.com or via our social media profiles: Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram . Do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and or our YouTube Channel .

Publisher of the world’s longest running Phantom comic Mr. Jim Shepherd is a very important man in Phantom circles. Joe Douglas has the pleasure of chatting to the man behind Frew about his publication and his love for a man in purple tights… ChronicleChamber.com : G’day Jim, thanks very much for joining us here at ChronicleChamber.com . First off, for those who came in late, tell us how you first became publisher of the world's longest running Phantom publication. Jim Shepherd: In 1987 I was running a quite successful book publishing company of my own when I was asked by the then partners in Frew to handle some business negotiations on their behalf. Later the same year, one of the partners died and the other decided he wanted to retire. I agreed to buy a small stake in Frew and later purchased 50% of the company. The opportunity later arose to purchase all the issued shares. By 2001 I became the sole owner. CC: The Phantom is a huge pop culture icon in Australia. What is it about the character that makes him so endearing to Australian readers in particular, do you think? JS: Almost certainly because the character has been around for so long…as a syndicated newspaper and magazine strip since the late 1930s for example. It has out-lasted so many syndicated Australian, American and British strips and today ranks No.2 (behind Ginger Meggs) as the most widely distributed comic strip in Australia. Frew has been on the scene since September, 1948. CC: Are you Phantom phan yourself, do you still collect Phantom memorabilia or do you just concentrate on putting the book out? JS: I don’t collect merchandise, although a huge amount comes my way as gifts. I do collect Phantom publications of every type. If anybody out there has a copy of a comic book published in Russia, please get in touch! I think it is the only example of an international Phantom comic book I do not possess. CC: Do you have a personal favorite Phantom story? JS: I still love some of the very early Lee Falk stories and especially the original, The Singh Brotherhood . In no order, other Falk favourites are The Phantom Goes to War , The Golden Circle and The Slave Traders. CC: You were lucky enough to have met the Phantom’s creator, the late Lee Falk. For those of us who never had that honour, tell us a little about the man. JS: I first met Lee when he and wife Elizabeth came to Australia in 1988 and saw him at least once every year until his death. With one exception (when he returned to Australia in the 1990s) we always caught up in New York. He was a highly intelligent man, always friendly and interested in so many things. Despite our age difference, we hit it off because we quickly discovered we shared so many interests….the theatre (his real passion in life!), jazz and classical music, , magic and among many other things, boxing! At many of our longish lunches in New York, we often never broached the subject of comics, but concentrated entirely on the merits of boxers from the golden era of the 1940s and 1950s. CC: Lee Falk’s other comics hero, Mandrake, almost comes hand in hand with the purple clad hero. Even though they have only appeared together on few occasions the characters seem almost inseparable. Do you personally enjoy the Mandrake strips? JS: I loved the Phil Davis era with Mandrake and rate it one of the best illustrated comics of that time. Sadly, a lot of the Mandrake ‘magic’ faded when Davis died, but of course, that can be said for so many other famous strips ranging from Dick Tracy, Joe Palooka, Prince Valiant. CC: This may go in hand with the previous question but apart from The Phantom are you a fan of any other comic books or strips? JS: Far too many to mention in detail! I grew up with vintage Buck Rogers, Dick Tracy, Joe Palooka, Prince Valiant, Flash Gordon and still like to read classic adult/adventure strips of the period. I was also something of a fan of old Australian strips such as Wanda The War Girl! Wish I’d kept the hundreds of old Australian comic books I once owned! CC: Much of Frew’s output in the last few years has been reprints of Egmont stories. How exactly do you choose which stories to print? JS: When I first became involved with Frew, I was extremely selective about Semic and later, Egmont stories, because fairly early, I embarked upon a plan to bring back as many complete (unedited) Lee Falk stories as possible. Now that Frew has re-published so many old Falk stories in their entirety, I have almost been forced into purchasing almost every new story published by Egmont. Once sufficient years have passed, I will probably cut back a little on new Scandinavian stories and bring back more of the old Falk adventures. CC: Recently Frew has printed many multi-part Egmont tales. Due, I assume, to the availability of the scripts and art there is often a “filler” issue between one part of the story and the next. If Frew has these stories to use as “fillers” would it not be better to print those “filler” stories until all issues of a multi-part story are at your disposal rather than having the story interrupted by an unrelated tale, or is Frew not able to do this? JS: Go back a little and you will note that we did, in fact, publish Semic and Egmont serial stories in an unbroken line. Sadly, Egmont now follows a schedule of having long gaps between episodes of serial works and it is not unusual for a four-part story to be spread over 12 months. I’d like to run part stories in a continual line, but this is not possible. CC: It’s known that some Egmont re-prints in Frew editions are edited to conceal nudity and such. An example would be the story Giovanna which saw the title characters’ bare breasts covered in the Frew edition. However, in Son of the Pirate Queen (Frew #1389, 1426, 1427) a female pirate’s naked breasts are seen in nearly every page. Also, in the recent Circe’s Island (Frew #1455, 1456) Felmang’s art, while not explicit is defiantly suggestive yet these stories were not edited or censured in any way. I am not saying these decisions were wrong, but could you explain how you decide what stories need censoring which stories do not? JS: It’s true that for quite a long time, I ‘censored’ many Scandinavian stories. Some of the older stories were far more explicit than current creations. It’s really a matter of public reaction. Since I eased up on my self-imposed ‘censorship’ policy, we have had virtually no complaints. Obviously there is a new level of acceptance out there! CC: The question of censorship in Frew’s comics raises the question as to what age group you’re aiming your comics at. While young children can easily enjoy The Phantom – indeed many phans started reading the comics at an early age – there are a number of possible “mature” themes in some of Frew’s issues, such as the near murderous rampage the Phantom goes on due to suffering from a bullet wound in the Year One story line. In this day and age that is very sensitive as to what children are exposed to how do you decide what age group to aim your publication at and if the stories you publish are acceptable for that demographic? JS: I have tried hard to establish exactly our audience. The best I can offer is that the bulk of our customers are 20 years and over and that the largest growth area is 50 years and over! Younger girls and boys buy The Phantom of course, but judging by correspondence we receive, I believe sub-teenagers comprise less than 15% of the total. When you think about it, think Mission Impossible when you try to settle on story selection which will not offend anti-violence and semi-adult themes. So many of the Scandinavian stories these days are at least a mite gory and the American dailies and Sundays contain varying degrees of violence. Just try to be careful! CC: Are younger audiences something that Frew has to keep in mind? Obviously if a book doesn’t pull in more readers it will eventually fade away and getting them while their young seems to be the best way of ensuring you’ll have lasting fans. Has Frew taken, or do you plan to take any steps towards promoting The Phantom to a younger audience? JS: We do not have any specific plans to promote towards younger audiences. Frankly, there are too few suitable stories available and as previously said, the growth market is with older people. It seems so many older people are re-discovering The Phantom. Now, that’s a highly unusual situation when you compare it to the current United States comics market! CC: A subject of much discussion in the Phantom on-line community is that of the Phantom being “updated.” The Phantom has always been a modern character for the time in which he is written. In your opinion, would it be at all “wrong” to see the Phantom using, say, broadband Internet rather than that giant, ancient radio he keeps in the Skull Cave to contact Diana and the Jungle Patrol in this techno savvy year of 2006? JS: The Phantom is far more up-market these days in terms of technology. The Catch-22 situation is that whenever we bring back an old story, he reverts to his old fashioned methods of communication. I don’t think it matters one iota. The true fans simply love the stories! CC: Speaking of technology in Phantom stories, Frew has recently published the first two parts of Hans Lindahl’s Cyberspace run of stories (Frew #1442, 1460). These seem to have been well received by phans, but what is your personal opinion on them? JS: The Cyberspace series has had a slightly mixed reception, but overall, seems to have been popular enough. I have really enjoyed them! There will not be too many more stories on such themes. CC: Still on the Cyberspace stories, tales such as this really demonstrate the versatility of the character. Do you believe writers should experiment more with The Phantom? Take our hero to different places and put him in situations we might not have expected? JS: I’m not in favour of The Phantom venturing into sci-fi domains. Nor are the vast bulk of readers. If there is one message contained in reader correspondence, it is that The Phantom should be seen more often in his jungle domain. I agree! CC: Going off Frew’s publication for a moment, have you seen or read any of American publisher Moonstone’s Phantom comics? The majority of Phans seem to be enjoying these books and they have been selling well as well as raising awareness of The Phantom in America to the highest point it’s been since, possibly, the 1996 feature film, especially among younger readers. Surely this can only be a good thing? JS: I have every Moonstone edition. I’m not really impressed with most of the art and most of the stories. For some unaccountable reason, the Moonstone creators seem to be trying to turn The Phantom into a B-grade ‘super hero’. CC: The Frew Annual is an issue that is much looked forward to every year. However, a number of phans have said they’d like to see one or two changes in the Annual’s format, for example haveing a free poster instead of or as well as the replica issue. Other’s have suggested keeping the Annual itself full of Phantom stories but instead of the free replica they’d prefer a reprint of Mandrake the Magician strips. Would you ever consider changing the format of the Annual? JS: Frew’s Annual is by far our largest seller each year. I have no plans to dramatically ch the current format and unsurprisingly, even new chum fans seem to appreciate seeing old Frew editions, cute as many were! During 2007, Frew will commence adding bonus items to selected editions (similar to the Lee Falk tribute issue earlier this year). We have something really special planned to accompany our 1500th edition which will appear in April, 2007. It’s so secret I’m not dropping even a hint at this stage. I’ll include a Mandrake story in the Annual only if it is a Phantom crossover. CC: Something else phans have been asking for are books reprinting Falk’s strips in chronological order rather than the “miscellaneous” way they are appearing in Frew at the moment. It has been suggested that perhaps the Annual could adopt this format. Would Frew ever consider doing anything along these lines? JS: Another Catch-22 situation. It’s far too late to even think about publishing a chronological run of Lee Falk dailies and Sundays. There would be far too much repetition. A pity, but when Frew started, stories appeared at random! CC: Would you consider publishing Mandrake as a regular book again? JS: No. We tried Mandrake some years ago and the results, while passable, were not economically viable. CC: New issues used to have original covers produced by artists such as Glenn Ford and Antonio Lemos rather than the “photocopied” covers we see now. Is there any chance Frew will return to original cover for their books? JS: Yes. However, our research has proved beyond doubt that editions sporting a cover linked to the contained story work far better than one-off, theme-style covers. Glenn Ford is always welcome and Antonio Lemos and ‘Tessa’ (Terry Welsby) are still contributing. CC: In a recent interview one of Moonstone’s Phantom writers said that they have to follow strict guidelines laid down by King Features when creating a Phantom story. Does Frew have to follow any similar rules or guidelines? JS: King Features does not insist on anything from Frew (other than the best possible good taste). We have a strong and wonderful relationship. CC: There are a number of Falk stories that have been out of print for over ten years, such as Romance and the Vesta Pirates . Do you plan to reprint these stories anytime soon? JS: Commencing early 2007 there will be upwards of 20 older Falk stories slotted into the schedule. All have been out of print for upwards of 17 years. CC: Does Frew have any plans to publish any more stories from the Charlton Phantom editions? JS: No. It is now not possible to obtain pristine repros of any Charlton material. More’s the pity! CC: Frew has been printing Phantom comics for close to sixty years now. Surely you must be doing something right! Why do you think the comic has been able to last for so long when others lose popularity? JS: Return to my previous comment re the continual exposure The Phantom receives in Australia. Add to that our cover price! CC: Although The Phantom is arguably Australia’s most popular comic the book doesn’t have a large presence at Australian conventions such as SupaNova, other than Glenn Ford signing and stores selling back issues. With these cons becoming more and more popular would Frew ever consider having a Phantom stall at any of these cons? I’m sure there are many phans who would love to help out and many more who would visit. JS: Frew has been represented at a number of Australian conventions, but admittedly, not for some years. My feeling is that the current Cons are aimed directly at the super hero audience. The Phantom is way outside this market. Frew editions have, however, been exposed at a number of up-market promotions in Canberra and currently, in Melbourne. ​ CC: One of my favorite Phantom stories is Search for Byron (Frew #1131). Is there any chance will see you pick up the writers pen once more? JS: Not in the immediate future. Loved the experience (and thanks for your comment!), but I am so busy on so many other fronts (mainly sporting) as an historian for the Sydney Cricket Ground and NSW Sports Centre Trusts and as Patron and newsletter compiler with the Veteran Speedway Riders Association of Australia. That’s just the tip of the iceberg! CC: Thanks very much for your time Jim, I wish you and Frew the very best for the future! It’s been a pleasure! JS: The pleasure has been all mine. Thanks for the opportunity. #Frew #JimShepherd #LeeFalk #Mandrake #Egmont #Semic #Moonstone #GlennFord #AntonioLemos #TerryWelsby #Supanova #KingFeaturesSyndicate

After the recent passing of longtime Egmont Phantom artist Carlos Cruz, ChronicleChamber has reached out to one of the colleagues who knew him best: Team Fantomen editor Ulf Granberg . Ulf has kindly contributed the following tribute to one of the very highly talented artists in the Egmont team. Carlos Cruz was recruited to ”Team Fantomen” by me in 1987. In the mid 80’s the Swedish production of stories with the Phantom for the Scandinavian market was in full swing, with an annual output of 650 – 700 pages by four scriptwriters and eight artists. But in order to meet sudden problems, drops and even stops in this flow, the production had to be 750 pages or more - and I had to find at least one more artist to be able to sleep peacefully at night. Carlos Cruz was suggested to me by Luis Llorente who was running Creaciones Editoriales , a comic art agency based in Mottingham outside London. Luis was an old friend of Norman Worker who had been writing Phantom scripts for me since 1976. Creaciones Editoriales was one of the agencies which served the Publishing houses of IPC in London and DC Thompson in Dundee with stories for their line of comic books. Luis knew I was looking for more artists (and scriptwriters) for the Phantom and a year earlier he had suggested artist César Spadari - based in Buenos Aires – to me. César submitted a sample page and I hired him right away. Today, 30 years later, César is still drawing stories with the Phantom for the Swedish comic book. The procedure was very much the same this time – Carlos submitted two sample pages and when I took the pages out of the tube and looked at them, I immediately realised that this was the work of a master hand. Carlos had a very fine and distinct line, his figures were in good control and his Phantom figure was big, muscular and powerful. Needless to say Carlos Cruz was hired on the spot and with returning mail (to Luis, the agent – Carlos didn’t speak English) I also included the first in a long line of Phantom scripts to Carlos. This script titled Kano & Aybol , a take off on the tale of ”Cain and Abel” in the Holy Bible, was written by Donne Avenell – also a good friend of Norman Worker – who had joined ”Team Fantomen” in 1978 on the recommendation of Norman. Carlos did a wonderful job on Kano and Aybol and the adventure was published in issue 15/1988 of the Swedish Fantomen comic book. A couple of months later his second story – The Cagliostro Mystery written by Norman Worker – was published in issue 19/1988. And so the it went on… Carlos delivered a finished story roughly every third to fourth month for the next fifteen years. Always very carefully drawn, always on time, always reliable. I can’t remember Carlos Cruz ever missing a deadline during his entire career as artist on the Phantom. In all Carlos drew 55 adventure stories with the Phantom – one of them was (of course) The Man from la Mancha, written by Norman Worker and published in issue 8/1992. Carlos’ last story was The Horn of Roland , again on a script by Norman Worker and published in issue 6/2004. Like most of his fellow artists on the Phantom Carlos took great pleasure in drawing period adventures with old sailing ships, old weapons and dresses of the period - and/or jungle stories with wild animals. I met Carlos the first time in 1988 in Malaga together with Luis Llorente and Norman Worker. We came down from London to the south of Spain for a couple of days and we spent a marvellous afternoon and evening in Carlos' house – which was very close to the sea, sitting practically on the beach – having dinner together with all his family. We were dining on a patio outside the house and on trellis-work over our heads wine grapes were growing and hanging down within easy reach for the dining guests. It was magic! His daughter presented me with a plaited bracelet in different green colours as a memoir of the visit. I still keep this bracelet today… The next day Carlos wanted to guide us around Malaga and he was particularly eager to show us all his offices, he said, and I was quite puzzled until we reached his first ”office”. It turned out to be a tapas bar. In fact all his offices were tapas bars, and I think I lost track of how many we made a stop at long before we were halfway through the full number of them. How I got back to the hotel that afternoon I still don’t know. Probably the scriptwriter and the agent gave the poor editor a helping hand. On the third day in Spain Luis, Norman and I visited the Alhambra Palace in Grenada, but that’s another story. I’m so sad to learn that Carlos Cruz now has passed away. He was a great artist from those times when drawing realistic series demanded true craftsmanship, hard and meticulous work and scrupulous care to every detail. Many thousands of readers in Scandinavia and Australia have enjoyed and admired his work over a long period of years. Thank you so much for sharing it with us, Carlos. Descanse en paz, mi amigo. Ulf Granberg #CarlosCruz #UlfGranberg #NormanWorker #CésarSpadari #DonneAvenell #Fantomen #Egmont

This is in part what I wrote 20 years ago when Jaime Vallvé had passed away and originally appeared in Fantomen 10/2001. Today we remember Jaime 20 years on. Jaime Vallvé was a great artist and comics creator who put aside his ink pen and brush permanently and left us. On October 15 2000 Jaime Peralta Vallvé passed away in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was 72 years old. Jaime was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1928 and as a teenager he started to draw comics to be able to pay for his studies to study as an artist. In the late 1940’s he move to Paris, France where for 8 years he studied fine art, engraving and architecture. In Paris he met Birthe a Danish girl and his wife to be. They moved to Denmark in the early 1960’s. Jaime started in the Scandinavian market by drawing for Danish Syndicate PIB (Presse Illustrations Bureau) the daily strip series ”Eddie” based on the French movies with actor Eddie Constantine playing the private detective Lemmy Caution. In the early 1970’s Jaime was contacted by Semic Press to draw the Phantom, a comic character which he loved and suited his style very well. His style was a very strong personal style with broad brush strokes and his layouts brimmed with action. He developed the Scandinavian Phantom strip into an expressive concept and gave new life to the character. Jaime Vallvé quickly became the main artist on the Scandinavian Phantom strip, a position he held for almost 20 years. He sat an example and his style inspired many of the Phantom artists after him - even today. The 'Team Fantomen' team grew around him and todays Team Fantomen is what it is largely because of him. He showed the way, he was a pathfinder. In all Jaime Vallvé drew 116 Phantom adventures, close to 4000 pages of artwork on the Phantom, and painted around 70 cover illustrations. My first meeting with Jaime Vallvé took place in the Spring of 1973. I was a young and a new appointed editor on the Phantom. He was already well known and an exciting artist who had already started working on the Phantom for the previous editor. He lived with his family – wife and three daughters – in Bullerup, a small hamlet on the Danish island of Fyn. His working place was a former stable which he had turned into a studio (Jaime was also a very dexterous person) and behind the stable turned studio he also ran an old derelict railroad. It was all very rural and wonderful. Our first visit started off with an extravagant Danish smorgasbord with Danish aquavit. I remember how we all, Jaime, his wife Birthe, my boss and myself, after this luxurious dinner took a stroll along the old railroad and Jaime expressed his delight to have been entrusted with drawing the Phantom. Then he unexpectedly broke out in different opera arias! He loved opera – just like Lee Falk did – and he had a pleasant light voice. It was indeed an enchanted evening. We were treated like kings and it was the start of a warm friendship which has lasted all these years. The once off visit soon became a tradition where I would visit Jaime and his family once or twice a year for decades. Now the tragic message of his passing has put an end to this wonderful tradition. In memory you will live, Jaime, not just with me, but in memory with all who have admired your artistic skills and your Phantom adventures. Rest in peace now, my dear friend. Ulf Granberg

In this episode Jermayn Parker  is joined by co-host Stephen East . These podcasts are our attempt to wrap up everything from comic reviews to catching up on the latest newspaper Comics Kingdom stories and related news from around the world. The hardest thing is to try and keep abreast of everything that happens in a month and stay concise - we usually fail. We will admit, the boys did get off-topic and distracted from the runsheet in a few places. If we do not discuss the Phantom comics from your country, that is because we are still looking for someone to review them for us. Please get in touch with us if that interests you. Otherwise, we love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. 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. Daily / Sunday Adventures Progress Daily #269 - " The Muckmen of Zumaridi River " by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley : 3 Minutes Sunday #197 - " The Ungraved " by Tony DePaul  and Jeff Weigel : 15 Minutes & 30 Seconds Australia (Frew Comics) Frew #2011: 23 Minutes " The Heir of Frankenstein " by Joan Boix " Hunter's Prey, Part 2 " by Shane Foley Frew #2012: 43 Minutes " Return to the Temple of the Gods " by Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel " The Avarice Has Landed " by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley Phantom Comics from around the world ECR 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 126 and 128 (Germany): 1 Hour & 5 Minutes " Prinz Hali und der weiße Hengst " (" Prince Hali and the White Stallion ") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Ballermann-Stadt " (" Bullets' Town ") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Die Killer " (" The Killer ") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Der Seegott " (" The Sea God ") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Die Tasche " ("The Satchel") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Die Verbrecherschule " ("The Crime School") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Die Höhlenwelten " ("The Cavelands"") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Hzzz " (" Hzzz "") by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry Die Klassiker #2 & #3 (Austria):  1 Hour & 18 Minutes " Die Sky-Band " (" The Sky Band ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore " Krieg im Dschungel " (" The Diamond Hunters ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore " Kleiner Toma " (" Little Toma ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore " Der Gefangene des Himalaya " (" The Prisoner of the Himalayas ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore " Abenteuer in Algier " (" Adventure in Algiers ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore Zack Edition #2 (Germany): 1 Hour & 28 Minutes " Tödliche Dinosaurier " (" Deadly Dinosaurs ") by Bernd Frenz  and Carlos Pedrazzini " Dunkler Rauch über Bangalla " (" Dark Smoke over Bengali ") by Bernd Frenz  and Heiner Bade Mad Cave Studios Phantom Series #3 (USA):  1 Hour & 31 Minutes " The Tempest, Part 3 " by Ray Fawkes and Russell Olson Mad Cave Studios  Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny Series #1 (USA):  1 Hour & 46 Minutes " Whatever Mongo's Around" by Dan DiDio  and Alex Sanchez Phantom News from around the world Tony DePaul rewriting Lee Falk -lore again ( link ):   1 Hour & 59 Minutes What if Billy Zane was a gamer? ( link ): 2 Hours & 4 Minutes Publisher news Frew 2026 annual details ( link ): 2 Hours & 8 Minutes Fantomen Best Adventure stories poll now open: 2 Hours & 11 Minutes New German comic series on Heiner Bade ( link ): 2 Hours & 13 Minutes Tasq Force Annual #2 out & sold out ( link ): 2 Hours & 14 Minutes RIP Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa aka Kabai Sengh ( link ):  2 Hours & 15 Minutes Prize draws:  2 Hours & 17 Minutes 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 .

In this episode the gang is back together after a few months of separation, as they chat with Australian comedian Sammy J, who 10 years ago toured Australia with his award-winning show Hero Complex . This show explores the friendship between two men who bonded over Phantom comics and spanned from the schoolyard to an Australian federal agent searching an attic. Sammy J talks to us about the last 10 years, and how because of the show, it has seen several great future stories to be told. This 2026 version of the show is a great encore with many more laughs to be had. Sammy J , will tell us why, even if you attended the first show, this is not a show to be missed. The beauty about this show is that it is a great opportunity to attend the show with your friends and loved ones who may have questioned your addiction or, if you are lucky enough, attend the show with other like-minded Phantom phans from around the country. If you would like to attend one of the shows and would like to attend with another phan, let us know and we will help where possible to connect you with one. If you would like to find out more about Sammy J , you can find him on the various social media platforms and his website. The tour dates are below. Sammy J website Instagram Facebook YouTube channel Collection of photos from the initial show, videos and reviews on our website X-Band: The Phantom Podcast  Episode #45 - Interview with Sammy J  and the gardener. X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode #74 - Follow up interview after the show. 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 .