In January and February 2025, we saw Mike Manley and Tony DePaul release a two-week fleshing out of the Phantom lore in newspapers and Comics Kingdom . In Phantom terms, we call it "For Those Who Came In Late". This short two weeks explored the origin story of the first Phantom and his father leaving England to be boarded and shipwrecked by the Singh Pirates. At the time of this appearing, the team on the X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts, wondered why Tony and Mike did not explore in as much detail once the First Phantom was shipwrecked. Now we know why. It is time for Jeff Weigel to have a go and explore what happens between being shipwrecked and swearing the oath. According to a recent blog post by creator Tony DePaul , from February 2026, it will be Jeff Weigel 's turn to add to the origin story of the Phantom . While Mike Manley did not contradict anything told prior by Lee Falk and/or previous stories created by others published in Frew and Team Fantomen , Tony has already told us the new story will (in his own words) " overturn, ignore, [or] neglect " what Lee Falk wrote in a 1975 Sunday Phantom story. " The First Phantom " is the 96th Phantom Sunday story, first published in newspapers in 1975. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Sy Barry and features Lee Falk fleshing out the origin of the relationship between the Bandar tribe and the Phantom family. This story includes the Bandar tribe originally being enslaved and waiting for a man to be washed upon the shore to rescue them. In reading what Tony DePaul wrote in his blog, this is what it seems he may be looking to rewrite or even remove a possible 'whitewashing' element in a 50-year-old story from established Phantom origin lore. While this story may have a clumsy element in it, it does feature a few important 'firsts' and origin tellings. Including how the home of the Phantom - the Deep Woods—was introduced to the Phantom family by the Bandar. It also tells us the origin of the costume being based on the Wasaka tribe's demon-like god and how it became purple. The story also explores the mystery behind the poison that transformed the Bandar from a meek tribe to the most fearsome tribe in East Africa. For those who have not read this story, we have a slideshow of the story below in this article for you to read. Click on the first image, and it will enlarge, and you can flip and read at your pace. We suspect Tony DePaul will be rewriting the need of the Phantom being a white saviour to the Bandar. Our question is, is there a need to rewrite Phantom lore even if it is unfavarouble in today's society? Why is there a need to rewrite " The Chain " story and now " The First Phantom " story? Is this a desire from Tony DePaul or a desire from King Features, who may want to recreate Phantom lore and history as they attempt to make the Phantom more palatable for their Netflix TV series, which we expect to be announced in 2026? How will the hardcore phans take this? Will they be as upset as when the phan phav classic " The Chain " story was pulled apart by Tony DePaul ? As always, we will discuss this and more on the X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts and we encourage you to let us know your thoughts so we can include them in our discussions. When I read the article by Tony DePaul , I had questions and took advantage of my relationship with Tony to ask him directly, and he has given us permission to share with other phans his responses. Readers can think what they like. I’ve probably said here before that I wouldn’t be interested in doing this job if King Features was all about the tail wagging the dog. To the contrary, they give me room to do what makes sense for the intellectual property. Ninety years out from 1936—that’s a fair amount of responsibility, worth taking seriously. So yeah, it’s easy to whine about how time goes on and why everything can’t just stay the same. Stop the world; I want to get off. But the fact is, if Lee Falk were writing the Phantom today, he wouldn’t write the way he did 50 years ago, 70 years ago, or 90 years ago. He’d have a better sensibility about what it is that makes his lead character a hero. It’s too ridiculous for the Phantom to be teaching the locals about their own environment. He feeds them, identifies poison berries, and teaches them how to fight hostile tribes; he leads that fight. The Bandar have only survived on their own since the Stone Age! What could they possibly know? In this timeworn lore from yesteryear, they’re children who need a shipwrecked man to take care of them. In 1536, the story Jeff’s working on, the Bandar are the masters of their environment; they take care of the shipwrecked man. And, most importantly, the Phantom legend belongs to them. They have an idea of how this lost foreigner may fit into it. Now, that’s just the setting; it’s not the story. The story is about how Kit Walker gets his head around what’s happened to him. That’s a space Lee Falk never got into. I’ve seen the first 18 weeks of Jeff Weigel ’s art. The guy works to such a high standard. We’re lucky to have him. Now I can safely say it won't relieve all phans' fears or concerns, but it may. Again, we will collect all questions to discuss on our X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts  as the story develops from February 2026 onwards. What do you think?

When we first announced the proposed new Phantom TV show on our website in July 2023, we spent a whole episode with Mikael Lyck, Ankit Mitra and Duncan Munro joining the team to pitch ideas. For the record, none of us have been contacted yet. That was episode 256. This year there has been some more news that Netflix is ‘likely’ going to be the platform to distribute the show. However, as we briefly touched upon in episode 320, the Phantom has had some false dawns prior with new TV shows and or films ever since Tom Tyler donned the uniform in 1943. This podcast is going to be a collection of all the rumours, could-have-beens, and failed attempts in the last 70+ year period. If we have missed any films, TV shows, rumours or near misses, please contact us. Thanks must also go to Seuj Abir and Andreas for research help. The list of feature films, serials, fan-made films, TV shows, the rumours and everything else we discuss are below in chronlogical order: 1943. Serial featuring actor Tom Tyler as the Phantom. 1955. Captain Africa serial featuring actor John Hart as the Phantom / Captain Africa. 1961. Pilot for a serial featuring actor Roger Creed as the Phantom. 1966. Film released in the Philippines featuring actor Bob Soler as the Phantom. 1968. The Yellow Submarine movie featuring The Beatles. 1970’s. 3x Turkey films with the Phantom was played by Ismet Erten and Irfan Atasoy. 1972. Popeye Meets the Man Who Hated Laughter, an animated film featuring King Features characters. 1973. Short fan-made film called Fanta. Late 1970’s. Ruby Spears animated TV series that didn't get past the writing script stage. 1982-1985. Filmation animated TV series that didn't get past the writing script stage. 1986-1987. Defenders of the Earth animated cartoon TV series featuring Flash Gordon, Mandrake and their kids with Peter Mark Richman voice of the Phantom. 1988. Recently found letter from the producer of the (to become) 1996 film Peter Sjoqist to Svenska Film. 1994. Phantom 2040 animated cartoon TV series with Scott Valentine voice of the Phantom. 1996 Hollywood film with actor Billy Zane as the Phantom. 1997-1998. Betaal Pachisi an Indian TV series based on the Phantom with actor Shahbaz Khan as Betaal. Mid to late 1990s. Brisbane animated TV series with Glenn Ford working on the storyboards. 2002-2003. Hyde Park & Crusader Hollywood film with the script written by Steven De Souza and past actor Heath Ledger as someone who was eyed off to play the Phantom. 2008 sequel to the 1996 Hollywood film with actors Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson and Catherine Zeta Jones all to return. 2009. SyFy TV show pilot with actor Ryan Carnes as the Phantom. 2010. Legacy Hollywood movie with actor Chris Hemsworth auditioned for the role of the Phantom twice. The movie was cancelled due to the USA invading Libya. 2014. Hollywood producer Mark Gordon took over the rights for a Phantom movie. 2018. Cholomon Oshoriri Indian fan-made movie. 2017 & 2019. Kid Phantom: Homework animated short film made by students at an animation school. 2019. Indian Bollywood movie with producers Ronnie Screwvala and Vasan Bala involved and actors Kartik Aaryan cast to play Phantom 2025. Brazil fan-made film 2023. TV show rumoured with a 2025 announcement with Netflix as the streaming service. 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.

For those who have been patiently waiting for a follow-up to Mad Cave Studios' Defenders of the Earth 8-issue series, your wait has ended. Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny #1 picks up where the previous series left off, finding our four main heroes awaiting execution on Mongo, homeworld to Ming the Merciless and his nefarious children, Kro-Tan and Princess Castra! Credits for the issue are: Title: " Whatever Mongo's Around" Writer: Dan DiDio    Artist: Alex Sanchez Colorist: Juancho! Velez    Letterer: Carlos M Mangual    Editor: Sarah Brunstad   Cover A: Marco Santucci Cover B: Vasco Georgiev Cover C: Bob Quinn Synopsis: THE DEFENDERS ON TRIAL! Mongo is a shattered empire — and it's at least partly Flash Gordon's fault. The Defenders of the Earth may have saved their home planet, but Mongo paid a hefty price for Ming the Merciless's games. Now the toll's come due — and it's the Defenders who will pay it. And while the Defenders face their former friends and allies, their offspring face challenges of their own. Determined to find Rick's missing mother, Dale, the Gordon child and his friends K'Shin, Zuffy, LJ, and Jedda investigate a former secret base held by the son of Ming. Kro-Tan may be gone, but the danger is not. A fan-favorite villain goes after the Second Gen Defenders! Writer Dan DiDio and artist Alex Sanchez pick up the beloved characters from the classic animated series and spin a whole new adventure! Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny #1 cover by Marco Santucci Question for the Phans: Are you going to be picking up this series? Let us know by commenting below this article, on our YouTube, or by dropping us a line . We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Christian Moller reviews the second issue from Zack 's Phantom mini series which features the following stories: " Tödliche Dinosaurier " (" Deadly Dinosaurs ") by Bernd Frenz and Carlos Pedrazzini " Dunkler Rauch über Bangalla " (" Dark Smoke over Bengali ") by Bernd Frenz and Heiner Bade You can order your copy of this comic at their website . The price is €16,00 ($20US, $30AU, 200sek/nok & 1,500INR) Bernd Frenz  is one of the recent new Fantomen  writers and since his first story being published in Fantomen 6-7/2022 , he currently has four stories published by Fantomen . These two stories have not been published by Frew . Along with the two stories, this TPB features two Phantom-related articles again written by Bernd Frenz . Thanks to Bernd and Zack , we have been able to feature the first pages of the articles to share with you all . The paper quality is thick which you can hear as I turn the pages on the video. The colouring is bright and clear. All German comic reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos. If you would like to join the team and review new comics being released around the world, please contact us.

Irish publisher Tasq Force second annual has now sold out. For those who have missed out, we believe there will be a second printing in the new year of 2026. If you cannot wait, you can still purchase a digital comic. Buy Annual #2 Buy Annual #1 Buy the digital version of Annual #2 This comic is 36 pages in full colour with newspaper strips from the following characters: Flash Gordon The Phantom Mandrake The Magician Popeye The Sailor Man Slylock Fox Dennis The Menace Hagar The Horrible Prince Valiant The Phantom story included is " The Skull and Jaw " which is the 267th Phantom daily story and written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Mike Manley . The cover artist for the annual is Joel Folda who will be featured in an interview soon on Chronicle Chamber. As an extra bonus, Tasq Force will be releasing a short Christmas-themed story online written and illustrated by cover artist Joel Folda . Below is a panel from the story - we wonder what is wrong?

Christian Moller  reviews the second Austrian Phantom comic from the newest magazine series from Art:9 . The magazine was first released in shops at the end of October 2025. This is the first time that these stories have been published not only in Austria but also in Germany and Switzerland, where this series is also available for sale. " Die Sky-Band " (" The Sky Band ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore " Krieg im Dschungel " (" The Diamond Hunters ") by Lee Falk and Ray Moore You can order your copy of this from the Art:9 website . They also sell their comics from shops throughout Germany and Switzerland. This issue only costs 21 Euro, the stories are in black and white and this issue is 143 pages. Issue #3 is out in November and features: ” 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 All our reviews of Phantom comics from Germany will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and/or subscribe to our YouTube channel  for more videos. If you would like to join the team and review new comics being released around the world, please contact us.

Christian Moller reviews magazines #92, #93, #94, #95, #96, #97, #126 & #128. For those who may be confused, the numbering refers not to the issue number but to the Daily story number. These were released in August 2025. The stories we review in this video are: " 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 The time codes for when Christian reviews the comics are: No. 92 & 93: 0:02 No. 94 & 95: 3:35 No. 96 & 97: 6:43 No 126 & 128: 9:49 You can order your copy of this and other comics from ECR via their email address - ecr-vlg@gmx.net . It is worth noting that these stories have never been published in Germany (including West Germany) by anyone, including Bastei comics back in the 1970s. These magazines are printed in good quality in original black and white on very thick paper stock. You can hear the thickness and quality of the paper as I turn the pages. The covers are again designed by Andy . There has been some discussion online about if they are AI-generated art or not. We will leave that discussion and opinion for the readers to decide on. All ECR and other German comic reviews will be included in our monthly X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts. You can find out more at our website and or subscribe to our YouTube channel for more videos. If you would like to join the team and review new comics being released around the world, please contact us.

In Phantom 2040: A New Shadow episode 9, we circle back to the cliffhanger seen in episode 7 , wherein Carlos Oserio, now sporting the Phantom 2040 suit, was surrounded by Tyrus' machine henchbots. This episode delivers the action that readers have anticipated since that cliffhanger. True to this creative team's love of throwing in curveballs, it doesn't happen in a way readers anticipated, but what results is fun, colorful, and definitely lively. Read Phantom 2040: A New Shadow episode 9 here In episode 9, writers Alex Segura and Michael Moreci , and artist George Kambadais , reach beyond just a cool action piece. We see a little more of the civilian side of this new vision for Phantom 2040 , as well as end on an introduction of a character whose name we heard mentioned in the episode previous. Who is this character? What is their story? We'll find out soon (hopefully). That said, it seems like more and more people are learning this new Phantom's identity. That might be a sticking point with fans, as the list is constantly growing. Phantom 2040: A New Shadow art episode 9 by George Kambadais Question for the Phans: How do you feel about The Phantom's identity being so widely known? 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 came in late, a downed plane has summoned The Singh Brotherhood to the Bandar Village. Led by the cruel Asif Singh, they have taken the village hostage and are searching for whatever they can take, even critical medical supplies needed by the Bandar. While Guran and Asif negotiate terms of the Bandar's surrender, The Phantom works in the shadows, taking out Singh foot soldiers one-by-one. The Phantom #3 really cranks up the tension and action. It's a battle for time as The Phantom, Guran, and Asif all make moves that decide the fate of the Bandar! Spoiler warning for those who haven't read this yet: This issue introduces a new villainous entity from The Phantom's history. Watch our video review of this issue below! Writer: Ray Fawkes    Artist: Russell Olson    Letterer: Taylor Esposito   Editor: Sarah Brunstadt    Cover A: Freddie Williams II    Cover B: Caanan White  & Juancho!   Cover C: Natacha Bustos Synopsis: HIS WRATH IS SWIFTER THAN THE WIND! And it's coming for the Singh Brotherhood! Even the most hapless soldier knows the lore of The Ghost Who Walks -- and only their arrogant leader is convinced the stories are false. Now that he's threatened the village of the Bandar, The Phantom's closest friends and allies, Asif Singh will learn just how real the legend is. The Phantom #3   cover by Freddie Williams II Question for the Phans: Do you think the Sky Band are working with the Singh Brotherhood? 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 Episode 7, titled "Borderlands," bridges the gap between the Phantom 2040 animated series and this new webcomic follow-up from writers Alex Segura and Michael Moreci and artist George Kambadais . Read Phantom 2040: A New Shadow Episode7 here George Kambadais returns to the series in episode 7, which continues the BIG reveal (Warning: Our video review contains massive spoilers if you're not caught up) of last episode! Please also note that our video review incorrectly attributes art to series artist John Amor . Amor has provided art for episodes 1-5 of Phantom 2040: A New Shadow thus far. For those who are caught up, this episode gives us the beginning of the conversation readers have been waiting to circle back go since episode 1 . What results is unexpected, but it's the propulsion needed to raise on the stakes on what's to come next in the Phantom 2040: A New Shadow saga. As a nod to the fans who have been waiting patiently, we also get to feast our eyes on a suit design we haven't seen in a while. Check it out below! Phantom 2040: A New Shadow art by George Kambadais Question for the Phans: What do you make of the big reveal this issue? Let us know by commenting below this article, on our YouTube, or by dropping us a line . We'd love to hear your thoughts!

Sadly, both major villains in the 1996 Billy Zane Phantom movie have passed, with Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa passing on 4 December 2025, following Treat Williams in June 2023 . While most moviegoers will remember Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa for his Mortal Kombat role as evil sorcerer Shang Tsung in the 1995 film adaptation, the 2013 television series, and the 2019 video game Mortal Kombat 11 , us phans remember him as Kabai Sengh. Our thoughts and prayers are with his widow and three children he has left behind. Thanks to Trevor Clark and Daniel Borgna for the heads up on this sad news. If you spot any other Phantom-related news we may have missed, please contact us.

The Phantom Game is released on Xbox this week; the team at Chronicle Chamber has put on their thinking caps on what could be next. If you follow Ash Nicholls or Art of Play Games on social media, then you would be aware that the team has two major projects in development at the moment. The first being the Lady Death video game, based on the comic book character of the same name, who is very different from our hero, The Phantom. From what we’ve seen in the preview shots, there is much more blood and gore as Lady Death traverses a demonic hellscape. The team’s second project is a video game incarnation of the beloved 80s BBC cartoon, Danger Mouse . You can pledge support for this game on Kickstarter which has smashed the original campaign target. This definitely got the attention of the Australian arm of the Chronicle Chamber team as we are of that vintage of Aussie kids who would come home from school and flick on the ABC after school to catch shows such as Bananaman , The Goodies and of course, Danger Mouse . 10 years ago a new generation of kids was introduced to Danger Mouse and his trusty sidekick, Penfold, as they battled the evil Baron Greenback to foil his plans for world domination. With all of this going on, is there still time to give The Phantom some extra attention? With The Phantom celebrating his 90 th  birthday next year, will there be any birthday presents by Art of Play Games ? A DLC was mentioned as a possibility back in February 2023 , but alas, it seems that is no longer on the cards. The Art of The Phantom Game book in both digital and physical formats is nice, but is it enough to whet the gamer phans’ whistle? No trip to the Fish 'n' Chip shop was complete without a quick play on the arcades. Image mocked up by Chronicle Chamber and not official. We have seen on Kickstarter that both Lady Death and Danger Mouse games are getting an arcade machine version. Now that would be a cool addition to any gamer phan’s Skull Cave! If this were available, would you extend your house to make room for this? The possibility of the cabinet art alone is enough to make the mouth water. Unfortunately, with no mention anywhere of it happening, we guess we just have to keep nagging, as we certainly don’t want to just sit back being jealous of the Lady Death and Danger Mouse fans. We have asked Ashley Nicholls and have, as of yet, received no official reply. Do we dare to dream…? As always, we wish Ash and the crew of Art of Play Games every success with their new projects, and for all the Xbox phans, we hope you enjoy the side-scrolling beat ‘em up goodness of The Phantom Game when it releases on December 5. Happy Phantoming!

With the next Defenders of the Earth series from Mad Cave Studios titled Dark Destiny being just around the corner, we are indeed living in a phantastic time as Phans. It wasn’t always the case as the original comic book series that came out from Star (Marvel) Comics in 1987 ended abruptly at just four issues. What is however unknown to many phans is that there were at least two more issues produced that never saw the light of day. Defenders of the Earth is of most significance in Marvel history not only because of it using characters from other license holders and being adapted from another medium, but the creatives that were involved. From being dialogued by Stan Lee , written by Michael Higgins and Bob Harris , inked by Mandrake and Phantom veteran artist Fred Fredericks , the series was also artist Alex Saviuk ’s inception into the Phantom world as the penciller. The first issue of the series came out in January 1987 which was followed by three more issues with the fourth coming out in July 1987. The fourth issue had ended on a cliffhanger with tease for the fifth issue titled - ‘War!’ which we never got to see. For a long time, it was thought that the fifth issue was the only one that never got published, but that all changed when pages and a cover from another issue of Defenders began surfacing on various online marketplaces. This issue, with artwork by a different team of artists, which was identified to be an ‘inventory’ issue that was being worked on during the same period. This article is a collective from several phans as we pieced together details regarding both of these lost issues through various sources which we are trying to present in the form of a single, cohesive article.   Our first source of information is Marvel themselves, specifically their monthly promotional magazine titled Marvel Age. Defenders of the Earth was first listed under ‘coming attractions’ in issue #43 published in October 1986 with a proper introduction to the series appearing two issues later. It is interesting to note that issue #45 which features the introduction lists the first issue for release in September while it was actually published in January. This error continues for the rest of the series as it lists issues four months ahead of their actual release date.  The listing of the issues, aside from the errors with the release date, was in the same order they were released in, until it came to the fourth. Unlike the fourth issue of the series that was actually released with the creative team of Higgins , Fredericks and Saviuk , issue #51 of Marvel Age  listed a different creative team of Adam Blaustein , Jim Fry and Mark McKenna with a one line plot synopsis. Strangely, the details of the released fourth issue got listed as the fifth issue in the subsequent issue #53. The same also lists the sixth issue under ‘Coming Attractions’ with the usual creative team. It also appears in issue #54 where it makes its final appearance. The fifth and sixth issues were listed as scheduled for May and July 1987 respectively - which by applying the previous difference of four months would have been released in September and November of 1987. While the information from Marvel Age was not entirely accurate, it did provide the proof required that two more issues were scheduled before the series got cancelled. It also provided some more details regarding the issue with the different creative teams that will form the basis of our next discussion. The fifth story worked on by Alex Saviuk has been a subject of discussion for many years with Alex himself talking about it on Social Media. Some phans may remember Alex’s visit to Australia in 2013, where he attended the Supanova  event, and had also brought the finished inked pages of the story. We were fortunate enough to have interviewed Alex on X-Band: The Phantom Podcast: #126  where he had discussed the issue in detail.  The issue, according to Alex, was finished with his pencils and inks by Fred Fredericks. What remained was the lettering and colouring, but unfortunately the series was cancelled before that. The story was essentially an all out war against Ming the Merciless and his minions. The story itself began with a big splash page with a closeup of Ming the Merciless. Featuring actions from all the Defenders it had a double-page spread showing the Phantom, Mandrake, and the rest of the Defenders of the Earth battling their enemies. It is a tragedy that it has never been printed. We are fortunate to have a page that Alex had shared on social media which clearly gives an idea what we had missed out on. The other issue had first come to phans’ notice when a cover for the supposed fifth issue of the series was sold on ebay several years ago. The cover featured artwork from a different creative team from the usual which we now know from Marvel Age #51  that it was going to be written by Adam Blaustein , penciled by James Fry , and inked by Mark McKenna . Being asked about this particular issue, Alex Saviuk had said that he was unaware of this development. He further added that, as seen on some of the interior pages that have surfaced, it might have been an ‘inventory’ story. ‘Inventory’ stories in comic books are created as backups or substitutes for the regular story if the regular creative team was in need of a break or was unable to meet deadlines. Alex had explained that the inability to meet deadlines meant major losses for the company. However Alex was surprised to learn that Marvel was intending to give him a break in the middle of the series. According to Mark McKenna , the inker of the issue, while the penciling work by James Fry was done, he, unlike Fred Fredericks , was not able to finish inking all the pages from the story. From what we have seen along with the cover, at least four pages from the story were inked.  As we can see, the cover does not feature the Phantom and/or Flash Gordon but features Mandrake the Magician and Lothar battling winged ape-like creatures. The one line synopsis from Marvel Age #51 reads: “Mandrake the Magician faces his greatest mystical challenge without the aid of Flash Gordon, Lothar, or the Phantom.”  This would mean the story would have followed Mandrake on a solo mission with minimal appearance from his fellow Defenders. Thanks to Mark McKenna and some collectors, we are able to show a couple of pages from the story, both inked and not inked.  The inked pages include the first page which is a splash page depicting Mandrake the Magician inside his Library looking horrified at an ancient scroll. The second page showed the Defenders having a training session inside Monitor with the Phantom wrestling Kisa, Jedda Walker’s pet Black Panther, Lothar lifting weights and Flash Gordon and Rick training with weapons where they get interrupted by Mandrake who informs them of his findings.  The next page, unfortunately not inked, is marked no. 11, sees a detailed pencil work from James Fry where we get to see Mandrake in a Mountain landscape where he casts a spell on the scroll that we saw earlier. It is followed by the inked page no. 12, which is a splash page that sees Mandrake knocking on the door of a temple that the scroll supposedly had turned into. The next two uninked pages are nos. 14 & 15 which sees Kasin and Lothar going through a building where they fall into and escape from traps, which is likely the same one Mandrake was knocking on the door of on page 12. The last page, numbered 22, sees a giant figure with multiple hands bursting out from the previously seen temple, demolishing it entirely. He is seen gently putting down Mandrake, Lothar and Kshin. Mandrake is weak and is carried by Lothar as we get to see the scroll being destroyed. Following the format of the other four issues, there probably would have been two more pages in the story, making the total 24. We do get to see similar plotlines in the animated series Defenders of the Earth episodes 24 ( Doorways into Darkness ) and 31-35 ( The Book of Mysteries ). It is interesting that even though the comic book series deviated from its animated counterpart in terms of plot, it still kept similar elements. Alex Saviuk , in his three hour podcast interview with us ( X-Band: The Phantom Podcast: #126 ) confirmed that the artists were given a ‘Marvel Method’ script or plot from the creators. In a typical comics script, it will be given to the artist like a play or screenplay. The writer defines, all at once, what will happen on each page - down to describing what will happen in each panel and what the character will be saying in each panel. The artist just follows the script, drawing each panel as described, leaving room for the dialogue mentioned. In the 'Marvel method', also known as the ‘ Stan Lee method’, the writer provided a rough idea of what should happen in the story, in general. This could be as little as a paragraph or two. Then the artist team takes that rough idea, and then they figure out what's going to happen in each panel and each page and kind of decide in general terms what each character MIGHT say in each panel. Then the writer comes back and figures out the specifics of what each character is saying in each panel. Alex had mentioned in the podcast interview with us that he was essentially given free reign on his fifth story to the point where he was able to plot the entire story after having done the first six pages.   It is both interesting and sad knowing about these two stories and what was being planned for them. As Alex has mentioned multiple times in the past that he possesses the entire story in its fully inked and plotted form and we have seen multiple pages from the inventory story out there, it is safe to say that the stories, though unfinished, are still available for phans to see in some shape or form. As we have seen with publishers like Mad Cave , who has reprinted the four published issues together along with new content, we can hope for any of them to take up the initiative of putting together all the available materials in regards to these two issues with the previous four issues. Otherwise, it would be a shame to see such phantastic material go to waste. Thanks goes to Jermayn Parker and Andreas Eriksson  for all their help in the research of the article. Also thanks to Andreas, Howard, Anthony (Snyder) for providing images of artworks from their private collections. Thanks must also go to Alex Saviuk , Mark McKenna  and James Fry  for some of the background information and copies of the artwork that has long gone or been broken up into odd collections from around the world. It is amazing that after nearly 40 years, for many this will be new news.

In good news for the phans who collect the books, Hermes Press after almost a year's hiatus, will be releasing a new Daily and Sunday volume book in the first quarter of 2026. In exciting news, we can confirm that Hermes Press are now distributors with Lunar Distribution, which means that any local comic shop (including those in Australia) can order these in for those interested phans from December onwards. The Phantom The Complete Dailies Volume 35 will be released January/February 2026 and will cover the years 1991-1993 with five complete Phantom stories by Lee Falk and Sy Barry . The five stories included are: " The Jungle Patrol v The Drug Cartel " " King Bongong " " Prince Rex and Princess Alicia " " Blackie " " The Attilan Mystery " The Phantom The Complete Sundays Volume 10 will be released in February/March 2026 and will cover the years 1970-1974. May 2021 was when Volume 9 was released. We believe that colour copies of the stories in the 1970s have been hard to find, and that may be the reason behind the delay of this volume. It is worth noting that this volume will be printed in colour. We cannot confirm if the colours are original or if Hermes Press has had to recolour some Sunday strips. We believe some panels and Sunday strips will be re coloured. We believe this volume will contain the following stories, all created by Lee Falk and Sy Barry : " Alexander's Diamond Cup " " The Tale of the Gooley-Gooley Witch " " The Stolen Trophy " " The Wig " " Tale of the Good Mark " " The Smugglers " " The Massacre " " The Bike Gang " " The Hawk Master " " The Sky Divers " " Rex and the Little People " " The Golden Wood " " Phantom Treasure " " Tale of Joomba " The Phantom The Complete Sundays Volume 11 will be released in June 2026 and will cover the years 1975-1979. At this stage there is no cover for this volume. Again, we believe some of the panels and Sunday strips will be re coloured. The following stories created by Lee Falk and Sy Barry are: " Little Girl " " The First Phantom " " The Golden Beach " " The Blue Giant " " Joonkar and the Slavers " " The Stolen Ring " " The Swamp Dragon " " The Hunters " " The Delta Pirates " " The Wedding of the Phantom " " The Three Bandits " " What's Wrong with Hzz? " " The Star of Bangalla " " The Heirs " " Jungle Olympics " If there are any phans who order and read these every release and would be interested in doing reviews on our platforms, please contact us. Thanks to Seuj Abir and Jaime Diaz for help with some of the information in this article.

We received a question from a phan in Brazil who asked, " When a Phantom dies, what happens to the widow? ". Now we must admit, we have no idea if this situation has been specifically explained in a Phantom story before. In fact, the team can only think of a few stories and examples where we have seen a Phantom's widow or mother after the previous Phantom has passed the legacy onto the next. When asking Jermayn Parker , he remembers this discussion in the old Phantom phorum days twenty years ago, and one theory was that the wives went back to their homeland and, in a sense, were free of their obligation and devotion to the fight against evil. The extended team can think of four stories that feature the Phantom's mothers still in the picture. One is a Lee Falk and Sy Barry newspaper story from 1991-1992, which was the 137th Sunday story titled " The Fourth Son ." This story features the death of the 8th Phantom, and his wife sticks around long enough to see her son marry. The second story the team remembers featuring a Phantom's widow is from the team at Fantomen and was created by Norman Worker , with art by Hans Lindahl, and was published by Fantomet and Fantomen in the year 1997, Frew in 1998, and India in 2000. The story is called " The Ghost Who Died Twice ." It also features perhaps the only time that the next Phantom takes over while the previous Phantom is still alive. The third story is a 1978 Team Fantomen story, " The Avenger from the Sea " written by Norman Worker , with art by Georges Bess . In this story Ingrid of Holstein and Kit (the future 9th Phantom) are back from visiting Ingrid's homeland in Sweden in time to say goodbye after he was shot by Captain Blood. It needs to be mentioned that this is the same Phantom that is featured in " The Fourth Son " story by Lee Falk and Sy Barry . In this story, the 9th Phantom is shown as never leaving Bangalla to study, and their mother is English instead of Swedish. The Team Fantomen  story " The Avenger from the Sea " was created first. The fourth story that features the Phantoms' mothers around while their son takes up the role as the Phantom is a 2013 Team Fantomen story, " The Black King ", written by Jens Hansegård , with art by Kari Leppänen . In this story, we see the 5th Phantom's stepmother staying and dying in Bangalla. While these four examples do not answer the question, they do show that the widows are not shipped off out of the Deepwoods, at least straight away, and are still welcomed (at least for a period of time). Another suggestion is that most wives tend to die before their Phantom husbands, which was at least the case with Maude, the 20th Phantom's wife and the mother to our Phantom, the 21st. In the first " Childhood of the Phantom " story by Lee Falk (likely Alfred Bester ) and Wilson McCoy (11th Sunday story from 1944), Maude is shown to pass and be buried in a grave outside the Skull Cave. In the second " Childhood of the Phantom " story by Lee Falk  and Wilson McCoy  (53rd Sunday story from 1959), the death of Maude was not included in the story. " The 21st Phantom " is a 2004 Team Fantomen story, written by Claes Reimerthi , with art by Paul Ryan . It marked the start of " The Phantom Year One " concept, in which the 21st Phantom is badly wounded and starts to recollect what happened to him when he was new as the Phantom. In this story a lonely secluded grove is shown, where previous Phantoms' wives have been laid to rest. This includes the 20th Phantom's wife, Maude. As far as the team remembers, this grove has not been shown in other Lee Falk and/or newspaper stories; it does make sense with the grave of Maude being shown in the 1944 " Childhood of the Phantom " story by Lee Falk  (likely Alfred Bester ) and Wilson McCoy . A side topic to the original question could be, what happens if the Phantom and his wife separate? This is answered in the 2008 Team Fantomen story, written by Claes Reimerthi , and art by Joan Boix , "The Great Deception, Part 1 " see's Marabella, the first Phantom's wife leaving the Phantom to rule her kingdom Maravilloso. At this stage, unless something comes to light, our best answer to the original question is that the wives are free to go back to their home country or as shown in at least two stories stay and help with the new Phantom and integrate the new Phantom's wife when they marry. We can say that at least most of the widows are buried in this secluded grove with the other Phantoms' wives. If you have other Phantom-related questions that you would like to ask and see if we can answer, please send us an email at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com .