Join Jermayn Parker and Dan Fraser as together they review three Phantom Frew comics from Australia, plus discuss the latest Phantom news from around the world from Europe, USA and Australia. We also keep up to date with the latest in the Daily and Sunday newspaper stories. It has been a busy July. Please answer some of our questions we have from July 2024 - you can find them at the bottom. You can either email us, leave your comments at our YouTube Channel , and or leave them at our social media platforms in Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram . Worth noting that we have changed things up a little with our order of what we talked about in this podcast, We discuss the newspaper stories first and then discussed the Frew stories instead of the comics, seeing we had various part stories across these three issues. Let us know if you prefer this format. If your one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed. Daily & Sunday Newspaper Story Progress Daily 266: " The Avarice has Landed ": 2 Minutes & 30 Seconds Sunday 194: " The Commander Will See You Now ": 9 Minutes & 30 Seconds Frew (Australia) Phantom Comics Cover Discussion: 15 Minutes Frew #1974 by Daniel Picciotto Frew #1975 by Timo Weurz Frew #1976 by Kay " Bad Blood in Bangalla, Part 6: The Golden Route " by Shane Foley (Frew #1974): 17 Minutes & 30 Seconds " The Bat of Berlin, Part 1 " by Pidde Andersson and Janusz Ordon (Frew #1974) & " The Bat of Berlin, Part 2 " by Pidde Andersson and Janusz Ordon (Frew #1975): 22 Minutes " Operation Domino: A Lion's Heart Chapter One " by Duncan Munro and Daniel Picciotto (Frew #1975) & " Operation Domino: The Buccaneers " by Duncan Munro, Daniel Picciotto and Fabio Alves (Frew #1976): 32 Minutes “ The Highway Robbers ” by Claes Reimerthi and Janusz Ordon : 42 Minutes & 30 Seconds Mad Cave Studios (USA) Phantom Comics Prologue by Dan DioDio and Jim Calafiore : 46 Minutes & 30 Seconds Phantom News from Around the World King Features Phantom Trend Guide ( link ): 54 Minutes & 30 Seconds Maku Brewing release new Mustanaamio designs for their Golden Ale Beer ( link ): 56 Minutes & 30 Seconds Dai Darell aka Diane Alfredhsson / Karlstrom dies ( link ): 58 Minutes 2024 and 2005 Fantomen Softcover Album ( link ): 1 Hour and 1 Minutes 2024 Ghost Who Walks Fantomen Album ( link ): 1 Hour and 4 Minutes Fantomen Year Album Subscription (link): 1 Hour, 5 Minutes and 30 Seconds Denmark Fantomet HC Cover album #1 on sale and #2 details ( link ): 1 Hour and 7 Minutes Hungarian Fantom Daily story collection ( link ): 1 Hour and 11 Minutes Lightning Strikes & TASQ school producing a monthly digital mag & annual ( link ): 1 Hour and 13 Minutes The Phantom Express goes again the 2024 QLD Variety Bash ( link ): 1 Hour and 17 Minutes You can email us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com or chat with us via our social media profiles with your feedback at Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram . We would love some feedback on what we discussed on the podcast and on the following topics: Are you enjoying the cameos with Eoin Musk , Richard Branson & Jeff Bezos ? What do you think is happening with the Daily story? Where will this story plot go? Are you enjoying the current Sunday story? Is it too long? Would you like to see the Leopard Men back soon? Did you like the Phantom being responsible for the death of an innocent in The Bat of Berlin ? Does the Phantom wear his mask on behind his glasses? What Phantom do you see battles in the second world war? The 21st Phantom? 20th or even the 19th? If you are from Finland and can do a review of the Phantom themed beer, please contact us. Are Frew missing a trick by not releasing more special collected issues like Fantomen ? If you are from some of these countries who publish these editions in Hungary, Denmark, Sweden etc, please contact us. Do you think we should see more digital Phantom comics? Make sure you stay with us and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and or our YouTube Channel .

Bubi Bolt translated is Speech Balloon and they are a small Hungarian publisher and shop that will be selling their very first Phantom (Titled Fantom ) from 1 August 2024. The book is A4 in size printed in a paperback softcover style featuring the first five stories created by Lee Falk and Sy Barry . The stories will be published in black and white as originally drawn. The book will be 256 pages and will cost 6,000 HUF ($20US, €15, $25AU and 180 sek/nok) - a very affordable book. Bubi Bolt website to buy the book As you can see by the preview pages below, they will be printing three day newspaper strips to each page - Hermes print two per page. This allows the book to be less pages per book and cheaper for the consumer. I think this is a great idea. From what we understand this is a limited print run with only 500 copies printed which will make this something that collectors will want to get onto quickly to buy. In talking to the publisher, if the book is popular they will print more volumes. This series will be replacing the Kockás magazine published by Vitanum which published the Phantom in their magazine between the years 2019 to 2021. Thank you to Andras for the news on this new publication coming out. If you hear any Phantom related news, please let us know. If you would like to write for us reporting on Phantom news from around the world, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com .

Back in April 2024, we announced how the publisher E-Voke has announced details on their hardcover album volume 1 and 2. Since April 2024 the scheduling has changed and thanks to the husband wife duo of Lea and Lars we have some more information we can share with the phans from Denmark and abroad who would be wanting to add these albums to their collections. As of July 2024, the covers for albums 1, 2 and 3 are attached. Lea  and Lars exclusively told Chronicle Chamber that at this stage, they will be releasing two volumes a year each with a rough page count of 128 pages consisting of 4-5 stories. They will be a mixture of stories from the newspaper stories created by Lee Falk and others like Team Fantomen , Frew , USA and potentially other publishers. It will be an interesting job to ensure the mix of stories will please and appeal to the Denmark audience. Volume 1 will be released 31 July 2024. The comic art will be in black and white with a page count of 128 pages encased with a hardcover cover and will cost 239 Danish kr (€32, $35US, $55Au and 370kr/ nok). The cover artist is Luca Erbetta and the contents will be the same as the 2021 Swedish Softcover album. " The Slave Market of Mucar " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry " Queen Samaris XII " by Lee Falk  and Bill Lignante " The Golden Sands of Keela-Wee " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry " The Lions of Kukhan " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry " Jungle Olympics " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry Website link for Album 1 Volume 2 has a tentative publish date of November 2024. Again the interior pages will be in black and white with a page count of 120 pages with a hardcover. At this stage there is no pre order option or a price but based on volume 1, the price will be around 239 Danish kr (€32, $35US, $55Au and 370kr/ nok). The cover artist is Felmang and the cover design is a mixture of three covers from the Frew Phantom's World series comics. The stories included in this album gives a great mixture of stories and are: " The Phantom’s Death " by Don Jon Arneson and Jim Aparo " The Queen of Saba " by Roy Felmang " The Ghost Wall " by Tony DePaul , George Olesen and Keith Williams What the team finds interesting about Album 2 is that apparently the " The Queen of Saba " story by Roy Felmang when printed by Frew was edited and E-Voke will be publishing it as it was originally drawn. It will be a phun exercise comparing the two editions. " The Phantom’s Death " by Don Jon Arneson and Jim Aparo was first published by Charlton #33 from 1977 and has been printed in comics from 12 other countries including Denmark in Fantomet #81 from 1977. Website link for Album 2 Details for Volume 3 has not yet been announced. Originally as reported by us in April 2024, the cover for album 3 was going to be used as the cover for album 2. It does makes sense to use a Felmang created cover to showcase his work. This artwork is by new comer Raúl Lara , from Spain. We expect this volume to be released in the May-July 2025 date if E-Voke stick to the two albums released in a year goal. When more details are announced, we will report on it here - keep an eye on our website and or social platforms. Website link for Album 3 Based on E-Vokes Facebook page , we can expect more stories by Felmang to be published in these albums. When more news has been announced on future albums we will report on it on our platforms. We are also planning on having a local Denmark Fantomet reader to review these albums as they are released on our YouTube channel and monthly comic reviews and news podcasts .

Every year since the 1970's Fantomen has asked their readers to give their opinions on what they think is the best story and cover from the previous year. After 800+ votes the results are in for the best of 2023. What does it show us? To the team, it shows that we phans love our classic stories with the classic theme of the Phantom standing up for the down trodden and as a justice warrior. We also like our imagery showing the classic heroic themes of the Phantom with Devil, Hero and fighting pirates. Best Cover for 2023 For the first time since 2015, the best cover as voted by the phans was drawn by someone new. Henrik Salhstrom has had an iron grip on the award and the best cover as voted by the phans for 2023 is Fantomen 20/2024 drawn by Mikael Gustavsson . The unique factor about this cover is that it was first published as a schedule poster back in 1991 and didn't feature Devil which was originally hidden by the publishing schedule for 1991. This received 19.% of all votes. From what we understand, this cover was used as a placeholder with some rescheduling needing to happen - whatever happen, it was an inspired choice by the editorial team to choose this. Second place was Fantomen 1/2023 which also features the Phantom riding Hero with Devil plus Diana drawn by Rafael Ruiz . This cover received 15.4% of all votes which was a close second. Rafael Ruiz 's cover for Fantomen 16/2024 was voted for third place showing him in a heroic pose fighting pirates. This was at 8.8%, three votes more than fourth place. You can have a look at the below table which is printed in Fantomen 16/2024 which shows the breakdown of all covers. Best Story for 2023 The Best story 2023 vote started in Fantomen 2-3/2024 and the results were presented in Fantomen 10-11/2024 . 406 phans from around the world have voted and the results are very interesting. You can see the full results on this PhantomWiki page or below which is the page from Fantomen 10-11/2024 . " Ku Klux Klan " is a Team Fantomen created story first published in 1978, created by Heiner Bade and Ulf Granberg . It has been republished in the regular issues for a total of four times and each time has been popular in that years best story votes. Goes to show this is a classic story in the true means. You can watch our review of this story here . 1978: voted as the third best story. 1986: voted as the second best reprint story (the best story vote was divided into separate categories for new and old stories for the only time). 1998: voted as the second best story. The second most popular story as voted by the readers is a Mandrake daily story created by Fred Fredericks titled " The Missing Aviatrix " from 2001. Again, this story was a reprint and is the first time it was published in a Phantom comic anywhere in the world. Could it be a story that could be printed by other publishers?  You can watch our review of this story here . The third most popular story as voted by the phans is a new story from 2023 " Lokes skatt " (" Loki's Treasure ") by Dag Frognes and Kari Leppänen printed in Fantomen 16/2023. You can watch our review of this story here . It must be said that these votes can be hard to balance when you have multi part stories like the Belle Époque stories written by Pidde Andersson , with art by Percy Ochoa which have votes scattered across the 7 stories published through out the year, For example, if the votes gathered for the seven stories it is the same amount as who voted for " Ku Klux Klan ". Editors Note: Apologies for the delay in getting some of the Fantomen news and reviews out in a timely manner. If you would like to help and join the team, please email us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com .

Tallaght Academy of Sequential Art ( TASQ Art ) in partnership with Lightning Strike Comics have announced a new digital anthology starting 4 September 2024. The series will be called " Tasq Force ". Tasq Force will feature reprints of comic strips featuring The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Dennis The Menace, Hagar the Horrible, Mandrake the Magician, Popeye, Slylock Fox and Prince Valiant. Alongside these reprints will be featured new and exciting bonus material. There are several packages you can buy which are detailed below: Issue 1 Pre-orders can be made here . €2.50 ($5Au, $3US, 230INR and 30 sek/nok) A full year's subscription can be ordered here . €30 ($50AU, $35US, 2,750INR and 360sek/nok) Once a year, a printed annual be released and that can be pre-ordered here . €5 ($10Au, $6US, 450INR and 60 sek/nok). The Tasq Force annual will be a printed comic and will feature the story highlights of the year, plus exciting bonus content. [Editors note: We have confirmed with Lightning Strikes that they will ship worldwide but it could cost up to €15 to ship to some overseas locations like Australia and India. An option is to organise a bulk purchase through this email address info@tasqart.com ] There's also a premium bundle subscription which includes all of the above plus: All 12 issues of the digital anthology The printed Annual Book An exclusive subscriber print A limited edition Phantom 'Good Mark' enamel badge A Phantom and Flash Gordon (as Gaeilge) Origin A3 Poster Physical printed copies of the Slylock Fox comic activities posted directly to your door Early preview access to upcoming projects The cost for that is €80 ($130AU, $85US, 7,300INR and 1000sek/nok). As what is printed in the Dublin The Echo newspaper , the stories featured in the monthly anthology will be recent newspaper stories created by Tony DePaul , Mike Manley  and Jeff Weigel . The annual will feature complete stories. For those original artwork collectors you can also find on sale, the original Illustration by Eoin McAuley featuring the King Feature Syndicate (c) characters of Popeye, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, Dennis The Mennace, Hagar the Horrible and Flash Gordon that will be used for the promotional poster for the anthology magazine. This page was illustrated on A4 paper with pencils and ink overlays and the price is €250 ($415Au, $270US, 23,000INR and 3,000 sek/nok). If anyone is interested in learning more, contributing to the Tasq Force anthology or have questions about postage to your country, please feel free to e-mail info@tasqart.com .

The Sydney weekend in June every year is the national phan 'Meca' weekend that a lot of hardcore Australian phans enjoy attending. For 2024, Chronicle Chamber team members Dan Fraser and Jermayn Parker made their way to the event and present a wrap-up of the event. This podcast is the collection of our thoughts as we sit together in the same room for a podcast recording. Plus, we collect the recordings from the 2024 Sydney Supanova panel featuring Game of Play Director Ash Nicholls and writer Matt Kyme . Continuing the Phantom video game theme of the weekend, we include an early game play of the first few levels and Ash Nicholls ' speech at the 2024 35th Lee Falk Bangalla Explorers Club dinner. Please note, we have not included the auctioning of the charity donated items in this podcast. If you want to attend other Australia comic conventions for 2024 , please visit our website and for more information on Lee Falk Bangalla Explorers Club events, please visit their website . If you want to chat with us, you can email us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com or via our social media profiles with your feedback at Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram . Make sure you stay with us and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and or our YouTube Channel .

As reported, King Features has released their very first Phantom trend guide at the May 2024 licensing trade show in Las Vegas, USA . It has been a bit hard to find out exactly what a trend guide is and to find the new imagery they have given licensed holders. However, we can now show you some of the images KFS will be pushing as the Phantom nears his 90th birthday. Hopefully this means we will see some new products being available for purchase. They are still using the artwork by   Amelia Vidal who designed the 2020 imagery but also some of the Phantom video game imagery designed by Anthony Spay . The most obvious focus with the trend guide images are the focus on the Phantom's Old Jungle Sayings. Two are shown here in " You don't find the Phantom, he finds you " and " The Phantom moves as silently as fog ". The darkness of the imagery is powerful with a reduced colour palette plus using added dramatic lighting and silhouettes adds to the Phantom's power and mysteriousness. The backgrounds, icons and fonts are all chosen with care and purpose. Agencies monitor the current behaviour trends and use these trends to present the current style guide in imagery that will be hopefully be used by publishers and devoured by buyers on products. You can read an interview with Beth Nock  from King Features  about the Phantom, Popeye and Flash Gordon trend guides  plus an interview with XGuides  which is the branding agency that has designed and put together the trend guides. To save you clicking and scrolling through the two interviews, the Phantom related talk is attached below. What do you think of the new imagery? Will it work on products and will you buy them? XGuides also created a striking guide for The Phantom. What are some key brand attributes you wanted to come through here? With the video game coming to consoles this December, I wanted to develop creative to complement the launch. The Phantom is a hero whose name drives fear into the hearts of even the most hardened criminals. I wanted to capture and transform that power into a guide showcasing The Phantom’s fierce sense of righteousness. Referencing classic and modern comic stylings for inspiration, we combined a reduced colour palette, dramatic lighting and silhouettes with editorial from the comics – known as “old jungle sayings” to fans – resulting in a first-ever trend guide for The Phantom that is sure to make an impression. Why do you feel The Phantom is an exciting prospect for designers at licensees to engage with? Timing has never been better for creative partners looking to onboard a niche property with potential to becoming the next big thing in the market. The Phantom is on the rise with a video game, new publishing and new entertainment in development, plus opportunities for storytelling are endless. Above all, The Phantom is dedicated to pursuing what is right and just. He is a beacon of light at time when our world feels consumed by corruption, dishonesty, violence, and chaos. And as a masked, multi-generational hero his adventures extend across time periods and locations. This guide is just the first step in helping partners bring that adventure to life in product form. We are looking to expand the Chronicle Chamber team. If you would like to join the team by writing articles, reviewing comics and products, discuss news from around the world and even join us on podcasts, please email us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com .

In 2023, Maku Brewing a local micro brewery from Finland released four Mustanaamio (Phantom) themed cans for their Golden Ale Beer. It brought a huge excitement among many phans from Finland and around the world, and now in 2024 after their success, they have released another four new can designs featuring Sy Barry artwork. The cost of each can is 2,95€ ($5Au, $3US, 35 sek/nok & 245INR) and can be purchased from the Maku Brewing website and or from local Finnish shops. Unfortunately, as per their first release you cannot get them delivered internationally. The company details the beer with an alcohol level of 4.5% and is a very simple and straight line, golden yellow surface yeast. A balanced amount of mild sweetness in the light malt and the light citrusiness. Crispy, dry and very strong drinkable! At RateBeer.com , it has been given a 3.1 rating out of 5. We would love to be able to feature a video review on these beers from both Maku Brewery and Pyynikin Brewing Company. If you are willing to drink a beer for us, please contact us.

2023 saw Maku Brewing release four Phantom themed beer cans and it was very popular. Now in 2024, a second local Finnish brewing company Pyynikin Brewing Company has announced three new themed beer cans which will excite all phans. In our 2023 review podcast (due out 10 January 2024), majority of the team voted it as one of their best Phantom themed items for sale in 2023. More information is to come but like last time you will be able to purchase them from their website and local shops from Finland. This time the theme are tribute covers from classic Mustanaamio covers from the 1970's and 1980's. From left to right above the covers are from the 1985 Christmas Album and covers from 26/1981 and 1/1976 . You can see an example of the tribute below. We have yet to review the first release and hopefully we will bring a review of this new release soon as well. The best way to import these to your own fridge is by a trade. If you can help review the cans and the drink itself, please get in touch with us.

Australians love fund raising and one of the more unique fund raisers is the annual Variety Bash which is where you dress up cars with themes and go on a bush adventure with mates and on the way raise funds to make a difference in the lives of kids in need. Every state in Australia has their annual bash. The Phantom Express is a Phantom themed car and has been participating in the Queensland Variety Bash for 6 of the last 7 years. In 2024, they will be driving from Emerald to the Gold Coast via Lightning Ridge between the dates of 12-22 August 2024. You can follow the event at the QLD Variety Bash website . According to our brains trust the vehicle is a circa 1978-79 F100 Ford truck fitted with an ambulance body and of course is fitted with a PhanFare lifesize bust on the roof. You can follow The Phantom Express ' adventures from their Facebook page . On their trips, judging by their Facebook page , they get up to a lot of phun. On their 2024 Variety Bash they are giving away a Phantom theme show bag to the kids which you can see below. The only thing that we think is missing is a Frew comic - what an opportunity for Frew to connect and hook some of the next generation of phans. The Phantom Express team has a total goal of $100,000 that they want to raise - Chronicle Chamber has donated and we recommend other phans donate as well. Donate to the Phantom Express Your donation to their Bash car is used immediately by Variety – the Children’s Charity to deliver grants of equipment and services, Variety Heart Scholarships , programs and experiences to kids who need it most. With your support, more kids who are sick, disadvantaged or living with a disability can get the assistance they need to unleash their full potential. Websites: The Phantom Express ' Facebook page QLD Variety Bash website Donate to the Phantom Express

Fantomen has introduced three new artists in the years 2023 and 2024 and one of them is Polish artist Kasia Nie . Her first work appeared in Fantomen 12/2024 as both the cover artist and for the interior pages. She was gracious enough to spend some time with us answering some of our questions. You can follow her latest work at her Instagram , or even support her at her Patreon were she posts her own created comics. Chronicle Chamber: Welcome and thank you for your time. Can you please tell us about yourself and where you come from? Kasia Nie : I’m Kasia and I am an illustrator from Poland. I make art for comic books and video games and I also used to work as a storyboard artist. Whenever I can I go to comic conventions. CC: Can you please tell us about your background with your art. Did you complete any studies in the industry? KN: I studied at the art academy but left it at certain point as both comics and video games were seen there as something worse and I wasn’t happy with it in general. I am not sure if nowadays I’d make the same decision though. As for my professional background - I started to work on illustrations, storyboards and concept art for various projects (mostly advertisements) very early in my life. Later I moved to games and finally in 2016 got to draw my first comic book for Marvel ’s " Mockingbird ”. Since then I work solely for comics and video games - also plenty of time for personal projects :) CC: What is your normal art process? Do you prefer paper and or digital? What did you work on with your Fantomen story " Byrackorna " (" Stray Dogs ")? KN: For the Fantomen story, I drew all the pages on paper and the cover was made digitally. I often make basic sketches digitally and then print it out on A3 paper using very light color for further penciling and or inking. CC: Did you know of the Phantom prior? KN: I did not grew up on comics in general, I started to read manga when I was a teenager and any other comics came to my life quite late. As for the Phantom, I got to know about Phantom only last year. CC: How did you get the gig for Fantomen ? KN: While being at the comic convention in Stockholm I talked with my friend - comic book artist Karl Johnsson and he introduced me to Jacob Habinc . CC: What did you think of this first story? KN: I loved the story, there is a soft spot in my heart for animals and I regularly support local shelters so I really felt like this is something I genuinely am happy with working on. CC: In this story, The Phantom is not seen in his costume. Would you have like to draw the Phantom in his costume in your next story? KN: Absolutely yes :) CC: Have you received any feedback on your story? KN: As for the readers - I haven’t yet but I’m happy to hear and improve. CC: On top of the sequential work, you also drew the cover. Tell us about the cover. What is your process for a cover? KN: First, I sent Jacob Habinc three different sketches from which he picked one. I started to paint the final inks on paper but since I wasn’t happy with the result I redrew it digitally improving the bits I didn’t like and then also colored it digitally. CC: Do you accept commissions? KN: Yes I do :) CC: How can Phantom phans follow you? Do you have any social media platforms or a website? KN: I am mostly active on my Instagram: @kasia._.nie CC: Thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing more of your work on our Fantomen magazines.

Sad news that popular Phantom writer Dai Darell passed on 8th July 2024. Phantom phans will know her as her pseudonym Dai Darell with her maiden name Diane Alfredhsson and married name Diane Karlstrom . Other pseudonym she has written under are Saga Borg and Teo Troy . She was introduced to the Phantom when she lived in Sweden as a teenager with her favourite artist being Kari Leppänen . She wrote 18 Team Fantomen stories, including her first 16 in a three year period from 1983 to 1986. Her last two stories were published in 2019. These two stories came about after contacting Fantomen in 2016 with some story plots and she then wrote two stories with Magnus Carling . Diane Karlstrom is most known for her " Hero's Death Sentence " story which features Hero almost dying with an emotional Phantom sheading a tear as he prepares to say goodbye to his loyal horse. An emotional Phantom is something that many creators struggle to capture and explore. Do you like your Phantom showing emotion? Other memorable stories include " The Water of Life " which won best story as voted by Fantomen readers in 1983, " The Snake Ring " (sequel to " Hero's Death Sentence " story ), " The Devil's Smoke " and the two-part " The Floating Island" and " The White Rider ". Her second last story " The Pit of Doom " was also the very first Phantom story written and drawn by female creators. As of the date of her death, seven of the 19 stories have yet to be published by Frew and or in English. According to the great article on the Deepwoods.org website ( link here ), Diane quit Team Fantomen in 1986 due to family commitments and differences of opinion on future directions for the Phantom. No idea what that difference was but it was to the detriment for us readers. She brought a different feel to the character. Perhaps the biggest surprise in learning about Diane was her relationship with Claes Reimerthi and how she was influential in him becoming hitched to the Team Fantomen train. Attached is the quote from the article written by Andreas Eriksson : In 1984, Diane met Claes Reimerthi at a local meeting of the Swedish comics society. She inspired him to start writing Phantom scripts, gave him a foot in the door with Ulf Granberg, and coached him along - they even rented an office together for a while. Had it not been for Diane, Claes might never have become one of the most prolific Team Fantomen writers ever. Our thoughts are with Diane Karlstrom 's family and we thank her for her input to the Phantom. Thank you to Andreas Eriksson for the heads up about this sad passing of Diane Karlstrom and for writing the original article about Diane on the Deepwoods website .

The Comic Salon in Erlangen is the largest comic event in the German-speaking world and has been taking place every two years since 1984. At the same time, the Salon was known for always taking place in good weather. On its 40th anniversary, of all days, there was continuous rain instead of sunshine for the first time, but compared to the rest of Bavaria , where real storms raged that weekend, Erlangen once again got off lightly. However, it wasn't just the weather that was surprising, but also the large number of publishers offering comics from The Phantom at their booths. Reason enough for a short tour dedicated entirely to "The Man Who Cannot Die". In order to be able to photograph the largest of the three booths in its full splendor, I had to sneak into Hall B early in the morning, where Zauberstern Verlag was located. Later, when the visitors had access, this would no longer have been possible. The crowds that had been in the aisles all day were too dense. The publisher Simeon Hrissomallis arrived just as I was taking the last photos, but he had to make final preparations before the onslaught of readers. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity to talk to him later, but Chronicle Chamber are planning on an interview with Simeon to be published on their platform soon. Shortly afterwards, I met a cheerful Ulrich Wick at the Wick Comics booth, who had just received the two brand new Phantom issues 7 and 8 from the printers. He told me that his active time in his regular job will end on July 31, 2025 after 42 years of work. He is already looking forward to being able to devote more time to his publishing house, for which he still has various plans. Including the ongoing reprint of the western series " Silberpfeil " ( Silver Arrow ) that is particularly close to his heart, but also possibly another Phantom series with German created material. No final decision has yet been made about this after issue 12. This will be reported on at the 2026 Comic Salon . In keeping with its nostalgic program, ECR Verlag was located in the Redoutensaal , a baroque ballroom dating back to 1750 in the heart of Erlangen 's historic old town. In an informative conversation, the publisher Werner Reuß explained to me the concept of his Phantom series, which exclusively contains facsimiles of old publications from German daily newspapers. Due to Werner having an extensive archive of originals at his disposal, he is aiming to use them for a complete publication of all German Sy Barry strips. Strip #22 is also the start of a magazine in which facsimiles of various newspaper series will be published 2 to 3 times a year. Included in this series will be coloured Sunday strips of The Phantom , Flash Gordon , Mandrake the Magician and The Heart of Juliet Jones . You can find out more about the event and the publishers at the following links. Note, that many of the publishers do send their comics abroad. https://www.comic-salon.de/en https://zauberstern-comics.de/ http://www.wick-comics.de/ http://www.schatzinsel-versand.de/ Photos by Bernd Frenz. [Editors Note: If you attend any comic conventions and if you want to report on the convention or interview any Phantom related guests, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com ]

During the Uppsala Comix Convention   Fantomen editor Andreas Eriksson  announced the 2024 and 2025 Fantomen Softcover Album  theme to be released in October 2024 (and 2025). The book's theme will be about the beloved Prince Rex character who was first adopted by the Phantom in 1966 and in 1982 was found out to be a prince to the mountain kingdom Baronkhan. This year's book is called " Djungelpojken Rex ", which is translated to " Rex, the Jungle Boy ". At this stage, the contents have not been announced but below is our best assumption of what to expect. Cover art is by Luca Erbetta who does a great job at capturing the love and closeness between the Phantom and his ward, Rex. The softcover albums are usually 128 pages and consist of 4-6 stories printed in black and white. We can confirm that the following four stories will be included in the 2024 album. " Rex King " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Rex, the Missing Heir " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry ” Dangerous Vacation ” by Ulf Granberg and Jaime Vallvé " Tale of Rex " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry There are many other newspaper and Team Fantomen stories featuring Rex that could fit in the 2025 album. While we do not know the stories, we have selected a couple that could be good options. " The Rogue Elephant " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Jungle Olympics " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Rex and the Little People " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Visit to Baronkhan " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Ruler of Baronkhan " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Rex: Prince of Baronkhan " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry " Prince Rex and Princess Alicia " by Lee Falk  and Sy Barry The beauty about this book is it will be available for sale throughout Sweden, Norway and Finland so many more phans can enjoy re-reading these classic stories. The release date is August 2024. The cheapest price we have found is 168kr ($25AU, $15US/EU and 1,300INR) and the pre order links are below. Swedish Pre Order Link (Adlibris) Swedish Pre Order Link (Wessman & Pettersson) Norwegian Pre Order Link Finland Pre Order Link Keep an eye on our website for more information as it becomes announced and our review of the book. Thank you to Kristian Hellesund and Thomas Askjellerud for the heads up on this news. If you find any other Phantom related news we may have missed, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com  or our social media platforms.

During the Uppsala Comix Convention   Fantomen editor Andreas Eriksson  talked about the Hardcover album , the ongoing softcover series this year featuring Prince Rex and a new book titled "Ghost Who Walks". This book will be reprinting classic Daily and Sunday USA newspaper stories that will carry a loose theme about the mythology of the Phantom aka The Ghost Who Walks. While some of the details of this third release is still a secret, some details have been announced along with the pre order links and the cover. The book will be released towards the end of 2024 in time for Christmas and the book will be printed with a hardcover. The cover originally painted by Rolf Gohs was originally first used for the cover of Fantomen 21/1984. This album will be the seventh time it has been used. It is a classic and beautifully captures the legacy of the Ghost Who Walks. Two stories we can confirm will be included are " The Kimberly Diamonds " created by Lee Falk and Sy Barry and " The Gibs Brothers " by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy . " The Gibs Brothers " is the shortest Phantom Sunday story ever made. The cheapest price we have found is 121kr ($17AU, $10US/EU and 1,000INR) and the pre order links are below. Swedish Pre Order Link (Adlibris) Swedish Pre Order Link (Wessman & Pettersson) Keep an eye on our website for more information as it becomes announced and our review of the book. Editors Note: This article will be updated as confirmation of the stories is obtained and we will be releasing some of the sounds from the Uppsala Comix Convention and other conventions in a soon to be released podcast. Thank you to Kristian Hellesund  and Thomas Askjellerud   for the heads up on this news. If you find any other Phantom related news we may have missed, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com  or our social media platforms. Who Walks"