Because so much has happened in the Phantom world within the last 4-6 weeks, we have split our June review podcast into two. Join Stephen East , Jermayn Parker , Dan Fraser , Mikael Lyck , Seuj Abir and Christian Moller  as together we review 12 Phantom comics from from Australia, Sweden, India and Germany. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel , website and or our social media platforms in Facebook , Twitter and or Instagram . If your one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed. Frew (Australia) Phantom Comics Frew #1971: 3 Minutes & 30 Seconds " High Seas Highjacker " part 3 by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy " High Seas Highjacker " part 2 by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy " High Seas Highjacker " part 1 by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy " The Spy Gang " by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy Frew #1972: 7 Minutes " The Maharajah's Daughter " by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy " Royal Hero " by Pidde Andersson and Shane Foley " Of Man and Beast, Part 3 " by Andrew Constant and Jason Paulos " The Fence " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry Frew #1973: 46 Minutes “ The Devil in Stockholm ” By Mikael Sol and Jan Bielecki “ Bad Blood in Bangalla, Part 5 " by Shane Foley Giant Size #29: 1 Hour, 1 Minute and 30 Seconds “ The Childhood of the Phantom ” by Lee Falk and Mozart Couto “ The Grateful Lion” by unknown creator and Adir Teixeira “ Peter Chapman ” by Walmir Amaral “ Red Death in White Belt ” by unknown creator and Walmir Amaral Sweden Phantom Comics: 1 Hour and 12 Minutes Fantomen 8/2024 " Demonens avbild " (" The Demon's Image ") by Tony DePaul and Heiner Bade Fantomen 9/2024 "Farligt vatten" ("Dangerous Waters") by Bernd Frenz and Janusz Ordon "Krigshundarna" ("The War Mongers") by Claes Reimerthi and Graham Nolan Fantomen 10-11/2024 " Mannen som inte kunde dö " (" The Man Who Could Not Die ") by Idi Kharelli and Georges Bess " Fantomens masker " (" Masks of the Phantom ") by Arild Wærness , Mike Collins and Knut Robert Knutsen " Utbrytningen " (" The Breakout ") by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley Fantomen 12/2024 " Byrackorna " (" The Mongrels ") by Jacob Habinc and Kasia Nie Fantomen 13/2024 " Fantomens märke " (" The Mark of the Phantom ") by Mikael Bergkvist and Gerardo Canelo German Phantom Comics: 1 Hour, 12 Minutes and 30 Seconds Wick #7 " Der Gefangene " (" The Prisoner ") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla " Der Zyklop " (" Black Day for Diamond Sharks ") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla Zauberstern #13 " Das Spukschloss " (" The Haunted Castle ") by Felmang " Hass, Teil 2 " (" Hate, Part 2 ") by Mark Verheiden and Luke McDonnell " Müll " (" Waste ") by Mark Verheiden  and  Luke McDonnell Indian Phantom Comics: 1 Hour and 27 Minutes Regal #36 " How The Phantom Saved The Earth " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry V Comics #13 " வீரனுக்கு மரணமில்லை " (romanized as " Veeranukku maranamillai "; " The Ghost Wall ") by Tony DePaul , Keith Williams and George Olesen 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 one of the phans who enjoy the Frew Replica series? What do you think of Frew 's   2000th issue? Do you agree we should be comparing the 2000th issue against the 972 number or the 75th Anniversary special instead? Do you like sequel stories tied with classic Lee Falk stories or would you prefer your own stand alone stories? Do you like seeing reprint classic Lee Falk stories reprinted in colour? Would you like to pay money to be featured in a Frew created story? Did you enjoy " Of Man and Beast, Part 3 " by Andrew Constant and Jason Paulos ? Is Frew #330 released in the 2019 Annual Special issue mean Frew #1971 is the real 2000th issue? Did you like “ The Devil in Stockholm ” By Mikael Sol and Jan Bielecki ? Did you like it dealing with the problem of depression and suicide? Would you like to see more of it? Are you enjoying all the Lee Falk threads that Shane Foley is tying together? What would you write into Frew and say or comment on? His email is dudley@frewpublications.com.au Have you managed to buy any of the Wick comics? Do you collect and read Phantom comics published from another country than the one you live in? 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 back in May 2024 , Fantomet have now released more information on their 2024 Fantomet book which is set to be published in November 2024. The book will be a huge 150 pages and feature 6 newspaper stories and all in colour. Unlike the previous Year Albums that have been published in landscape, this will be published in the portrait format. The stories are a mixture of new Daily newspaper adventures and two classic newspaper stories which have not previously been published in a comic in Norway. The stories are: " To Wrack and Ruin at Gravelines " by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley " The Chronicle of Old Man Mozz " by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley " Death in the Himalayas " by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley " Phantom's End " by Tony DePaul , Mike Manley and Scott Cohn " The Plant God of the Massau " by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy " Dinosaur " by Lee Falk and Sy Barry It will be interesting to see how the Norwegian Fantomet readers will enjoy the Daily newspaper stories featuring the long saga of how the 21st Phantom dies as according to Tony DePaul . This album will replace the previous Year Albums and only time will tell if it will become a new Fantomet regular monthly or bi-monthly series. If the sales are good, it will help, but that is up to the fans from Norway to buy the magazine. You can follow the Fantomet magazine Facebook page here . Below is the original post with the automatic translate.

For those who could not make it (and have not been). [Editors note: The recordings and sounds from the weekend will be out in a X-Band: The Phantom Podcast soon featuring the panel of Matt Kyme and Ash Nicholls  at Supanova, plus the speech of Ash Nicholls  from the dinner.] Saturday 22 June 2024 saw the quadranscentennial (25th) anniversary and 35th Lee Falk Memorial Bangalla Explorers Club (“ LFMBEC ”) dinner. 64 people had the good fortune of attending at Deus Cafe in Sydney , with 11 of those being first time attendees. To put that into perspective, I understand there were 11 at the first dinner. I was one of the new ones this time, so, I thought I would share my experience as one who came in late. I live in Brisbane and have very little memory of Sydney from visits long ago. Getting to Sydney is not so difficult and the public transport is respectable. I got from the airport to my hotel with very little hassle. The hotel I picked was Best Western Camperdown , just across the road from Deus! Fair warning, if you stay in the area, there is a hospital just up the road and you will probably hear the sirens. It was good to see those who could make it and the handful of Phans I met in Bundaberg (for more on that, read my review ). The weekend starts Friday night. Many regulars stay at the Mercure , so, that tends to be the meeting place. Friday night at the Mercure Bar was very crowded. About 20 or so Phans attended, Putting faces to names, meeting new friends, and, of course, seeing old friends who have not broken bread in far too long. The reverie ends too soon, but sleep beckons and there is a big day ahead. Saturday tends to be the trip to Supanova , after all, this dinner is on the Supanova weekend for a reason. I've still not gone to Supanova , so, that reason escapes me. I took the opportunity to catch up with friends who live in Sydney. Saturday night is the night of the dinner, and if you thought the Phantom themed clothes came out before, you are in for a treat. Ties, waistcoats, suspenders, jackets, shirts, pins, badges, rings, and good mark jewellery all made their appearance. Seating was organised with Tetris style efficiency by using named menus. The party pack included an auction catalogue, a place mat, a sticker, a coaster, a newspaper extract, a Lee Falk story, and a serviette. I understand there are even variations on the coasters and the place mats, for those completist collectors. To think all I was expecting was a coaster and a purple serviette! In the adjoining room was the silent auction with scores of items having been donated. The competition was fierce and the closing time was both clearly announced and strictly enforced. The art from the Jamie Johnson collaborative jam (Jamie's ink over the other artist's blue line) was all on display in the silent auction room. Four of those pieces were up for the non-silent open bidding auction. You can learn more about this jam piece in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #282 - The Phantom Jam Print Fundraiser . The keynote speaker was Ash Nicolls , Director of Art of Play , which is developing the much anticipated Phantom game, a 2D side-scroller with multiple endings depending on how you play. Ash shared his Phantom story along with the troubles and trials of putting together a game under license. If you buy the game, do not be surprised to find bits of heart and soul, alongside the blood, sweat, and tears that Ash has clearly put into this part of the Phantom history. The official parts of the evening, including the open bidding auction, was deftly emceed by Dr Antonio DiDio , one of the first LFMBEC members. For those wondering how to join, if you attend, you are a member - according to another of those founders. You can learn more about Dr Antonio DiDio in his podcast interview . Antonio, therefore, had the sad duty to remind those present of the still painful loss of Richard Fry , who died before the 34th dinner, having nearly finished organising the same. I did not have the opportunity to meet Richard, but I can say that the level of admiration expressed by those who knew him speaks of a remarkable man with a big heart. Based on the fact that this year there were five on the organising committee to replace him, Richard was a powerhouse for the LFMBEC dinner! To end on a lighter note, let us consider the legacy of the dinner, or at least what I learned on the night. Mel Russo from the Children's Hospital at Westmead was present and shared that the LFMBEC dinner, from the first dinner to the 34th, had raised $108,000 for the Hospital. Antonio pointed out the previous highest raised at one dinner was $11,000. With the help of some outrageous personal targets, $2,000 was raised through raffle tickets alone (at $10 each). By the end of the dinner, including the milestone of having an open bidding auction item go for $1,500), the total raised on the night was over $21 thousand! What a spectacular evening! What a marvelous event!! What started as a social event every so often has now become a major fundraising event on the Phantom calendar!!! I could not possibly thank everyone by name for such a wonderful time. To do that, I would require the entire attendance list, and more! What I can do is blame and warn you about Bradley Peach . I would not have been at the dinner if Bradley had not gone out of his way to include me when we first met in Bundaberg . Bradley and his wife Joyful Peach are just one pair of the amazing people who make up this community. If you are wondering whether or not to go to one of the LFMBEC dinners, I recommend you do! There has been some talk about holding a smaller similar event to coincide with the Brisbane Supanova in November 2024. Keep an eye on the LFMBEC website or Chronicle Chamber s platforms for more information closer to the date. [Editors note: The recordings and sounds from the weekend will be out in a X-Band: The Phantom Podcast soon featuring the panel of Matt Kyme and Ash Nicholls at Supanova, plus the speech of Ash Nicholls from the dinner.]

Christian Moller reviews Wick Publications #7 which features the following stories: " Der Gefangene " (" The Prisoner ") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla " Der Zyklop " (" Black Day for Diamond Sharks ") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla These stories were first released prior in 1983 and have been restored and printed on top quality paper with amazing printing. The finished product is great and the stories are enjoyable. A great cover by Ertuğrul Edirne who is a Turkish cover artist currently living in Germany. These covers originally featured on the Büyülü Çizgi Roman Turkish series. Those with a keen eye will notice, the colour of the Phantom's costume has been changed to purple. Please note that the print run is smaller than most comic of only 700 copies. Due to this, the comics can be hard to find and are basically sold out as they go to print, we would suggest to contact the publisher directly, you can contact Ulrich Wick via his website . News that will please many phans who are missing out is that these stories will be seen in other publications. "Under Grenadas rännande sol " (" The Slaves ") was published in Fantomen 8/2024 - our Fantomen and Wick reviews. Keep an eye on the Chronicle Chamber platform when / if these stories also find their way into the Frew comic or elsewhere. To learn more about these comics and stories being produced by Wick , we suggest you read these articles and interviews: Interview with the publisher U lrich Wick Interview with the writer Peter Mennigen The contents of the 12 comics in the series All Wick Publication comics and other German comic reviews are 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 and products being released around the world, please contact us.

This is a review of the opening weekend events of "Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery’s exhibit: Phantom: Off the Drawing Board". For Those Who Came In Late As the sun set on 17 November 2023 the crowd started growing at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery. Phans from across the country had gathered to celebrate a love we shared – The Phantom! Some people were working, some had travelled from interstate, some were supporting friends with art in the Gallery, and some happened to wander by and wondered what the fuss was all about. I travelled from Brisbane, knowing I just had to be there. Fortunately I was there for the opening weekend events, because some amazing phans attended, and the Phantom himself was there to greet them! Both the quality and the quantity of art and memorabilia on display was astounding. Original art was mainly from the beloved Sy Barry and the local hero Shane Foley, who was interviewed on Saturday 18 November 2023. Shane is a delightful phellow who, would you believe it, was an ambulance officer before becoming an artist (and writer) for the Phantom. You really never know what the future holds! A lot of the exhibit (art and memorabilia), including two Phantom Shields, is on loan from collector Paul Moloney, who was also interviewed on Saturday. I, for one, never thought I would see any of the PNG Phantom Shields in person, so I can check that off the list and thank Paul Moloney for his contribution to the exhibit. As for getting my own… to be continued! Frew Phantom issues no. 1, 2, and 3 are on display – yes, originals, no, not replicas! Need I say more?! Gary Horne, author of the Phantom Rings book (which you may have heard about here), was also present (and kind enough to sign copies of his book, which were available for sale). A number of rings are on display from, you guessed it, the amazing ring collection of Gary Horne. Glenn Ford, I am sure needing no introduction, was present and gave one of the brief talks on Friday night. Thank you Frew for helping make this exhibit happen. The Gallery has four areas to visit. The first and main exhibit is through a wonderful mural of the Skull Cave by Shane Foley, with The Phantom, Diana, and Devil. The Major Treasure Room being, of course, inside the Skull Cave. The Phantom Response exhibit is upstairs and contains the work of a number of local artists and their Phantom-inspired pieces. Most of those artists were part of a panel discussion on Saturday. The Phantom serial of 1943 is being shown on a loop in a theatre inside the Gallery. Last, and least only in stature, is the Kid Phantom area. This part of the exhibit is interactive in a number of ways, allowing visitors to try their hand at sketching and colouring a comic strip and has a wall with panels and characters to create your own story. The Kid Phantom artist Paul Mason also attended, being interviewed on Saturday, and signing copies of the Kid Phantom Kollection #1. It would be remiss of me not to mention the Brisbane Pop Culture Meetup on the third Friday of every month from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Brisbane Square Library. Saturday had a series of interviews with Shane Foley, Paul Moloney, Paul Mason, and a number of the Response artists. There were a number of items for sale while a generous benefactor donated Phantom comic books for anyone interested. An impromptu and unofficial dinner was arranged amongst the phans. As a result of this weekend, I had the good fortune of discovering two things: 1. There are actually a number of other phans in Brisbane. I thought I was the only one! I knew that could not be true, but all the clubs I read about in the comic books no longer existed. I met phans from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, a man with the Phantom bust tattooed on his back, and a lovely pear (sic) from Jindera (I had to look it up too, it is near Albury at the NSW/Vic border). So, there you have it, there are phans around, it is just a matter of finding them. 2. There is a dinner of legend that, I am told, is a not to be missed. The Lee Falk Memorial Bengali Explorers Club dinner (https://www.lfmbec.org/) is held on the night of Supanova in Sydney (for now!) and includes an auction of donated items where the funds raised go towards the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. I have yet to attend. 2024 is shaping up to be a big year. In addition to the Chronicle Chamber, I have also come across the PhantomWiki, and I have heard there are Facebook groups worth exploring, like Trader Joe’s. Many people have gone unnamed and unthanked in this article, but from the ones mentioned, I have no doubt you can tell it was a splendid time. I may be new to the community but I have been made to feel most welcome. I look forward to meeting many more of you over the years ahead. The exhibit is ongoing and while you may have missed the opening weekend events, you have until 4 February 2024 to see what Rebecca McDuff, Curator and Gallery Director, has on display. The exhibit is well worth a trip or a detour to Bundaberg! [Editors note: Along with our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #267 featuring a video review by Duncan Munro, Christopher D. Schaffer has written through his own review and thoughts on the amazing exhibition. Thank you and we hope it inspires some phans or casual fans the desire to go visit this exhibition.]

Back in April we announced that the 2024 hardcover collection book was for the Kate Sommerset series by David Bishop and Cesar Spadari and now we can show the cover created by phan phavourite Henrik Sahlström. The 2024 Fantomen Hardcover Collection will be released in August 2024 and can be pre ordered at the Adlibiris website here. The price is 663kr ($100AU, $60US, €60 & 5,000INR). This book will be limited to 1,000 copies and featuring 430+ pages in colour with a dust jacket. The book will be about Lady Kate Sommerset who featured in Phantom stories with the 16th, 17th, 18th Phantom's and Julie, the twin sister of the 17th Phantom. According to sources along with the 12 stories featuring Lady Kate Sommerset we will also get the three part "Son of the Pirate Queen" saga featuring the 18th Phantom fighting alongside his half brother, Chris Sommerset against a rogue Kali sect. We understand the book will also collect editorial articles on the successful creative team of David Bishop and Cesar Spadari the two creators behind the very popular series. We have reviewed the past two Chronicle hardcover collections: 2022 'Mörkrets hjärta' book 2023 'Den hemliga krönikan' book. Thanks to Egmont for allowing us to show you the cover, we think Henrik Sahlström has done a great job. We would recommend listening to our podcast with David Bishop in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #117 and reading our eulogy on Cesar Spadari which was written on behalf of his step son. Both reference this series which won several awards voted by the phans. Thank you to Egmont for the heads up on this cover. If you find any other Phantom related news we may have missed, please contact us at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com or our social media platforms.

One of the advantages of phan phav Fantomen cover artists Henrik Sahlström not drawing as many covers since 2022 is it has allowed Fantomen to spread the load of covers and trial several new artists. In 2023 and so far in 2024 (this interview published end of June 2024), there has been 12 artist combinations including three new artists. One of these new artists is Henry Johannes and he spent some time with us answering some of our questions. You can follow him at his website and Instagram . Chronicle Chamber: Thank you for joining us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What country and region are you from? Henry Johannes: My name is Henry Johannes , and I was born in Sweden . My parents however are from Finland . CC: Where did you study art? HJ: I studied a year at Konstskolan I Stockholm (the art school in Stockholm in 1979, then at the RMI-BERGHS advertising school. I started freelancing as an illustrator from 1986. CC: What made you want to be an artist? HJ:  One of the reasons I wanted to be an illustrator was actually The Phantom, among other comic books I used to read. I started to read the Phantom at the age of eight which was all the way back in 1972. CC: How did you get the role of the Phantom for Egmont ? HJ:  I sent a few of my Phantom illustrations to the editors, and they liked my work. CC: What are you enjoying about working with The Phantom? Do you have any past Phantom artists that you look up to? HJ:  I like the way Sy Barry and Jaime Vallvè drew him. They were masters. It is a challenge to draw the Phantom. I don't like the way he is drawn today. CC: Do you work traditionally using pencils, inks on paper or do you prefer working on the computer? HJ:  Since I belong to the older guard, I master both the traditional way of painting and digital painting. Nowadays I prefer to paint digitally. CC: Do you accept commissions and how can they contact you? HJ:  I do accept commissions. You can contact me via Instagram or my website. CC: Do you have a place where phans can see and follow your work? HJ:  My website: https://www.tecknaren.nu and or Instagram @henryjohannesm CC: Thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing more of your work on our Fantomen magazines.

The team at Chronicle Chamber have long been admirers of Cesar Spadari 's artwork as they grew up reading his stories in the Fantomen and Frew comics. While we never had the opportunity to correspond with him personally, thankfully, we have connected with his step son Juan Munari Rousselot who has given us a brilliant insight to a phan phav artist. We hope you enjoy this read as you get to know one of the true great Phantom artists. Chronicle Chamber: Thank you for your time and joining us. First of all, can you please tell us how you are related to Cesar Spadari ? Juan Munari Rousselot: I think that to answer that question I should first tell how Cesar and my Mother ( Lila Rousselot ) are related. Cesar's family and my mother's family have known each other for years, my mother met him when she was about 12 years old and he was already a young man, who was taking his first steps in drawing. Years later, after Cesar returned to Argentina from living in Spain where he worked for Editorial Brugera in Barcelona , ​​they met by chance in a restaurant in Buenos Aires . At that time, Cesar was an art director in a film studio in addition to drawing professionally (I will refer to this in particular later). When they saw each other, they were both overwhelmed, that girl had become a very beautiful young woman who worked at Aerolineas Argentinas . Cesar and Lila began dating and soon after he proposed to her, my mother, who considered herself to young to start a family and had plans to be a stewardess, which she achieved shortly after, politely rejected the proposal. Years later, while I and she were visiting Barcelona at the house of my uncle Ricardo Rousselot (who is a very prestigious calligrapher and publicist, considered one of the best of the 20th century), my uncle asked my mother Lila that a colleague of Cesar; needed to send a package to Cesar in Buenos Aires and if she could take it, so on. Already in Buenos Aires she called him and he was surprised to hear her after a few years, and they agreed to meet to deliver her shipment. Well, the message was from Cupid because when they reunited, they did not separate again, they were together for more than twenty years, they had a wonderful marriage. I entered Cesar's life as a boy of about 16 years old, we had an automatic close relationship. He taught me many things, the love for art, for horses (a love that the three of us share: Cesar, my mother and I), the value of friendship and so many other things. As the years passed, our relationship became deeper, so much so that he called me “His Son of the Heart.” He was truly a father to me. CC: From your privileged position are you able to tell us about his childhood including where he was born etc? JMR: Cesar was born in Buenos Aires , son of Domingo, an executive in the Dodero shipping company, and Blanca, a housewife. He had a happy childhood, he attended primary school in the Parque Patricios neighborhood, where he was a diligent and very athletic student. He was a fan of the Boca Juniors club and enjoyed going to watch games at the Boca Juniors field whenever his father's obligations allowed it. When Cesar finished primary school, Domingo, his father, was elected to a position in the north of Argentina, where Cesar, living in a large house next to a mighty river and with sandy beaches, began to get closer to nature, first by taming in the Indian way (that is, without violence, just caresses to get the horse tickled) to his first horse, “Pampa” was the name of the mare, once tamed he began to tour the surroundings on horseback where nature is exuberant in a semi-jungle landscape, and I create unconsciously absorbing those landscapes for my children then pouring this exuberance into drawing the jungles of Bengali. At the same time, he attended the “Don Bosco” secondary school, a Catholic school, for boys only, and here happens one of the many anecdotes that Cesar told me: He wanted to go to a mixed school, that is, not for boys only; So Cesar, who had an acting streak, began first as an altar boy at Sunday mass, then studying religion at school (all this to the surprise of his parents and especially of Domingo who did not see with sympathy that his son did these things), until finally at a Sunday table (a must in a family of Italian descent); He told his parents that he wanted to enter the Catholic seminary after finishing high school to become a priest; This made Domingo angry and he ordered that on Monday his only son be transferred to a normal school where his head would not be filled with these ideas. Cesar achieved what he wanted to go to a school with female classmates and who was a young man Don Juan achieved his goal. When he finished school and his father was assigned again to Buenos Aires , Pampa was left behind with his horse and his beloved jungle. But he replaced them with vacations at the ranch of his uncles on his mother's side, “La Palmira” where Cesar, now an expert rider, shared the work of the fields with the gauchos (cowboys in Argentina), where he learned the nobility and love for nature from these tough guys. men, values ​​that would serve as inspiration first for his character: Mayor Laguna and then coincidentally also Phantom, focusing on the values ​​of respect for nature and nobility towards the helpless and oppressed. CC:  Can you tell us about his background with art? Did he study to become an artist? JMR: Cesar was what I consider an artist who was born with the gift of drawing. At the age of seven, taken by his maternal grandmother, his adventure partner and who always supported him in what in those years in a conservative society like Argentina, being a comic artist was not consideres a profession, he took his first drawing classes. I consider that he possessed the Gift, making a comparison with the vision and I think it serves to illustrate it: African Americans in their Churches in the southern United States say that they “Got Religion” as if it were revealed to them by a superior being and I believe that Cesar had his “Got his Gift of drawing” at that early age, when Cesar years later and after finishing high school went to the School of Fine Arts, his stay was short because one of his teachers told him “That he didn't need to learn nothing that they could teach him there, he already had all of that naturally, he just needed practice." CC:  Can you tell us about Cesar's initial years in the art and comic industry? JMR: His first success was when Cesar was 23 years old and won a contest in one of the most important newspapers in Argentina Critica , to draw a daily strip, this was at the beginning of the 1960s, this character based on a soldier in the so-called “ Conquest of the Desert ”, at the end of the 1800s, portrays the hard life of this officer in a fort at the In the manner of those from the North American Far West that is seen in the movie “ Dances with Wolves ”, an officer who, together with his partner Sergeant Andrade, must go through life in a war with the Indian whom he sees as closer than his superior officers who are in the capital, empathizing with them, and facing outlaws, tribes that are hostile to them and other adventures. Then he began to work for Hector German Oesterheld , publishing his character Mayor Laguna and others, where they worked (It is worth pointing out that at their pinnacle, Argentina had the second largest comic production behind the United States), Hugo Pratt the Venetian internationally famous for El Corto Maltes , Francisco Solano Lopez creators with Oesterheld of among other stories: El Eternauta and Amapola Negra . Cesar drew the famous character Ernie Pike created by Oesterheld and originally drawn by Hugo Pratt , based on the famous American war chronicler Ernest Pyle of World War II . Upon Hugo Pratt 's return from Europe in 1964 he would find Cesar again collaborating with Pratt this time in Ediciones Yago where Cesar drew alongside artists such as Hugo Pratt , Arturo del Castillo , Francisco Solano Lopez , etc. Later, with Pratt installed in Europe, Cesar would create his own magazine at the age of 32 titled Top and its publishing house Cielo Sur , moving the setting from Ernie Pike to the Vietnam War with script by Oesterheld . You can learn more about this period of Cesar Spadari which is documented in the book “ Hugo Pratt, El Tano ” by Aldo Pravia , published in 2020. CC:  Can you tell us a bit about Cesar and his work in Europe? JMR: In the mid 1970s, and with the comics crisis installed in Argentina Cesar decided to emigrate to Barcelona, Spain , ​​where he is hired by Editorial Bruguera after a stay in Spain where he was successful in his professional life but could not adapt to life in a country other than Argentina. He returned to Buenos Aires , with contacts with European publishers, thanks to what I work as an artist agent for foreign publishers, especially in Germany and the United Kingdom. In fact, he himself did a lot of work for agencies, and placed many of his comics in British and Dutch women's magazines in the late 70s and early 80s. For the Spanish publisher Bruguera he created several series together with the legendary screenwriter Víctor Mora ( Grand Prix , The Call of Africa ) and for the collection Joyas Literarias Juveniles he adapted novels such as Towards the Zambesí , Two Years of Vacation and New Adventures of Robinson Crusoe , among others, into comics. CC:  Can you share with us how he became a Phantom artist? JMR: In the mid 1980s, and prior to a trip to several European countries looking for work for him and the cartoonists who were part of his agency. He learnt that Swedish publishing house Semic was looking for artists to draw The Phantom, led by the editor Ulf Granberg. Cesar started drawing Phantom in 1987 and did it continuously for more than thirty years and 93 episodes. Winning the award for best story several times in countries like Sweden, Denmark or Finland and being published in countries like: Australia, UK, Italy, India, etc. Above is Cesar Spadari 's trial piece he submitted to Fantomen . CC:  Can you share with us a bit about his studio and the assistants that worked under him? JMR: Cesar in addition to the agency for other jobs in the UK, Holland or Germany had his specific studio for Phantom where he had collaborators where I can especially highlight Perci Ochoa , another assistant at the agency was Daniel Muller . Both Daniel and Perci have Phantom credits for drawing their own Phantom adventures for Team Fantomen and Frew . Towards the end of his career he stepped out on his own without assistants and did so for several years until the end. CC:  Can you tell us the process of receiving scripts from Team Fantomen ? JMR: The scripts arrived in English and it was I who personally translated them into Spanish - I worked with him as his translator for twenty years. Here I want to highlight the forgotten role of the translators, if the translation is not carried out in an exact and subtle way, the results will not be good. The translators must adapt to the characteristics of the artist, as well as that of the scriptwriter. I was the only one who knew how to plan the script in the way that César Spadari liked and was most comfortable with and he was a very demanding boss. CC:  What was his process of drawing the stories once he received the translation from you? JMR: In recent years he sketched (or roughs) and directly inked his stories skipping the pencils stage, be it a brush, pen or a marker with a tip similar to a brush. I suppose by not having assistants and planting the drawing directly added to his natural ability and experience of more than 60 years allowed him to avoid pencil. This can be seen when you personally see his work; His work is really impressive; Hand raised and without any type of hesitation, it is fine, concise, beautiful. CC:  Did Cesar ever explore the digital form of drawing? JMR: Oh no!, Cesar is an old school artist, only paper, ink, brush or pen, no digital media. He never tried it. I think that knowing him well he would have never adopted it. And it's not because he didn't often have a limited deadline, he often managed to draw 150 pages in a year. He never asked for an extension on the delivery date and always drew and inked his stories in the traditional way like a true artisan artist. CC:  Did Cesar ever understand how well received his work was received in Australia and Europe? JMR: Cesar was an extremely humble, low-profile person who did not enjoy talking about himself, his places in the world were his drawing board and the tennis court. He did not believe he was better or worse than anyone, nor did he compete with anyone, only with himself, so that his next story would be better than the previous one. His words were “Everyone is better at something and not so good at another”. He was his biggest critic, who did not hesitate to tear up and throw away a finished page even though he knew it could be published perfectly but he knew that it was not 100% of what he could give. Regarding recognition, he knew that his work was good, which is why he kept receiving new scripts, which happened from 1987 until he sadly passed away, but he was very humble and felt embarrassed if someone highlighted his art work over that of another colleague. Furthermore, I am almost certain that he did not give any interviews regarding Phantom in all the years of his profession, nor did he attend exhibitions where his work from his Argentine period was exhibited. CC:  Can you tell us about some of his most favourite stories he drew? JMR: He enjoyed drawing period stories or those referenced in a historical event. Some of the favourite stories would be: The Secret of Polymos, In Strange Land with the Phantom's origin in Japan’s civil war period, The Assassination of Lincon and I think the complete saga of Kate Sommerset the Pirate Queen would be his favorite stories. CC:  Does Cesar have an ultimate favourite Phantom story? JMR: The Secret of Polymos : A favorite of César’s, on the one hand it was his second story for Semic , it shows Spadari's deep knowledge of the mythology of Ancient Greece of which he was an avid reader, which was captured in this beautifully drawn story. CC:  What about his most favourite Phantom cover? JMR: I do think that his favorite covers are the ones she made for the saga of Kate Sommerset the Pirate Queen, since the character was physically inspired by my mother Lila Rousselot or as Cesar called her “His Muse”. CC:  Did he ever meet or communicate with any fellow Phantom creators or Phantom phans? JMR: Cesar had contact with some colleagues. I must highlight my very appreciated friend Antonio Lemos , who was a friend of César who visited him at his house on one of his trips. I must say that my friendship with Antonio is a legacy for which I am grateful to César. He was also a special friend of Joan Boix . Regarding the fans, Pete Klaus was a dear friend of César. On a personal note, I am lucky to have met Paul Mason , a fantastic Frew artist of whom I am as much an admirer of him as he was of Spadari. In particular, in his Phantom saga in Vietnam. Returning to César, since he did not speak English, he surely did not have the possibility of communicating with creators such as the very talented David Bishop , writer of the Kate Sommerset saga, they really formed a very special duo, and surely they would have enjoyed getting to know each other more or fans from around the world who would have tried to communicate with him on repeated occasions. CC:  During the 1990's, Team Fantomen switched from black and white to color stories. Do you know if Cesar preferred drawing for colour or black and white? JMR: I believe, his work looks particularly good in black and white and the color pages were not his favorites. CC:  What are some Phantom stories that stand out to you, that you would like to share with us? JMR: Kate Sommerset: The Pirate Queen saga: They are a group of stories resulting from the collaboration between Cesar Spadari and David Bishop . Cesar formed a fantastic duo with David, really drawing all the episodes for César was a real pleasure, they put together a dynamic script, a story that combines many characteristics that make it special; from Romance, the anti-hero of the Pirate Queen, to the son they have in common who is originally a pirate like her mother, to the death of Phantom. Truly a complete captivating saga that can be enjoyed from wherever you are. [Editors note: Egmont Publishing will have this magnificent saga printed in its annual hardcover book. You can read about it here ] It is also worth noting that as my mother inspired Kate Sommerset, I helped inspired Chris Walker. The Mystery on Cape Cod: In this story that takes place in Cape Cod, United States , what is different is the appearance as a character of the brilliant creator of Phantom Lee Falk , the story was created after the visit of Ulf Granberg who was the editor of Fantomen to Lee Falk . The Assassination of President Lincoln: The Assassination of President Lincoln is a story like The Baltimore Mystery featuring Edgar A. Poe that Cesar enjoyed drawing because of Spadari's preference for scripts based on historical figures. In a Strange Land: This two episode saga was a public favorite especially in Australia, beautifully drawn and especially documented. Cesar had a love for Akira Kurosawa 's films and The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise . CC: We at Chronicle Chamber appreciate and thank you for your time and teaching us so much about Cesar Spadari .

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber catches up and reviews Fantomen 8/2024, 9/2024, 10-11/2024, 12/2024 & 13/2024 which feature the following stories: Fantomen 8/2024 "Demonens avbild" ("The Demon's Image") by Tony DePaul and Heiner Bade "Under Grenadas rännande sol" ("The Slaves") by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla Fantomen 9/2024 "Farligt vatten" ("Dangerous Waters") by Bernd Frenz and Janusz Ordon "Krigshundarna" ("The War Mongers") by Claes Reimerthi and Graham Nolan Fantomen 10-11/2024 "Mannen som inte kunde dö" ("The Man Who Could Not Die") by Idi Kharelli and Georges Bess "Fantomens masker" ("Masks of the Phantom") by Arild Wærness, Mike Collins and Knut Robert Knutsen "Utbrytningen" ("The Breakout") by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley Fantomen 12/2024 "Byrackorna" ("The Mongrels") by Jacob Habinc and Kasia Nie Fantomen 13/2024 "Fantomens märke" ("The Mark of the Phantom") by Mikael Bergkvist and Gerardo Canelo Review of Fantomen 8/2024 Quite a special issue in that it was created with the small convention Uppsala Comix. The cover is by Henrik Sahlström which features the Cathedral of Uppsala promptly and the reprint of The Demon’s Image story created by Tony DePaul and Heinar Bade back in 1995 takes place there. The story has not yet been published outside of the Nordic countries, even though it won best story in Norway. It has some similarities with the 1996 movie and the second Indiana Jones movie in that a relic is stolen and needs to be returned, but differs in the relics power. This story is paired with The Slaves, a Bastei story that was written in 1983, but was first released in Germany a few years ago. It was created by Peter Mennigen and José María Ortiz Tafalla. Always cool when Andreas choses something new to Fantomen and I hope he continues to introduce us to different Phantom content. You can watch a review of this story by Christian Möller in Wick #1 here. Review of Fantomen 9/2024 This features a cool cover with a lot of action by Luca Erbetta. This comic features a new Team Fantomen story "Farligt vatten" ("Dangerous Waters") by Bernd Frenz and Janusz Ordon, it is a cool story with a lot of underwater action and great art by Janusz Ordon as usual. The next story is a Sunday reprint, this time unedited, I know Frew readers are accustomed to this, but talking with other Swedish Comic book fans, not everyone over here enjoys this and want it to be edited to get more of a good flow. I am a bit on the fence here, I like to get all the content but think it is more enjoyable to read without repetitions. What are your thoughts? Let us know by writing in the comments. Review of Fantomen 10-11/2024 An epic cover depicting the 1st Phantom on the beach and swearing the oath by Rafael Ruiz. His style on this cover is somewhat different compared to the original stories he drew. First up is the Classic 80ies Team Fantomen story "Mannen som inte kunde dö" ("The Man Who Could Not Die") by Idi Kharelli and Georges Bess. This version fixes the continuity issue the earlier versions had with the 3rd Phantoms wife at the time, so this is the “ultimate version of this story”. This story features a different wife Pura instead of Rosamunda, Shakespeare's niece. The story itself, is about how the myth that the Phantom cannot die originates. To celebrate Norway's constitution day the second story is chosen because it takes place in Bergen, Norway. "Fantomens masker" ("Masks of the Phantom") by Arild Wærness, Mike Collins and Knut Robert Knutsen was first published in the Irish Phantom Strikes comics and then in a Norwegian magazine comic in 2019. I had the privilege of listening to the two authors at the Stockholm International Comics Festival and got my issue signed. The talks will be up on our podcast / YouTube channels soon. We also get a very short side comic about the hero "Karl Kämpe" by Jörgen Karlsson and Rully Akbar which is always a pleasure. Lastly, we get "Utbrytningen" ("The Breakout") by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley which is another Daily adventure story about the prediction of the Phantoms end, it is really long but I hope the end justifies it. Let us know your thoughts of this series by writing in the comments. Review of Fantomen 12/2024 A cover by an artist new to the Phantom, Kasia Nie, it has a really cool clean look, she also illustrated the art for the first story in the issue. Kasia Nie has former experiences working for Marvel, Image and Dark Horse she really knows her stuff and at least for me she is more than welcome to come back and do more art for Fantomen. Do you like her art? Let us know by writing in the comments. The new Team Fantomen story is written by Jacob Habincfrom the editorial team, the title translates to The Mongrels. In my opinion it has some similarities to the Disney movie Oliver and the Gang. As a backup, we have a new Thorgal story as the side story that ends in issue Fantomen 13/2024, here he encounters Bluetooth, not the wireless signal type but the old Norse King it is named after. Review of Fantomen 13/2024 The new creators to Team Fantomen keep on delivering. This also features a new cover by Henry Johannes and this is their second cover. The new writer is Mikael Bergkvist and the new artist is Gerardo Canelo that created the "Fantomens märke" ("The Mark of the Phantom") story. The Mark of the Phantom has evil artefacts, cults and an unexplainable mark. Are you liking the new creators that have been introduced in 2024? Let us know by writing in the comments. Until next time, Happy Phantoming! All Fantomen 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. Thanks also goes to Jörgen Karlsson for his help creating the Fantomen review intro which will now be featured for all reviews by Mikael Lyck.

For the last 7 months from November 2023 to June 2024, readers of the Daily Newspaper Adventures have been seeing Bret Blevins and Jeff Weigel drawing the stories. Now from June 10 2024, Mike Manley is back. The temporary replacement was due to Mike needing some time off as he battled illness, thankfully he is much better now and ready to done the purple costume again. From what we understand having Bret Blevins drawing the last story "The Chain" has enabled Mike Manley to get 3 months in advance with his schedule. We wish all the best to Bret Blevins, Jeff Weigel and Scott Cohn who have helped out the last couple of years when needed. Thanks to their efforts it has seen the daily strip continue. Syndicates often use breaks like this as a reason to stop and cancel newspaper strips, so we must remember and be thankful to them for their efforts.

May 2024 featured the worlds largest licensing trade show in Los Vegas, USA. This expo brings together thousands of brands under the one roof. One of those brands that attended was King Features Syndicate who had their full suite of brands on show. Obviously King Features had a lot to showcase with their brands along with some important birthdays with Popeye's 95th and Flash Gordon's 90th. As you can see with the image above, The Phantom was center with their booth branding. We can announce that along with showcasing some of the new Phantom products in development like the Phantom Video Game by Art of Play Games and the new Defenders of the Earth series by Mad Cave Designs, they have also released a new extended trend guide for the Phantom. This trend guide will include extended and updated character art, graphics, fonts, editorial, icons, patterns and more. Their last style guide portrayed a modern stylised Phantom yet ignored the classic style - we assume this update will include more classic style. We expect we will begin to see new products being released soon with the new extended trend guide.

Exciting news for the Norwegian phans with an announcement on social media that 2024 will see a new publication in the European summer or early autumn (likely July to September). Details are still sparse but the news has been a welcomed shot in the arm after a hard last couple of years with their regular magazine cancelled in 2018, the replacement softcover album series only lasting two issues in 2020 and the Kronologisk series cancelled in 2023. This book will be about 150 pages and will feature new never before published stories in Norway plus some reprint newspaper stories that have likely not been published many times or even at all. It almost sounds like the recent Annual albums and the two issue softcover album that was cancelled in 2020. A couple of possible classic Phantom stories that could be published are "The Flying Horse", "The Two Signs", "The Scorpia", "The Crown Jewels of Cobra", "The White Princess", "Wambo the Gambler" and "The Gray Gang". All these stories were never published in the regular Fantomet magazine. Below is the original social media post (with the translation) and when we know more, we will post on our platforms.

In X-Band: The Phantom Podcast - Episode 78, Jermayn and Dan are lucky enough to interview one of Frew's newest cover artists: Jamie Johnson. Jamie talks about his personal history with The Phantom and his process as an artist. We discuss in detail his amazing, history-making, and beautiful triptych of The 22nd Phantom covers, which have set Australian audiences buzzing over the last few weeks. We are also blown away when Jamie leaks a very special exclusive announcement about an upcoming project. This is a podcast that is not to be missed. Press play already! #XBand #Podcast #JamieJohnson #Frew #22ndPhantom #AndreasEriksson

After the success of Kult Comics first release of the collection of French artist Jean-Yves Mitton Team Fantomen Phantom stories, they have announced their second volume. The two variants of volume 2 will be shipping from Thursday 6 June 2024. This volume will now see all eight stories published in Germany for the first time. You can buy from their website here As with their first volume, this volume is available in two variants. A softcover and a limited edition hardcover format which includes two bookplates signed by artists Geier and  Jean-Yves Mitton. For Those Who Have Come In Late, a bookplate is a fancy word for a print that comes with a book. As per volume one, the limited edition hardcover TPB is limited to 99 copies. You can see the two bookplates below: The four Team Fantomen stories included in the books are: "The Cathedral Mystery" by Scott Goodall and Jean-Yves Mitton "Death in Belgium" by Donne Avenell and Jean-Yves Mitton "Hoogan's Revenge" by Lennart Moberg and Jean-Yves Mitton "Marsh of the Endless Wind" by Scott Goodall and Jean-Yves Mitton Included in the books is a multi page article about Jean-Yves Mitton, and his history with Team Fantomen and writers and editors like Norman Worker and Ulf Granberg amongst others. This interesting history piece is written by Bernd Frenz, who has written several stories himself for Team Fantomen. Bernd also write an article in the first book. The price of the softcover TPB is €25.00 ($40Au, $30US, 450,000IDR and 300sek/nok) and the limited edition hardcover cost is €50.00 ($85Au, $55US, 900,000IDR and 600sek/nok). If you are still debating whether to buy a copy, here is our video review of the first volume.

The Phantom Video Game has made an exciting announcement with 1 July 2024 being the next key date for the video game currently in development. On their social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram and X) they have announced on 1 July 2024, the website will be updated along with the release an updated game trailer. This game trailer will feature footage from 13 of the 15 levels plus a hint of the storyline. Up to this date, we do not know the storyline. What we have seen so far, is the Phantom asking where someone is. Has someone been kidnapped? The other exciting development is on their website, they will be selling officially licensed merchandise. They have teased it will contain items from shirts to resin statues. Ash Nicholls has talked about these resin statues on his past podcast interviews with us. We have been told that the line up of items to buy will be released in a weeks time. The third announcement is that they will be having a competition for a signed NECA figurine by Billy Zane. In other related news Ash Nicholls will be featured at a panel at Sydney Supanova on Saturday 22 June 2024 and will be the guest at the 2024 LFMBEC dinner on Saturday 22 June also. Keep an eye on our Australian convention page with details on the guests for Sydney Supanova plus other events.