Australia is currently in the midst of Comic Convention season with "Cons" being held across the country. In recent months Supanova have run conventions in Gold Coast , Melbourne , Sydney and Perth and Oz Comic Cons have run in Adelaide . Melbourne and Perth . Now it's Melbourne's turn to host its third pop culture event for the year, Metro Comic Con . Metro Comic Con will be held at the Melbourne Showgrounds on the Weekend of July 8th and 9th with a number of popular Phantom creators confirmed as guests. Guests include: Nicola Scott (artist) Daniel Picciotto (artist) Jamie Johnson (artist) "Chewie" Chan (artist) Dr Paul Mason (artist & writer) Jason Franks (writer) Andrew Constant (writer) Christopher Sequeira (writer) With 8 recognised Phantom creators confirmed as guests, Metro Comic Con must have the biggest contingent of Phantom Creators ever assembled at one convention outside of Sydney Supanova ! Truly a boon for Victorian phans. At the moment, Metro Comic Con , has not posted any information regarding creator panels, however we have been informed that there will be a panel discussion on our Phavourite hero between creators Paul Mason , Amanda Bacchi , Andrew Constant and Glenn Ford who is coming down for the weekend. We will attempt to record the panel for our platforms to listen if you cannot attend. Tickets are * Adults $40/$70 (day/ weekend pass) * Kids (5-12) $20/$35 (day/ weekend pass) NB. One free Kids ticket is available with each adult ticket purchased. You can purchase tickets through the Metro Comic Con Website or by clicking here . Thanks to Frew 's support of local creators, we have seen a vast increase in the presence of the Phantom at the "Cons" but there is always room to grow. Who are other creators that you would like to see at Metro Comic Con? Will you be bringing a bundle of books to sign or lining up for a sketch? Who are you most looking forward to having a chat with? Leave us a comment on our socials and, as always, Happy Phantoming!

George Wilson (1921-1999) was a magnificent artist who painted well over 400 comic book covers for Classics Illustrated, The Twilight Zone, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Dr. Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter, Turok, Son of Stone, Star Trek and of course The Phantom. While he only painted 28 covers of the Phantom over the Avon Novels and Gold Key Comics his work is greatly admired by all phans. Did you know that he even painted himself in one of his Phantom covers? He is the bad guy getting ready to sock the Phantom on Gold Key #8. You can Pre Order via the Hermes Press website here or via contacting your local comic book store. This book by Anthony Taylor and Hermes Press has compiled over 300 of the covers in this huge volume from scans of the original paintings and comics. The cover price according to the Hermes Press website is $75US (Approx $115Au, 70Eu, 6,150INR and 815sek/nok)

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews Fantomen 14-15/2023 featuring the following stories: "Belle époque, del 4: Med ballong mot månen" ("Balloon for the Moon") by Pidde Andersson and Percy Ochoa "Ku Klux Klan" by Ulf Granberg and Heiner Bade "Den försvunna piloten" ("The Missing Aviatrix") by Fred Fredericks "Thorgal" by Yann and Fred Vignaux The cover artist is Luca Erbetta and I really am enjoying the diversity of the Fantomen covers lately. This cover has nice clear colors. In the Editorial page, Andreas Eriksson writes about Diana's hair color. In many stories from Sweden she has red brown hair, but in the newspaper stories she has black. The editorial decision is that the Fantomen comic will continue having different colors depending on the source. The main story is "Belle époque, del 4: Med ballong mot månen" ("Balloon for the Moon") by Pidde Andersson and Percy Ochoa. The story is quite imaginative and reeks of Jules Verne inspiration. As with the earlier episodes I did enjoy this very much and it looks great in colour. The next story is "Ku Klux Klan" by Ulf Granberg and Heiner Bade. This is a Team Fantomen classic, the story is partly inspired by "Mississippi Burning" but the reveal of the bad guys is not a real surprise to any reader. We are also presented a Mandrake the Magician story "Den försvunna piloten" ("The Missing Aviatrix") by Fred Fredericks. This story features a cameo of Phantom and is a nice touch. It has never been published by Frew and is the first known time the story has been printed in a comic. The editorial staff have asked for feedback if readers want more Mandrake in their Fantomen comic, I myself am sitting a bit on the fence, I do not really enjoy the Mandrake stories, but it feels like a natural part of the Fantomen comic because it also was Lee Falks creation. Would love to hear your thoughts. The final story is the first part of a new "Thorgal" story by Yann and Fred Vignaux. There is so many Thorgal stories now, this one has some cool references to the first stories. Lastly we get a preview of the next issue featuring a new Team Fantomen story by Frognes, which is his first Phantom for 9 years with art by Karri Leppenän. We also get the conclusion of the "Thorgal" story and the result of the best Fantomen cover of 2022! 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.

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews Fantomen 13/2023 featuring the following stories: "Infångad från ovan" ("Captured from Above") by Bernd Frenz and Janusz Ordon "Vilddjuret" ("Wildman from Bengali") by Donne Avenell and Hans Lindahl The cover artist is Janusz Ordon and apparently the cover seems polarising to some as I’ve read a few comments on Facebook from people who do not like it, and many who do like it, I am loving it, might be my favourite of the year! It caught my eye directly! "Infångad från ovan" ("Captured from above") by Bernd Frenz and Janusz Ordon is the main story of this issue which is a new Team Fantomen creation. It is filled with action and really feels like a Phantom adventure, seeing him and Diana base jumping and skydiving is pretty cool. "Vilddjuret" ("Wildman from Bengali") by Donne Avenell and Hans Lindahl is a Team Fantomen reprint in black and white as it was originally created and published in. I think this story would work really good with a splash of colour. The story is about bad guys buying up tribe treasures and captures unique specimens for their evil boss, The Phantom is one of the objects of interest, and we all know things won't end well for the bad guys. In the preview section we see that in the next double issue of 14-15/2023 we will read part 4 of the Pidde Andersson and Percy Ochra "Belle Epoque" saga. We will also get a Team Fantomen classic reprint of "Ku Klux Klan", the first part of a new Thorgal story and a Mandrake story with guest appearance by the Phantom. 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.

The latest Phantom comic from Indian publisher Shakti Comics was released on 10th May of this year, more than a month later (1st April) since pre orders started. The Phantom story included in the issue is: "Luck and Wealth" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry This is their first time Shakti has published a story by Lee Falk, while the other Indian publisher Regal has published a few already. The comic comes in two variant cover versions. The main cover is drawn by Abhishek Biswas and the variant cover is Inked by Lou Manna and coloured by Abhishek Biswas. Abhishek Biswas seems to have become Shakti's main colourist, which is great as his work has improved a lot since he first started. He has done a very good job with the main cover, which also reminds me of one of the Indrajal covers when the story was first published there. The variant cover inked by Lou Manna was good as well. It is also great for Shakti to hire an international Phantom artist to do a cover for them. The colouring of the cover was pretty good, even though he chose to have the phantom wear a blue coloured costume instead of the familiar purple. The main cover caught my eye more than the variant one. The story "Luck and Wealth" is the 153rd Phantom Daily story and was coloured for Shakti by a colourist named Rudrakash. His colouring makes me think of the Indrajal colouring work, even though it uses new techniques. Apart from very few criticisms his colouring seems to be very good and somewhat more preferable than the Regal colours. It is also interesting to mention that he chose to have the Phantom's trunks coloured black and red instead of the black and blue or black and white stripes we are used to seeing. He also brought back the blue coloured Mr. Walker overcoat like Indrajal and Diamond did in the past, while Regal had coloured it brown or grey. The story is printed on the same thick paper as the previous two issues but since the cover is not printed on a thicker paper, it still feels like a standard magazine as it can be bent easily. Also this time they have priced both the Main and Variant cover issues the same, which does prove that they are listing to the Phan suggestions and complaints. Two standies of Devil and Old man Mozz are given for free with the two versions of the comic. Shakti has been doing a lot of experiments to get to a fixed format for their comics. However, they do need to need be mindful of keeping the quality same and massive delays. Wishing them the best on their future ventures. All Shakti 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.

Maku Brewing a local brewery from Tuusula, Finland has released a new beer which is available to be purchased from their website now plus after Midsummer in nationwide shops. There are four designs to collect and each can is 2,70€ ($5Au, $3US, 35 sek/nok & 245INR). The beer is titled Musta Naamio Golden Ale, which translates to "Black Mask". Finland has also recently seen a new Phantom publication which you can watch the review of here. The company details the beer with an alchool 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! We will bring a review of the beer soon including the best ways to import the beer to your own fridge.

The Phantom is back big time in India and this news will only continue to see growth with the character in the country. Some could argue that the Regal Publishing and Shatki Comics are better quality than what established Phantom publishers are currently producing. Maybe that is a topic for a Podcast at a later date. Regal #27 was their first issue producing old Lee Falk and Sy Barry stories and a few months later, Shatki Comics have announced that they will be following suit beginning in issue #8. It is a big deal. India has an almost god-like worship of Phantom stories drawn by Sy Barry due to the popularity with the Indrajal series and many phans growing up on these comics. Even though the comics by Regal and Shatki are presented in a far superior way than the Indrajal comics - many are begging for a return of the Sy Barry stories. Now they get their wish. This may seem like an obvious choice to many as both Regal and Shatki have been both printing from the same shallow pool of stories from the current to around 2000. The list of available stories is getting smaller and smaller with every comic being released. This was raised in our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #219 episode with Regal Publishers who had a concern about the dwindling number of available stories to choose from. Now with access to another 30 years of stories we can hope to see both publishers continue publishing the Phantom for many years to come. No word yet on how Regal Publications and Shatki Comics will split the stories between themselves but according to their preview, Shatki will be printing "Luck and Wealth" the 153rd Phantom daily story from 1983 and 1984.

Ankit Mitra from Chronicle Chamber reviews the latest Shakti issue 6 which was released in November 2022. This comic was published in three languages in English, Hindi & Bengali and featured a variant cover in English. Contents for the issue are: Phantom Issue 6 Variant Cover by Ankit Mitra Regular Cover by Avishek Biswas Free supplement is a collectible card based on the cover art "The Aeronaut" by Tony DePaul and Paul Ryan The price for each issue is 135 Indian Rupees which is about: $2.38 Australian Dollars, $1.77 US Dollars, 1.63 Euro and 16.70 Swedish Krona. Due to licensing limitations, Shakti Comics can only sell & ship to addresses within India - so for Phans living outside India, I recommend you befriend an Indian Phan & have these books bought & shipped to you by them. If not, Frew are going to be selling some copies of this series via their website, and I'm sure these issues too will show up for order there - although in very limited quantity. Shakti has a webstore you can order from plus they are also available across various comics retailers in India. For any assistance regarding ordering these books directly from Shakti Comics you can contact them here: Shakti Comics Website: https://www.shakticomics.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/268814338130861/ E-mail: shakticomics@gmail.com Until next time, Happy Phantoming! All Shatki 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.

Presenting our review of the Mustanaamio Karpaattien Vampyyri TPB which is now out with the stories included: "Sir Phantom - Knight of the Round Table" by Ulf Granberg and Jaime Vallvé "The Vampire in Carpatia" by Ulf Granberg and Jaime Vallvé "The Treasure in the Castle" by Idi Kharelli and Jaime Vallvé "The Prisoner at Capitolium" by Idi Kharelli and Jaime Vallvé Some phans may recognise the cover which is touched up from the Mustanaamio 10/1976 issue. It is part of the popular soft cover album series which Fantomen, Fantomet and Mustanaamio have released since 2016. Two of these stories "The Treasure in the Castle" and "The Prisoner at Capitolium" have not been published by Frew yet. All four stories have been drawn by Jaime Vallvé and written by Jaime Vallvé, Ulf Granberg and Idi Kharelli. Petri Aarnio and Siiri Salokannel (both pictured left) are the designers of the book and have done a great job. Storyhouse Egmont is the publisher. Petri and Siiri have touched up various parts of the story. A great example is the above image. The far left is the original from Fantomen. The middle is the original Mustanaamio issue and the far right is from the Mustanaamio Karpaattien Vampyyri TPB. The stories is printed on matt thick paper with a shiny cover which you can see the reflection on the video review. Thanks to publisher Petri Aarnio for supplying us with a copy of the TPB to review.

The 30th issue of India's Regal Publishers Phantom comics was released on 10th May 2023. While it was released on time, it took quite long for the Indian Postal service to deliver it to me. And thus, this review was delayed. The Phantom stories are: "Return of the Thuggees" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry "The Shipwreckers" by Donne Avenell, Claes Reimerthi, George Olesen, and Fred Fredericks This issue features a nice looking cover by Ankit Mitra. A printout of the cover artwork, in black and white, is given for free with it. While it is meant for colouring, it doesn't seem much attractive and feels like a letdown compared to their previous freebies (bookmarks,poster,card, etc.) I would have been fine with a bookmark as it was not done for a while. Still, it was good for them to try something different. This comic book, like the previous two, is softcover with a perfect binding. It has the same laminated cover printed on a thick paper. However, the quantity of pages have been reduced. This issue only has 96 pages. It also still doesn't have any title printed on the spine. The book features two stories. First one being the 136th Sunday story 'Return of the Thuggees' written by Lee Falk and illustrated by Sy Barry and the second one being the 152nd Sunday story 'The Shipwreckers' written by Donne Avenell (For Fantomen) and Claes Reimerthi (adapted for the strip) and illustrated by George Olsen and Fred Fredericks. The story 'Return of the Thuggees' is most notably the longest running phantom Sunday story till date. Because of being this long, it covers most of the book. This story was coloured for Regal by Simi Muhamma, who seems to have become Regal's main colourist now as he has coloured most number of stories. While that is great, I still am not much of a phan of his colouring. His colouring shows inconsistency as the shadows and other effects he tries to put into the colouring remains discontinued in most of the panels and pages. It can be understood more from the video review. The second story 'The Shipwreckers' was notably the first Sunday story not written by Lee Falk and the first of the three Team Fantomen stories adapted to strip format. It also was the last story illustrated by George Olsen and Fred Fredericks. It is nice story with some nice artwork. Even though the artwork pretty much bare the signs of Olsen and Fredericks not being at their best. It is also interesting to mention that Kari Leppänen, who illustrated the story first for team Fantomen, cites this story as plagiarism of his artwork. Both stories are printed nicely by Regal on glossy paper. While the paper is not thick, the thick cover makes up for it as it sits nicely on the shelf (even though it lacks a title printed on the spine). Regal seems to be loving this softcover perfect binding format as they have been putting out more and more books with it. However, as much it is great to have these softcover books, I miss the the normal comic issues with two stories each. Those issues are more appealing in my opinion. Regal has been doing a good job with their products so far. If they listen to the Phan suggestions and complaints, they will be able to continue to deliver great comics. I wish them best on their next ventures. All Regal 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 to Matt Watts and Pidde Andersson for passing on this sad news about Treat Williams the actor who was the main villain Xander Drax in the 1996 Phantom movie. According to news reports Treat Williams died Monday 12 June 2023 in a motorcycle accident. He was 71 at the unfortunate passing. In my opinion the two scenes he excelled at in the movie was when he killed his own henchmen with the bladed microscope with the librarian and the spear in the back and then worried about marking his décor.

Thanks to phan Anthony Gillies who informed us of the Canberra Times decision to cut their costs which means the comics are in danger of being cut. Above we have included the article informing readers of their decision which was printed in their June 11, 2023 newspaper they have given the decision on what to keep and what to cut down to the readers. Go ahead and vote for which comic you would like to keep in the newspaper. You can vote here or by scanning the QR code above Am I the only one who finds it amusing they have included a monkey?

The French Publisher Editions Dante has currently up for pre order a new 400+ page TPB on their website. We believe the release date will be early July and is currently priced at €35.99 ($40US, $60AU, 450 sek/nok & 3,200INR) plus postage. I believe this TPB is the first of others in a collection of Charlton stories similar as the Hermes collections. We understand Editions Dante will eventually publish all the Gold Key, Charlton and King stories published between 1962 and 1977. The advertising says this TPB will be 468 pages and contain the stories from issues #30 and #40. I am unsure how 10 issues will fill out 450+ pages. What we do know is that the first volume of the Charlton years features cover art by Frank Mclaughlin and Jim Aparo, with interior illustrations by Pat Boyette, Jim Aparo and Bill Lignante, and stories written by Bill Harris, Dick Wood and the first ever female Phantom creator Pat Fortunato (You can find out more about that here).

SydNova is a term coined for Sydney Supanova and the related Phantom events that happen the same weekend. For many in Australia it is their key milestone event for the year which includes Supanova, the LFMBEC dinner and plenty other phan catch ups over the weekend - some may even call it their Mecca pilgrimage. It sees phans travel all around Australia and even internationally to gather and celebrate the Phantom together. This article is a list of the events, the dates and when phans will be gathering together. If your new and never attended anything like this before, feel free to reach out to us on our social media platforms or email and we will help connect you. Last year, Frew held an open office at their warehouse on the Friday before the Supanova event on the weekend as they did not have a booth at the Supanona event post COVID. However in 2023 Frew we can confirm that they will be attending Supanova Sydney which will excite many a phan. Sydney Supanova The whole weekend centers around Sydney Supanova which is 17 and 18 June 2023 located at the Sydney Showgrounds. Best place to find out information including buying your tickets, go to their website. Confirmed guests with a Phantom Influence: Freddie Williams II (own booth 27) Daniel Picciotto (own booth 21) Alex Trpcevski (own booth 13) Jamie Johnson (own booth 25) Lauren Marshall (own booth 17) Matt Kyme (own booth 22) Christopher Sequeira (own booth 18) Chewie Chan (own booth 18) Paul Mason (Frew booth 2021) Shane Foley (Frew booth 2021) Jeremy Macpherson (Frew booth 2021) Duncan Munro (Frew booth 2021) Antonio Lemos (Frew booth 2021) Marcelo Baez (Frew booth 2021) A number of Frew creators will attend the event. Some will have their own booths while others will only be at the Frew booth. We can confirm that there will be a Phantom themed panel which is scheduled for Saturday 10:30am - 11:30am at the Supanova Seminars area. The Supanova schedule can be downloaded here. Frew Booth at Supanova Every year Frew has attended Supanova, they have released numerous products and comics to purchase. While we do not have official word on the products as of yet, there will be a pholio print set with the theme of Phantom Villains. In the past we have also seen Frew release other products like graphic novels, TPB's and even trading cards. Chances are, we will see something similar in 2023 again. Please note that all products will then be released on their website one or two weeks after the event for other phans who have not attended to buy. LFMBEC Dinner This year the LFMBEC dinner event will be held Saturday 17 June 2023 at the Deus Cafe in Sydney's west. Note, this event is invite only and has been going on every year since 1999. You can find out more about the event including photos and information on past events at their website www.lfmbec.org. The 2023 guest will be Frew cover artist Alex Trpcevski. It is worth noting that this is a high class dinner event. You will have guaranteed phun! Below is a mission statement or 'Raison d-Entre' which is worth reading before you attend. Their Raison d'Ętre To keep alive the memory of Lee Falk, creator of The Phantom To meet regularly to share our pleasure in all things Phantom To do this aided by good food and good wine in a refined and convivial atmosphere To invite exceptional and interesting Phantom people to be guest speakers at these gatherings To raise money through our activities for the New Children's Hospital at Westmead To restrict membership utilising a philosophy based on purely random and whimsical selection by Richard Fry and Tony Di Dio PLEASE NOTE: Sad news has been broken post this podcast coming out that Richard Fry who is the main organiser of the LFMBEC dinner sadly passed away on June 5th 2023. The dinner will still be going ahead. If you booked your ticket you should have heard from Bradley and Joyful Peach by now. If you still have not. Please feel free to reach out to us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com. Phan Catch Ups If you cannot make the LFMBEC dinner but still want to catch up with phans, there are several opportunities to do so. A couple of set times phans set aside for the weekend are: Friday night from 6pm at the Sydney Mercure Pub, which is located at 818/820 George St in the Sydney CBD. Saturday lunch at Supanova. Usually at 1pm at a restaurant outside the main Dome. Usually we meet at a booth and then go over together. Specific times and location will be decided closer to the date. Some of the team from Chronicle Chamber will be attending all the events and would love to catch up with you. If you attend, please ensure you come up, say hi and let us know what you agree with or disagree with on our podcasts. We will also be wondering around giving out goodies and recording snippets for the podcast. If you ever have wanted to be on the X-Band: The Phantom Podcast, this is your chance.

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews Fantomen 10-11/2023 and Fantomen 12/2023 featuring the following stories: "Belle époque, del 3: Under gatorna i Paris" ("Beneath the Streets of Paris") by Pidde Andersson and Percy Ochoa "Märkt för livet" ("Marked for Life") by Jimmy Wallin and Anna Weatherley "Kalabaliken på Gravelines" ("To Wrack and Ruin at Gravelines") by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley "Kedjans länkar" ("The Links in the Chain") by Andreas Eriksson and Ivan Rodriguez Fantomen 10-11/2023 features a nice bright cover by Luca Erbetta, with a lot of text all over it so we know there will be a lot of content inside. On the editorial page we read about how Andreas and also Jörgen Karlsson was interviewed about their Fantomen work, always great with publicity for our hero in my opinion. The first and main Phantom story of the issue is the Frew produced "Belle époque, del 3: Under gatorna i Paris" ("Beneath the Streets of Paris") by Pidde Andersson and Percy Ochoa in vivid colors! We then have the side comic "Karl Kämpe" by Jörgen Karlsson and Rully Akbar, quite short but was really good. Another side comic is the first half of "Undertaker" by Xavier Dorison and Ralph Meyer, a great inclusion in this comic. The final story in the comic is a short story titled "Märkt för livet" ("Marked for Life") by Jimmy Wallin and Anna Weatherley - this was a great addition and Frew have been reprinting them regularly in their comics as well. Including in the comic, we get the result of best story. We have reviewed the results already at this link, however the winner is the Frew story about the "Origin of The Vulture's". Ending the issue with the daily story "Kalabaliken på Gravelines" ("To Wrack and Ruin at Gravelines") by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley. I have mixed feelings about this one, not a real fan of "dream stories" but after reading the editorial piece by Tony DePaul which includes his explanation about it being the what if end story if the strip was to end, I think it is really smart. Editorials from creators maybe should be included more often. Now to review Fantomen 12/2023 which features a great noir style cover by artist Rafael Ruiz. It is great to see him back drawing the Phantom. The editorial page talks about the origin about how Andreas wrote the main story originally for Frew. Again I like these behind the scenes from the publishers and creators. "Kedjans länkar" ("The Links in the Chain") by Andreas Eriksson and Ivan Rodriguez, this is a stand alone continuation of "The Missing Link" by Lee Falk and Sy Barry. "The Links in the Chain" was originally first published by Frew in issue #1932 (2022) and the "The Missing Link" was last publsihed in the 2021 Fantomen Christmas Album. The last comic is the concluding part of "Undertaker" by Xavier Dorison and Ralph Meyer. A nice ending to the story. In the preview for the next issue we see two Phantom stories including a new and a reprinted Team Fantomen story. 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.