#80th

Wicked Replicas, creators of the Phantom Strip lamp, have released a new Phantom Lamp Hero to brighten up your Skull Cave. While Wicked Replicas’ previous lamp was a more traditional desk lamp, this one features a fully sculpted base based on the classic Sy Barry strip-intro image. Retailing for $AU59, you can buy the lamp directly from Wicked Replicas or from the popular online store, Popcultcha. #WickedReplicas #Popcultcha

For a character who is considered to be "niche" by today's standards of comic popularity, it's sometimes surprising where The Phantom turns up. Take this for example; an article on the retro gaming website The Dreamcast Junkyard. The Dreamcast Junkyard is a fan site dedicated to the Sega Dreamcast, the last system released by the company who gave us the Mega Drive, Sonic the Hedgehog, Shenmue, Streets of Rage, Virtua Fighter, Crazy Taxi and many more classic games. The article in question talks about how fans of the console (presumably in the early 2000's) were able to crack the system and provide a service that the console lacked; the ability to watch films. However, the films were released on Dreamcast Video disks as unofficial (AKA; pirated) copies. The author of the article, doing by the name doceggfan, pokes fun at government agencies who would take exception to this kind of thing saying that he would be much more worried about a certain purple clad hero and nemesis to pirates everywhere, as you can see in the below screenshot. It is quite a nice reference, and certainly was a pleasant surprise today as I caught up on my retro gaming news. Well done, DCJY! #Sega

When one media is adapted into another it is not uncommon for something to be lost in translation. Obviously, each media has its strengths, something it does better than any other, and for comics their greatest strength is the visuals with which the reader is presented. When drawn by a talented artist there is no limit on what can be shown in the pages of a comic book and thus readers can be treated to some absolutely amazing imagery. So then, it might seem strange that in 1972 Avon Publications decided to commission a series of fifteen Phantom novels. However, those that have read the novels which make up the Avon series have often remarked on their quality. While the books may not contain the powerful imagery of a Phantom comic (with the exception of the beautifully painted cover art by George Wilson) they still perfectly capture the spirit of the classic comic strips and books, in some cases even surpassing them. Happily for those of us who may have missed the Avon novels in the 70’s or haven’t been able to track them all down on the secondary market Hermes Press has begun to release facsimile editions of the novels with the first two already in stores. While I’ve the second volume - The Slave Market of Mucar - sitting on my shelf ready to go, I thought I might take a moment to share a few thoughts on the first volume entitled The Childhood of The Phantom. As the title of the book suggests, Childhood chronicles the life of the 21st Phantom from the moment of his birth all the way through to the day he took up the mantle of his father. We learn about his development in the Deep Woods, his adventures with Guran and the Pygmies, his hunting expeditions with his father and his impressions of the mighty Skull Cave. I’m sure that a lot of these are what inspired the events we saw in Kid Phantom recently. Of particular note is young Kit’s education while living with his parents which often comes from stories told to him by his father about the adventures of past Phantoms. These are quite interesting points in the book as they act as stories within the story that give more weight to what Kit is experiencing. The early chapters feel almost like an anthology contained within the framework of a story about the young Phantom. This works rather well as each story is interesting and it is fun to read Kit’s reaction to them, but introduces a problem which I’ll come to later. The book comes in at only 160 pages so most will be able to power through it in a week or so. Even with its relatively short length Falk is able to pack a lot of story in there. The book flies along at a nice pace with never too much of a break from the action (or the action of a child growing up at any rate). However, this short length and speedy narrative creates a problem in which many of the characters, even Kit himself, feel less than fleshed out. While Kit’s mother perhaps suffers the worst from this - we don’t learn much more about her than that she is beautiful - all feel very much like a 2D version of their fully fleshed out comic strip counterparts. This is a shame as the prose format would have allowed for some more in depth development of character than is often able in a comic strip. Still, the situations the characters find themselves in - from Kit and Guran traveling to the US to the celebration of Kit Walker Day, something I found incredibly interesting - are a lot of fun. The novel may be an adaptation of the strip of the same name but (as far as I can remember, it’s been awhile since I read the strip) it is not an exact adaptation so there will be something new here if you’ve only ever read the strip. While Childhood of The Phantom is an enjoyable read, I do not feel it is the best of the Avon novels. Due to the nature of the book’s subject there is not a heap of “traditional” Phantom action in there and people expecting an exciting, pulpy adventure might be left wanting a little bit. I think if this story had have been left for volume 3 or 4 it could arguably have gone over better as something of a refreshing change. However, I feel that it lacks the punch that the first entry in a series needs. But then, if you’re reading this article there’s a good chance you’ll be picking up Childhood of The Phantom regardless of what I say, if you haven’t done so already. #AvonBooks #HermesPress

You may recall a little while ago we told you about the exciting news that Hermes Press would be reprinting the classic Avon Phantom series of novels. Well, the first of these has just appeared on-line available for pre-order. The first volume entitled The Story of The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks, is available to pre-order from both Amazon ($23.25AU plush shipping) and BookDepository ($£20.80AU with free shipping). It seems BookDepository is getting the title a little earlier than Amazon. These will be direct facsimiles of the original apart from the Hermes Press logo and the modern printing methods used to produce them. If you never had the chance to read the original novels or would like "reader" copies so you don't have to risk damaging your precious originals these are certainly going to be worth investing in. #HermesPress #AvonBooks

2006 was a very different time. Trump as President was no more than a bad joke, we couldn't yet stalk people via Google Street View, Marvel's Cinematic Universe was still to revolutionise cinema and ChronicleChamber was but a humble message board. It's been twelve years since the beginnings of ChronicleChamber and the site has grown in ways I could never have imagined all those years ago. We've become the resource on the 'net for any and all Phantom news and content. We've built some amazing relationships with both creators and fellow phans alike. We introduced X-Band, the world's first Phantom-centric podcast which has taken off in ways we could never have imagined. Most recently we launched the Phantom Preservation Project which has the goal of preserving Phantom media for future generations of phans. It's a list of achievements I am hugely proud of! With the Phantom experiencing something of a second coming in recent times we've had more excitement and awesome stuff to look forward to than any previous year in the site's existence! As such, now makes it a perfect time to move on. As they say, go out with a flourish (or, whatever the digital equivalent of that is...) A few years ago, just after my move to the UK, I made a post about how I'd be taking a step back in the running of ChronicleChamber and leave most of the day-to-day stuff to Dan, Steve and Jermayn. And they've done an amazing job, too! Life took another huge - but exciting - turn late last year when I married my beautiful English girlfriend. Thus, I'll now be staying on in the UK so we can start our own little family. Given this, I felt it best to hand over not just the reigns, but the horse and the kart as well. I am moving on from ChronicleChamber. It's been an amazing journey to run this website. Starting out as a passion project I never thought would still be around in 12 months after it began, let alone 12 years! I can not begin to describe how humble the success of the site makes me. From all the amazing people I've met through the running of the site to the awesome news I've been privy, to before the general even heard a peep about it, to the...fringe benefits (eg; bribes) of some cool gifts, running ChronicleChamber has been a phan's dream come true! But all things must end for something new to begin, and for me the adventure of running a comic strip hero fan site is at a close. However, I feel safe in the knowledge that the site will be left in the right hands. Of course this doesn't mean I'll stop being a phan. Far from it! I can't wait to catch up on all the books I missed over 2017 and only recently picked up during a trip back to Australia. It'll be nice to simply be "just" a phan again. The Boys (as I call the other three fellows) have kindly left me an open invitation to write an article for the site from time to time if I wish, so I may pop up here again. However, for the most part I'll simply be with all of you; commenting on Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Twitter and eagerly awaiting the new adventures of the Ghost Who Walks. Until the next time, happy Phantoming! - Joe Douglas, retired Not-So-Unknown Commander of ChronicleChamber.com

The comics world has lost another of its heroes with the passing of writer/ artist Darwyn Cooke. At only 53 he lost his battle with cancer. While Cooke’s encounter with the Ghost Who Walks was only brief, his impact on the comics medium can not be denied. Known for his distinct drawing style reminiscent of that of the 1960’s, Cooke was one of the most prolific creators in modern comics. He debuted on the comics scene in 1985 but also worked as a story board artist on classic DC animated series such as Batman Beyond, Superman and The New Adventures of Batman. The Catwoman we know and love today is due to Cooke’s revamp of the character in 2001. However his most notable work is arguably 2004’s DC: The New Frontier which won not only an Eisner award but also Harvey, and Shuster awards. In 2007 he reintroduced The Spirit, Will Eisner’s most famous creation and the template for modern comic book art to the world. Cooke came briefly into contact with The Phantom with the release of Dynamite Entertainment’s King: The Phantom #1, creating the cover for that issue which, when put together with the other regular covers for the other books in the overarching King series, created a magnificent interconnecting artwork, which you can see below. While he maybe have only had a passing relationship with Lee Falk’s famous hero, and of course Mandrake, Phantom phans should still give a moments silence for the man for without him the comic book industry may be very different, and indeed a little sadder. #DynamiteEntertainment #Mandrake

Book review website PopCultureShelf has posted a review of Kevin Patrick's The Phantom Unmasked: America's First Superhero the publication of Kevin's thesis about the history of The Phantom around the world.. A very in-depth review, article writer Alex Ebert covers all aspects of the book and comments on Kevin's findings. If you've read the book already yourself the article makes for an interesting companion piece. If you've not read it, it may just convince you to pick up a copy. You can read the full article HERE. #KevinPatrick

Sy Barry is, in the eyes of many, the greatest of Phantom artists. He is certainly the yardstick by which subsequent Phantom artists are judged. Owning an original Sy Barry Phantom drawing or comic page is, one would suspect, an ambition of any serious Phantom collector. Good news! Sy has commissioned the setting up of a website which will be the focus for selling some of his original artwork on a limited basis. Items will include artwork going back to the 1960’s. The website should be active in about two months. Details will be posted here as soon as the site is up and running. Until then … save your pennies. Enquiries will be accepted by David Barry at dabarry02@gmail.com but business may not be transacted until the site is ready. Thanks to Richard Fry for sending us this info! #SyBarry

The beauty about the young artists working on the Phantom for Frew Publications is that they go to comic conventions. Coming up in November a host of Phantom related guests will be among the guests for you to go visit, get photos with, get signatures on your comics, buy commissions, prints and original art from. The following Phantom creators will be in attendance to both events. Alex Trpcevski Daniel Picciotto Jamie Johnson Maria Lewis If you go to any of the events, have phun, buy something and if possible share some photos either on our socials or on the Phantom Collector Facebook group . Brisbane Supanova Details 5-6 November 2022 Sat: 10am-6pm Sun: 10am-6pm Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Merivale St, South Brisbane To buy tickets & more information Adelaide Supanova Details 12-13 November 2022 Sat: 10am-6pm Sun: 10am-6pm Adelaide Showground, Goodwood Road, Wayville To buy tickets & more information If you know of other comic conventions and events with Phantom related guests, please let us know so we can share the information.

Some more news from the Indian State of Assam as reported by Seuj Abir. In May 2022, I reported that the Assamese Magazine called 'Sofura' has been publishing The Phantom in a serialized format since February 2022. The story they are publishing is the Gold Key Story 'The Super Apes'. In the October issue of the magazine there is also an introductory article about The Phantom which has been published in the magazine with the serialised comic. The article, titled 'The Phantom: An Introduction' (কমিকছ্ ৰ চুপাৰ হিৰো 'ফেণ্টম'), was written by me and it appears at same time as the phantom appears in the story which means the Phantom is represented a total of 6 pages in the magazine. The article introduces the readers of Sofura to the world of the phantom as I go over the origins, mythos and publishing history of the character. The article also details the popularity and history of the phantom in Assam when it has been published in magazines and comics. It also includes a few images including a picture of Lee Falk and the first Indrajal Comics featuring the phantom. Attached are screenshots of the article. It's great seeing the magazine continuing the publication of the character in State of Assam. It's also great seeing other publishers publishing the comics in different format and languages. It's a really great time to be a Phan in India.

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews the latest Fantomen issue - 2022/21 which features the following story: "Saga of the Vultures Chapter One: The Haunted Castle" by Pidde Andersson & Anthony Spay. Luca Erbetta came up with a cool cover with lots of suspense and cool colours. Great work! "Saga of the Vultures Chapter One: The Haunted Castle" by Pidde Andersson and Anthony Spay, is the first part of three in this origin story of the Vultures. I think this is my favourite Frew created story, really nice to get all this lore. It looks amazing with this colouring! The original story published by Frew, was in black and white. The new side comic is "Libertalia", a French album series about the founding of the mythic Pirate Utopia. It was a bit hard for me to get into with all the characters, but I have found the myth of Libertalia quite fascinating since I played "Uncharted 4". Until next time, Happy Phantoming! We recommend watching/listing to our X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts with both Pidde Andersson (#224) and Anthony Spay (#188) as we discuss the Vultures Origin saga in both podcasts. 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.

It is with a heavy heart that I type these words, in the days after learning that the great Australian artist Peter Kingston lost his long battle with illness last week, aged 79. While I do not at all claim to know him well, I was fortunate enough to meet and converse with Peter a number of times in the Phantom world – certainly enough to know that we phans are all the poorer for his passing. Many of you will have read the obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald by now*, in which their Arts writers reverently cover Peter Kingston ’s place in the Australian Arts community. Together with other obits appearing over the last few days, they state that Peter was known best for his passion in capturing Sydney’s harbour life: ferries, wharves and other historical harbourside icons. While a deep-seated love for vintage comic strips is hinted at in the SMH obit, with particular reference to Dick Tracy as one of “the many pop culture characters that populated his imagination”, unrecognised is that it was The Phantom who was often at the fore in Peter’s thoughts and inspiration over many decades of creativity. Peter with some of his Phantom artworks (acknowledgement Sydney Morning Herald 7 Dec 2014) In fact, Peter Kingston was so enamoured with The Phantom that it was a source of inspiration for him from a very young age. Growing up in the 1950s, Peter’s daily comic strip reading certainly included Krazy Kat , Boofhead , Ginger Meggs and Dick Tracy , but it was Lee Falk ’s earliest The Phantom adventures that drove a swathe of creativity that would span decades. “It is in my DNA. To sit down with a new Phantom comic, or an old one, time stops. It is like a warm bath, you are absolutely riveted by it.” ( SMH 7 Dec 2014 ) His wooden cut-outs inspired by iconic Phantom scenes are perhaps most well-known to phans, but his moulded sculptures, sketches, prints and paintings are also things of beauty. The remarkable games that he designed – a bespoke Phantom chess set and " The Phantom Game of Life and Death " (snakes and ladders) – are among my favourite pieces of his. Image from The Phantom Art Show at the Broken Hill City Art Gallery 2016 These pieces that he created so prolifically, as well as many more that he commissioned, borrowed and cajoled out his peers in the Arts scene would periodically be put on public display in various Phantom-themed art exhibitions over the last five decades. Despite his immurement with the past, Peter was ever-focused on the now and could not actually say how many of these shows he put out over the years. While almost certainly not a full list they include the 1977 " Ghost Who Walks Can Never Die " exhibition, 1991’s " The Year of the Phantom " and " The Phantom Art Show " (2015-2017). For trivia buffs, he is also responsible for the 1973 fan film " Fanta ", as well as the 5-metre-tall Phantom totem statue erected in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney**. Each of these endeavours were privately funded, consistently leaving himself and other backers out of pocket, but they provided Peter with untold amounts of joy. I first met Peter in 2016 during the exhibition schedule of The Phantom Art Show , which he co-curated with Dietmar Lederwasch and toured around Queensland and New South Wales. I was in the fortunate geographical position to see three iterations of the Show and was thrilled when both Peter and Dietmar agreed to chat for a recording of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast . What struck me in that conversation was the depth of his passion. Peter was a proud and staunch traditionalist who loved his Phantom the way he had grown up on him, through the art of Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy . He went well beyond the idea of a ‘Falkist’ - for Peter it was only the first few decades that counted. Heritage and history were everything. In his view, modern artists stylised the character and the strip too much. He saw other artists as “too slick and soulless” . Peter was not afraid to tell you what he did not like about them, including his controversial opinion that the strip should have ceased when Wilson McCoy died! Little wonder then, that Moore and McCoy’s illustrations were the inspiration for the hundreds of Peter’s own Phantom-themed creations, as well as the countless others that he curated in the above-mentioned exhibitions over the years. He unashamedly ranked Moore and McCoy as the seminal artists ever to work on the character. They were the only Phantom artists he ever really paid attention to. Following that podcast, we met for the first time in person at the Tweed Heads exhibition (Jan 2017), where Peter became one of our first repeat guests when he generously allowed us to release a recording of a public interview he gave as part of the opening weekend of the Show ( see player - interview starts @ approx. 33min ). He was warm and affable, just eccentric enough to convince you he was a real artist, and entirely passionate about his love of Phantom. Peter was then genuinely delighted to meet my then 8-year-old son at the Coffs Harbour opening a few months later, giving him a quick personal tour of the Show, chatting and effusive, then asking after him every time we spoke thereafter. Peter seemed thrilled that the youngest generation could also be interested in his own life-long obsession. Peter was giving of his time each time we met, spoke or wrote, then demonstrated this generosity in a very real and meaningful way when the Chronicle Chamber team coordinated a Bushfire Phundraiser project in response to the disastrous fires that tore through Australia in the summer of 2019-20. In response to our call out to artists for contributions to the book that we were putting together, Peter immediately couriered several artworks to us which we “phaffled” off to garner extra funds . Together with the box of The Phantom Art Show catalogues that he also delivered, which we then offered as a bonus purchase when buying the Bushfire Phundraiser book, Peter’s big-hearted contribution was a significant factor in the final amount we were able to donate to Red Cross following the project. His passion and zeal was infectious and inspiring. Peter was obsessed with the Falk’s original idea of The Phantom , and the image created by Moore and McCoy. The idea of an ordinary man doing extraordinary things, the images of an adventurer emerging from the shadows to serve justice on evil-doers. The narrative of the stories were admired, but it was the art that he was truly fascinated by. For Peter the art was more important that the comic strip, and easily transcended from pop culture into the fine arts in a way that harnessed nostalgia and valued heritage. He will be missed. Peter Kingston in front of his portrait PK as The Phantom by Elisabeth Cummings 2014 (acknowledgement to AustralianGalleries.com.au) NB - Catalogues, images and advertisements from Peter's various exhibitions, as well as the full Fanta film, can be found in our Phantom Preservation Project . * Link to the Sydney Morning Herald obituary posted to our socials – thanks to reader Keith Bennett for the tip. ** If you have information about any other Phantom-related shows or exhibits Peter had a hand in, we’d love to hear from you at ChronicleChamber@gmail.com

Robert Aman recently released his book about how the Phantom fights for left ideology. Aman had a great talk with Chronicle Chamber in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode #101 as he talked about his first book. This book is a rewritten and much more extensive book than the English one that was published back in 2018. It also tackles more topics. The book is in Swedish and can be bought here for 200sek ($30AU, $20US & €20). We have been in touch with Robert and are booking in a podcast in the next month or so to discuss this book and the difference between the two books.

Mikael Lyck from Chronicle Chamber reviews the latest Fantomen issue - 2022/20 which features the following story: "Deadly Dinosaurs" by Bernd Frenz & Carlos Pedrazzini. This issue is wrapped by a Henrik Sahlström cover featuring Dinosaurs which is his second cover featuring one. The main story is titled "Deadly Dinosaurs" by Bernd Frenz and art by Carlos Pedrazzini, both relatively new when it comes to Phantom stories. The story is about these bad guys who steal dinosaur skeletons and sell them on the black market. There is nice pacing and I enjoyed the art. Included is the concluding part of the Red Pirate side comic, it is a quite good story and I hope there will be more in the future. In the preview section we see that in the next issue we will get the first part of Pidde Andersson and Anthony Spay Origin of the Vultures story in colour, really looking forward to that one. We will also get a new side comic, another European style album from the looks of it. Until then, Happy Phantoming! We recommend watching/listing to our X-Band: The Phantom Podcasts with both Pidde Andersson (#224) and Anthony Spay (#188) as we discuss the Vultures Origin saga in both podcasts. 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.