In the lead up to 30th of September and the opening of The Phantom Art Show in Broken Hill NSW, Dan chats with co-curators Peter Kingston and Dietmar Lederwasch. Recorded in the period between the Toowoomba and Broken Hill exhibitions, this conversation is a follow up to X-Band episode 42 when Dan, Chris, Gary and Angus reviewed the Toowoomba exhibition. These interviews offer some insight into an older generation of Phantom phans, and examines why two men would collect and commission Phantom themed artworks from some of Australia’s most renowned artists. Music used through the podcast is taken from Fanta, the short Phantom film that Peter Kingston created with Garry Shead and Gavin Wilson in the 1970s. #PeterKingston #DietmarLederwasch #ArtShow #XBand #Podcast

In this episode the boys discuss the fallout from the biggest Phantom Nerd of the 90s battle. They also sink their teeth into Frew issues 1758, 1759 and 1760 and the phellas sure have a bit to say about the direction Reimerthi is going with his current story arc. Jermayn explains a bit more about what he wishes we could see in a replica series, and he's so fired up about it he's even made a video to demonstrate what he's talking about: The boys also discuss the upcoming Phantom's World series as well as the soon to be published 80th anniversary edition by FREW. We also introduce a new segment called "Collectors' Corner" where you get the opportunity to tell the world about your phavourite piece in your collection, or maybe just your latest addition. So pour yourself a glass of milk, get comfy in your phavourite Skull Throne and enjoy! #Frew #Mandrake #Games #CollectorsCorner #Podcast #80th #Egmont #PhantomsWorld #ClaesReimerthi #SammyJ

Michael Rowan and Chase & Greg Brandon Episode 51 is a podcast of 2 parts. Part 1 is Steve's interview with musician and Phantom Phan Michael Rowan regarding his song "For Those Who Came In Late" that he recorded back in the day with his band 'Infernal Racket'. This leads to the beginnings of a competition for any musical phans to enter in the new year- which will have a very special guest judge! Part 2 is a contribution to our Collector's Corner segment from Father and Son Phans Chase & Greg Brandon as they tell tales of their favourite pieces and communications with Mr Falk- Phriend of the podcast, Bradley Peach, also gets a mention. Enjoy! #CollectorsCorner #BradleyPeach #XBand #Podcast

In this episode Jermayn takes the reigns as he, Dan and Steve discuss the latest issues from Frew (#1767 to #1771) as well as Flash Gordon- Kings Cross #1. The phellas preview Frew's upcoming releases, namely the 2016 Christmas special and the 2017 Annual, which will be called The Girl Phantom. The boys also talk about the lack of trading cards and colouring books but are buoyed by the recent comments from Sal Velluto regarding the upcoming trading card series. Dan recaps the latest exhibition of the Phantom Art Show which has opened at Tweed Regional Gallery, Murwillumbah, Jermayn promotes Christmas gift ideas and Steve provides information for a couple of competitions. Enjoy! #XBand #Frew #Podcast #ArtShow

Episode 49 is bursting at the seams as the team try to fit in all of the recent Phantom News and Reviews before a bit of self indulgence in the 50th hence the 1:48 runtime. We're sure you'll enjoy it though! In this episode Jermayn takes the reigns as the boys discuss all the new merchandise that is coming out... just in time for Christmas! We have a new range of puzzles, rings, cards, clothes, diaries, journals, novels and posters to ask Santa for this Christmas, we hope you've been good boys and girls. The boys pay their respects to Phantom Artist Lindsay Walker and check out Antonio Lemos' freshly relaunched website. We have a response from Dudley regarding the use of colour in Frew's 80th Anniversary Special and we review the latest Frews (#1762-#1766) as well as the conclusion to the Kings Quest mini series. Dan has also got his hands on a physical copy of the Dublin Comic Con special. There's also a rare treat to finish off with with Steve getting his rant on. Enjoy! ***Please note for more information regarding the story of the Phantom's Wedding print that Jermayn talks about please follow these links *** http://comicskingdom.com/blog/2012/12/26/ask-the-archivist-the-phantom-wedding/ http://www.phantomwiki.org/Wedding_poster #KingsQuest #Dailys #Frew #XBand #DynamiteEntertainment #Phanfare

For the first Podcast of 2017, Steve, Dan and Jermayn take a look back at the year that was 2016. They share their thoughts on the best writers, best artists, best stories, best issues, best covers, best merch, best addition to our own Skull Caves, best moment of being part of the ChronicleChamber team in 2016, and what they thought of 2016 in relation to the Phantom and his 80th year in publication. Enjoy! #DynamiteEntertainment #HermesPress #XBand #KingFeaturesSyndicate #80th #YearinReview

In a very special X-Band: The Phantom Podcast, Steve, Jermayn and Dan are privileged to be joined by living legend Sy Barry. As any self-respecting phan knows, Sy Barry drew The Phantom Daily and Sunday newspaper strips for 33 years from 1961 to 1994, and is widely recognised as the artist that gave the Phantom his modern look. Over the course of an expansive conversation, Sy opens up about: his artistic influences over the last 75 years, working with his brother Dan, how he became aware of The Phantom, taking over from Wilson McCoy and the challenges that posed, as well as his professional and personal relationship with Lee Falk. Sy also reveals: his artistic process from receiving the scripts through to sending away the artwork, the highlights and lowlights of his long career, his all-time favourite story, and the truth behind the secret rockstar life of comic strip artists. Finally, Sy also lets us know what he’s been up to in the 22 years since he retired, dealing with his fame in Australia and Scandinavia, selling his art (Phantom and non-Phantom) and ultimately, what he considers his Phantom legacy to be. After listening to the podcast, make sure you check out Sy’s website where you can learn more about his life and just maybe purchase some original The Phantom artwork from arguably the greatest ever Phantom artist, with Dailies or Sundays from across his career for sale. #SyBarry #LeeFalk #WilsonMcCoy #RayMoore #LFMBEC #KingFeaturesSyndicate #EdRhoades #Marvel #DC #Podcast #FlashGordon #GrahamNolan #TerryBeatty #MikeManley #GeorgeOlesen #KeithWilliams #Egmont

The ChronicleChamber team have been lucky enough to sit down together with an advance copy of Lightning Strike Comics’ 2017 contribution to the Phantomverse – The Phantom: Scarlet Sapphire. We had a good chat about what we read... Here is our spoiler-free preview! Dan: So lads, what did we think of The Phantom: Scarlet Sapphire? Jermayn: I liked this! It’s a fast paced story, and true to so many Phantom elements. Stephen: Agreed. I thought it was a nice little touch in the Skull Cave with the Chain of Patience. Dan: Yep, having a couple of Old Jungle Sayings adds to that sense that this really is a Phantom story too. Jermayn: Robert Carey’s art quality is top notch and Stephen Mooney is clearly a talented script writer. They’ve nailed the traditional support characters – I loved how Devil was portrayed. I did enjoy how 'kick butt' Diana was as well, she showed a lot of strong will which I haven't seen in enough stories. She is black belt, Olympian & the Phantom’s wife – I’m sick of her being portrayed as dumb useless eye candy. Stephen: Yes! It is great to see Diana as more than just a pretty face. She has been boxing since the 1930s! The Phantom and Diana look young though, I don’t know if they’re married yet or not. Dan: I really loved the scene with the two of them in the Skull Cave. But I reckon you might be right about them not being married yet, Steve. She is referred to as “Ms Palmer” in the story, or even “Senator Palmer”… what did you make of that? Jermayn: Yeah, I wondered about that… Stephen: I don't mind the reworking of Diana as a Senator. It might be a hint to say that this her pre-UN work. What did you think of the storyline? I feel like the idea of blood diamonds has been done a fair bit, particularly in Moonstone. Dan: Probably because it’s a serious issue in the Phantom’s homeland and in the real world too. I thought the art brought a freshness to it. If anything maybe the plot was a bit too fast-paced? There were some leaps between plot-points that seem a bit big, but I must admit that a second or third read really cleared those up… especially when I slowed down enough to look at some of the detail in the art. Jermayn: Yeh that confused me a bit as well the first time around. Stephen: You phellas need to slow down a little bit and enjoy it! The art is just too good to race through… I really like the cel animation style illustrations. The Phantom pops and the animals are great. I thought the prologue was particularly good - I like the different camera angles, particularly the title shot. Dan: Yeah, I’m also a massive fan of the way Carey has used different angles and shot types - close-ups, long shots etc. The layouts, with small panels overlaying large page image are great. And the use of reds and oranges on some of the pages is very cool in the way it highlights certain action panels or a bad guys sequence, kudos to colourist Triona Farrell for that! What did we think of the bad guys? Stephen: I reckon the main boss was good but can see that his female bodyguard will have a lot of legs and may prove to be a nemesis in the future. Do you think they had links to the Singh? Jermayn: Hard to say… it would've been good to see some more back story with the bad guys. I really liked the bad chick! Unsure on why she would be wearing a hijab and then a bikini style top though. Dan: I wasn’t too concerned about the bad girl's get-up … sort of Lara Croft with a head scarf and lead gloves. I'm okay with that. I’m also okay with the way she can hand out and take a punch. What an action sequence! Stephen: I'd love to see this as the start of an on-going series, but publisher Eoin McAuley has confirmed that this is 100% a stand alone story. In that case, I say great stuff well done! Four skulls from me. Will you guys be buying a copy? Dan: Yeah for sure. I suspect the art and colour is going to look so much better in a printed copy. What about you Germ? Jermayn: I’ll probably get three. The Phantom: Scarlet Sapphire is available now. Contact: ---------------------------------------------------- Big Bang Comics Unit 2.3, Sandyford Road, Dundrum Town Centre Dundrum, Dublin E-mail: info@thebigbang.ie Call: (01) 216 5093 -------------------------------------------------- Dublin City Comics & Collectibles 46 Bolton Street Dublin, Ireland E-mail: dublincitycomics@yahoo.com Call: 085 771 7633 ------------------------------------------------ The Phantom's Vault The Phantom’s Vault Pty Ltd PO Box 2206 Clovelly West NSW 2031 Australia Website: http://www.phantomsvault.com.au/ E-mail: shop@phantomsvault.com.au (Note for Australian Phans: Scarlet Sapphire will be available on sale in Australia from June 6th due to shipping.) Any further queries from readers and retailers can be directed to Lightning Strike directly via irishcomicimprint@gmail.com. And if you happen to be in Dublin this weekend? Make sure you get along to the launch party, where the creative team Robert, Stephen and Triona will join publisher Eoin at the Filmbase in Temple Bar on Saturday 3rd June. #LightningStrikeComics

For those who came in late... Earlier this week long-time author Tony DePaul announced that the current The Phantom stories are to be his last contributions to the Daily and Sunday newspaper strips. As the second-longest serving The Phantom author behind only Lee Falk, Tony will forever be remembered as a crucial part of Phantom history. Despite the success of the strip in the 1970's and 1980's, the strip suffered in the 1990's with Sy Barry retiring and Falk passing away, and it could've been easy for King Features Syndicate to cancel it all together. Many phans argue that Tony DePaul and Graham Nolan were the saviours of the strip at that time. Tony’s reasons for leaving The Phantom are thoroughly detailed in his blog here, and it's well worth your time to read it. The impact of the dispute between Tony and King Features Syndicate on the Phantom universe is far-reaching, and will certainly have a profound effect on both the short and long-term direction of the strip. ChronicleChamber has been lucky enough to have an opportunity to speak to Tony in an interview and reflect on his time with The Phantom. ChronicleChamber: Thanks for taking the time to respond to our questions today Tony - sorry that it’s under these circumstances. To start with, were you always a Phantom phan? Tony DePaul: You bet. The Phantom is absolutely the first thing I remember reading in a newspaper. I say “reading,” I wasn’t old enough to read, I was looking at the pictures. I’m sure it was the striped underwear, whatever you want to call it. Every kid likes to wear his underwear over his pants. Hell, I still do. But no, the stripes, I’m sure that’s what caught my attention. It seemed like some kind of heraldry. It had some meaning that made the character seem ancient. I think I intuited that right from the start, bought into the myth before I even understood what it was that Lee Falk was up to. CC: I believe you first started off as a journalist? Tell us how that morphed into a comic writer. TD: Cash flow! The great motivator. I had been a newspaper reporter for a dozen years when I started writing Phantom tales for what was then Semic Press, in Stockholm. That was in 1990. Nobody gets rich writing for a newspaper. We ink-stained wretches were always scrounging around for freelance work on the side. We were a one-income family at the time, my wife was home with the kids, three little ones, we had a fairly oppressive house mortgage to cover every month, I was glad to get the extra work. Especially glad it was the Phantom. I’m not really that interested in other comics characters. CC: How did you come to start writing for Egmont? TD: Well, first it was Semic, then Egmont. An old friend of mine from high school who was enjoying a wave of success in comics, Chuck Dixon, he knew I was looking around for work on the side. He had done some work for Semic at one time, back when he was just starting out and struggling for a foothold. He wasn’t writing for them then, in 1990, he was in the big leagues and making huge money on royalties at that point, the page rate at Semic would have been way below his radar. But he recommended me to an editor he knew there. It wasn’t Ulf Granberg, as I recall, but somehow that person got me to Ulf and we kind of hit it off. Ulf became a friend of the family over time. He’d fly over and visit with us whenever he had business to transact at King Features in New York. A real gentleman. He always brought a gift for the house, usually a beautiful piece of Swedish crystal, a vase, a candy dish, things like that. And a box of Cuban cigars for me. The work he sent my way really made a difference for my family. CC: How did you get the Newspaper gig? TD: Ulf, again. When Lee Falk died, Ulf recommended a couple of Egmont writers to the late Jay Kennedy. Jay was editing the comics at King at the time. He held tryouts for the next year or so and I got the job. CC: To what extent do you consider the Newspaper strip as the true Phantom “canon”, over and above stories created for Egmont and the like? What did you do to ensure you always stayed with the world that Falk created? TD: I’ll tell you the facts straight up, but in a way that doesn’t step on anybody’s feelings, I hope. Especially not my friend Ulf’s or the Phantom’s loyal readers in Scandinavia. There’s no getting around it, the newspaper strip is, and must be, the canon. Jay was emphatic about that when he hired me. I have no doubt that he sincerely appreciated and valued the Swedes’ enthusiasm for the Phantom, but he didn’t want the newspaper strip following Egmont. That would be the tail wagging the dog. I think he struck just the right balance. He was liberal about allowing the changes that Egmont writers wanted to make to their Phantom universe, but they weren’t changing the Phantom universe as far as he was concerned. Lamanda Luaga is the President of the Republic of Bangalla. Sorry, fellas! And what? You blew up the well outside Jungle Patrol headquarters? Why? That has to be the standard, in my view. You do these little thought experiments. Would Falk blow up the well? That’s an easy one. He wouldn’t. CC: You have created a number of new characters, notably some pretty imposing bad guys! Of all the characters you have introduced to the Phantom world, who is your phavourite? TD: Savarna! My favorite by far. She could easily headline her own comics universe. At the same time I don’t want to detract from the villains. A hero needs worthy adversaries. The Python [Chatu] and The Nomad [Eric Sahara] were headed for memorable ends, the both of them. The Nomad’s denouement, especially. That was coming up first and it was going to blow readers away. CC: Phans will be extremely disappointed that we won’t get to see that! The build-up in this plot, especially with Heloise now rooming with the Nomad’s daughter at College, was fascinating and to be honest, for the strip to just leave this behind feels like a massive let-down. As well as the creation of these villains, it’s been great to see more female characters really step into the limelight. Can you tell us the process, why and how you created the female Jungle Patrol officers, for instance? TD: There was an obvious need for new female characters. Women are half of everything that’s going on in the world. In the culture I grew up in, urban America in the 60s, second- and third-generation working class, struggling, undereducated, I didn’t see women treated very well. I’m a father of three daughters and one of them has more physical courage than I’ll ever have. So yeah, I was delighted to advance the roles of women in the Phantom strip. It was time to break the gender barrier in the jungle patrol with Hawa Aguda and Kay Molloy. Falk would have done it, no question. The process, I don’t know if there is one. It’s a mystery to me. These characters just appear as the need arises. CC: And Chatu, aka The Python? He has also been an amazing addition… TD: Chatu was a natural. A villain who had everything going for him, of the royal Wambesi line, a family protected by the Phantom, he just went bad somehow. Is he mentally ill? Is it that simple? I don’t know. But the evil he did in the world presented the Phantom with a first-ever opportunity to test his oath to its human limits. The Phantom won that test, in my view. Chatu crumbled when he realized he was going to die if he pulled the trigger on the Phantom. The Phantom was going to die, too, but he’d bought that ticket to ride. He was all-in. CC: Did you get a say in story direction? TD: I can’t recall King Features ever rejecting a story idea of mine. But I worked at them. Really worked at them. If I sent my editor five or six story synopses to consider that meant I had already rejected at least twenty. At Semic/Egmont, ideas would routinely be rejected. I’d send in a half dozen and be given the go-ahead to develop two. CC: Do you have to get approval by KFS over your stories? How much control did they have over your story direction and character development? TD: Everything I wanted to do was always reviewed and approved up front, with a few changes here and there. Mostly what I heard from King was, the stories are great, we love them, keep ‘em coming. I really enjoyed the freedom they gave me, Jay Kennedy first, then Brendan Burford. I think it would have continued under Evelyn Smith if I had been able to sort out this contract thing with the corporate side. I always urged Jay and Brendan to throw story ideas at me, I’d be happy to develop them and file a synopsis for them to look at. Neither one ever took me up on it, they said just keep doing what you’re doing. Every artist I ever worked with, I invited them to pitch a “What if?” line at me. I think Paul Ryan is the only artist who ever took me up on it. One day he said, "What if someone challenged Guran for the right to be chief of the Bandar?" And out of that one question I wrote The Challenge, a story that introduced Kipawa, son of Babudan. It ended with Guran still chief but giving Kipawa his blessing as a new-generation Bandar leader, perhaps a chief one day. And Paul said once, “Whatever happened to Colonel Weeks?” I had no idea. On Lee Falk’s watch, Colonel Weeks was just gone one day and replaced by Colonel Worubu. So to answer Paul’s question I wrote The Return of Colonel Weeks. CC: Those were both fantastic stories. Do you have a particular favourite story or stories that you have contributed to the Phantom world? Why do you think of it/them so fondly? TD: I don’t think I do have favorite stories, but if I had to choose I’d say the five-part Death of Diana series, and the two-part John X/Patrolman X story. Because they showed the Phantom’s humanity. And any story that depicts the Phantom helping kids, The Voyaging Canoe, The Graffiti Phantom, The College Kid, those tend to be very simple plots but I’ll always enjoy rereading them. Paul’s art was especially well done in the Voyaging Canoe, night scenes at sea, in the fog, that can’t be easy to pull off. CC: From the outside looking in, it seems that the newspaper strip has been slowly and steadily moving toward the 21st Phantom being replaced by one or both of the twins. Is the 21st Phantom going to die? Do you think he should? TD: That may be happening right now in the daily pages. Stay tuned. CC: That’s a very vague way to answer a very important question, Tony! Would it be fair to say that the death of 21 and a succession plan to 22 is in the thinking? Surely a change in author now throws a massive spanner in the works in terms of this story arc…? It’s obviously a divisive topic, with some readers arguing it’s long overdue, while others are adamant that they’ll walk away from The Phantom if it ever happens. TD: All I can say is that in the weeks ahead readers will start to see what the Phantom thinks of his own chances of living much longer. CC: How far ahead is the overall direction of The Phantom planned? TD: Years ahead in thought and at least a year ahead on paper, scripts that are finished and just waiting for a final read and some touching up the finer points before I file them. I’ve been ahead by close to 2 years in the past. This contract mess that led to me resigning, that burned seven months of the deadline cushion I had built up. I stopped writing last November because it was uncertain where things were going. So, where we left it, the artists still have material to work with for now but come July they’re going to be looking for new scripts. That’s cutting it close. CC: What’s the biggest difference between writing for comics and newspaper stories? TD: The space constraints in the newspaper are a killer. Editors want 2-panel days so the art isn’t so small you need to know quantum physics to see it. But the 2-panel days can make the sound of a flat tire in your ear: ba-bump ba-bump ba-bump. CC: Do you have any funny or untold stories you would like to share from your 25 odd years of creating the Phantom? TD: Well, there was the time that a colorist working for Egmont didn’t know that Al Capone was Caucasian. So we had an entire story with an African-American Al Capone on the loose. Now that I think of it, we had an African-American Lee Falk appear in the newspaper strip. Lee would have thought that was funny. I’ll tell you a story of a screw-up in 2011 that required me to revisit the scene at length in a subsequent story to straighten things out. This was before Reed Brennan started sending me the proofs while there was still time to make changes. It happened in the climactic scenes of Chatu’s Fate, part 5 of the Death of Diana Palmer Walker saga. It was the thing we were building up to for almost two years and it went awry when Paul changed a few words in the dialogue. I’m sure he was sweating blood right on deadline. That’s when the craziest things can happen. It was a couple of seemingly small changes that must have had readers wondering what the heck was going on for two days in a row. I’m only telling this because if it had happened 100 days in a row it wouldn’t begin to detract from the magnificent work Paul did for so many years, and for way less money than he was worth, and because he wouldn’t care about me telling it. It is kind of funny in hindsight. Wasn’t funny then, I can tell you. The Phantom confronted The Python in Boomsby Prison, went there specifically to kill The Python for bombing the U.N. building in Mawitaan, disappearing Diana into Gravelines Maximum Security Prison in Rhodia, a thousand other crimes, not a nice man The Python. So for the good of the world the Phantom wanted to kill him. But, you know, that pesky Oath of the Skull… So the Phantom needed to kill Chatu in a way that didn’t violate the code upheld by 20 Phantoms before him. The only way to do that was if the Phantom died, too, in a virtually impossible attempt to defend his own life. The Phantom knew he had to kill Chatu just as Chatu fired a fatal bullet at him. He gave Chatu one of his sidearms knowing that he, the Phantom, would likely be shot to death with it minutes later. But he was going to take out Chatu simultaneously and leave the world a safer place. Well, the thoughts I scripted for the Phantom didn’t get in! On one of those closing days, the simple insertion of the word “is” decoupled two thoughts and made it look as if the Phantom was counting on Chatu to miss from ten feet away. And a change made the following day turned the whole scene on its head. Instead of a hero about to give his life to kill a truly dangerous man in the only honorable way his code allowed, the Phantom’s inner dialogue made him sound like a wet noodle, mewling about how he mustn’t resort to “violence.” That was off-script by 180 degrees. The Phantom went there specifically to commit the ultimate violence. He was there to take a man’s life. In the thoughts I had scripted he was resolute in seeing his way clear to using this ultimate violence against a foe while doing no violence whatsoever to the code he had sworn to live by. So he’s looking down the barrel of the .45 Chatu’s pointing at him, he’s waiting to see the villain squeeze the trigger so he’s justified in going for his gun and getting off a shot of his own. The Phantom’s scripted thought was: “Live or die, I do the Phantom code no violence tonight!” The line that appeared in the strip was: “Live or die, I uphold the Phantom code! No violence tonight!” CC: That is amazing, and explains a lot of the confusion we felt at the time! Just goes to show what a difference punctuation and a few key words can have… It's clear that you had an enormous amount of respect for Paul. Of all the artists you have worked with in your 130+ Phantom stories, do you have a favourite? TD: Any artist who lifts a pen to draw the world’s greatest comics character becomes great by osmosis! And then there are those who are just plain great to begin with. The energy in Graham Nolan’s art, astonishing work every time out. I think Mike Manley will stand among the greatest as well when all’s said and done. He’s a fine artist first, so he knows the body and how it moves. You can see that immediately in his action scenes. CC: 60 odd Egmont stories and almost 80 newspaper stories (Dailys and Sundays) makes you one of the most important Phantom creators by pure numbers, but also what you created. What do you think will be your lasting legacy to the Phantom’s community? TD: If my run is remembered for anything I hope it’s the Phantom depicted as a fully-realized, imperfect human being, and a plot-rich environment for him to inhabit. And the new characters I created. Every one of them opens up a whole new world. Captain Lara, the young woman in love with Rex King. Hawa and Kay in the Jungle Patrol. Interesting things were going to happen in the Himalayas with Kit’s tutor, Kyabje Dorje, and the local fascist lawman, Chief Constable Jampa. I do regret the legal uncertainty over whether any of them can ever again appear in the strip. So I guess that’s the other edge of the double-edged sword; I might be remembered for a cast of characters that never saw the light of day again. Here’s hoping the next writer creates a new ensemble to command the spotlight, and my characters can quietly shuffle off into obscurity with me. CC: It seems pretty obvious that the last 7 months have been the lowlight of your time with The Phantom - but do you have a particular highlight you can share? TD: Every story was a new highlight for me. None of them were throwaways. I never once sat down to work on a Phantom story and thought to myself, I’m tired of doing this, I’m sick of this plot, I wish this story were over and done with. It’s just such a rich universe to work in. There’s always something new to discover. And it’s such great fun. I mean, look at the final panel in the Sunday Phantom today [4th June 2017], where Worubu points to an empty picture frame on the wall and says, “Come off it, Captain! You know the Unknown Commander better than that!” Where else can you write that line? CC: Is this truly the end of your Phantom journey? Is the door firmly closed with KFS and the newspaper strip? TD: From everything I know today it is. We started out at a dead end on the copyrights issue. We never got anywhere on it. If I do any Phantom writing after this I hope it’s a movie. I wouldn’t foresee KFS having a veto if I were working with one of its licensees. But who knows? I’m working on a film project now, chasing a deal with a director I’d dearly love to land. It’s a road movie, a love story, a family saga, a lot of things rolled into one. I’m editing my novel based on the same story. I’ve had a 140,000-word first draft sitting on the shelf for a few years now. At the same time I have to say I’m tempted to drop it all for now and disappear on the well-traveled old Harley hog for a few months, sleep under the stars, be a free man on the Earth, maybe in the Arctic again, maybe the West. That’s my thing, always a powerful lure, just to head out and not know where I’m going, discover it as it unfolds. Sort of like writing, actually. Solo travel on two wheels became a passion of mine after I quit newspapering in 2005 or whenever it was. Didn’t go back to work after lunch one day after 26 years, and that was that. I’m way overdue for a disappearing act. I mean besides this one. CC: On behalf of all Phantom phans, thank you so much for 17 years of incredible stories, compelling new characters, and your faithfulness to the universe we have all come to love so much. We sincerely wish you the very best in your future endeavours, whatever direction they take you. Do you have a final message for the millions of Phantom phans and loyal readers around the world? TD: Yes. To please give the next writer a chance. He or she may be the best thing that ever happened to this Phantom tale we all enjoy so much. CC: Thanks again Tony, for taking the time to talk to us and to the Phantom community. #TonyDePaul #KingFeaturesSyndicate #LeeFalk #GrahamNolan #Semic #Egmont #UlfGranberg #PaulRyan #MikeManley

About a month ago, on March 12th 2018, phans the world over celebrated the 90th birthday of a seminal Phantom artist - the one and only Sy Barry. Among the many online tributes and social media posts that were flying around on the big day, were specially commissioned artworks addressed directly to Sy. It became apparent that a very special birthday gift was being commissioned. We discussed this briefly in Episode 93 of the X-Band podcast: Comics and News; mega-phan Pete Klaus has put together a Celebration Book to Sy Barry for his 90th Birthday. Pete is a true Friend of the Phantom and well and truly deserves a Good Mark from the Phantom. He asked a number of well known popular Phantom artists to drew up a tribute to the great man himself. It is a great idea as Sy Barry has wowed, entertained and inspired millions of people around the world across multiple generations. Many have gone onto becoming artists while others have memories to draw upon. The artists who where lucky enough to be a part of this gift to the great man read as a whose who of Phantom royalty. In no particular order: Graham Nolan, Sal Velluto, Alex Saviuk, Jeff Weigel, Hans Lindahl, Ruben Procopio, Lou Manna and Australia's own Jamie Johnson all contributed, to name just a few. Pete has sent us a sample video of the folder showcasing some of the art that has been commissioned, as well as a note from one humble Phantom community website. Enjoy flicking through a sample of the book as we wish Sy Barry a wonderful 90th birthday! #SyBarry #JamieJohnson #GrahamNolan #JeffWeigel #AlexSaviuk #SalVelluto #HansLindahl #PeteKlaus #LouManna #RubenProcopio

We're coming up to the 1 year anniversary of Jeff Weigel drawing the Phantom Sunday strip, and it seems he's quietly made a couple of key announcements to celebrate the occasion. ChronicleChamber spoke to Jeff for an episode of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast not long after his strips started appearing in the newspapers, and he explained then that he was drawing all of his Phantom strips digitally. Of course, this meant that there was no original art produced for him to sell to those of us who would love to add it as a showpiece in our Phantom collections. At the time, Jeff recognised that this was something he would eventually have to correct. Well, it seems that time is now! In a recent Facebook conversation with phans cajoling him for original artwork, Jeff succumbed, "As soon as I finish the graphic novel I’m working on (sometime before June 1) I’ll start doing Sunday Phantom strips on Bristol in ink." Then, in a very exciting statement for Australian phans, Jeff followed that up by telling phans he would be "amassing art for when I guest at Supanova 2019." ​ Has that sunk in yet? Jeff has been producing great work in his short tenor with his recent story The Rat with the action, memorable bad guy, colours, lighting and art style making a big impact (or punch) on many phans. Importantly, with Jeff making the switch to old school pen and paper before the beginning of June, this should see him have almost a whole year worth of strips to sell to potential customers, who you'd expect will be lining up around the block at Supanova 2019. It is a while to wait as we have 2018 to enjoy and celebrate first, with guests for the LFMBEC dinner and Supanova yet to be announced, but if Jeff is able to follow through on these promises to phans, this is something that we just had to share and get excited about. In the meantime, do have a listen to the brilliant interview he did with us and enjoy his Sunday strips. #JeffWeigel #Supanova #LFMBEC

The Phantom, together with his creator Lee Falk, has always had great reverence and respect for females. This is evident through the femme fatale gangs like the Sky Band and the Golden Circle, or via the characterisation of Diana as someone who has always been ahead of her time as an explorer, an Olympian, a nurse, a Human Rights officer for the United Nations, or even filling in as The Phantom wearing the famous costume to save the day. However, we have sadly seen all too few female influencers in the creation of The Phantom stories over the past 80+ years. Legend has it that Dorothy McCoy lettered Wilson's stories at times. Elizabeth Falk is credited as an author for two stories as her famous husband passed away in 1999. Elin Jonsson's 2015 Egmont cover won best cover for Sweden and Norway. There is also Diane Alfredhsson (Dai Darell), who wrote 15+ stories for Egmont in the 1980's, and of course Pat Fortunato who wrote for King Comics back in 1967. However, to the best of our knowledge there has never been a female artist working regularly on The Phantom newspaper strip - until about one year ago! Today we have the pleasure and honour of interviewing Mimi Simon, who we first got to learn a little about when we interviewed current Daily artist Mike Manley for Episode 91 of X-Band: The Phantom Podcast. Chronicle Chamber: When did you first know that you had talent as an artist, and want to study the skill? Mimi Simon: I've always drawn for as long as I can remember, and I think I always considered myself to have talent and said I was going to be an artist. But I didn't start thinking seriously about going to art school and what type of art exactly I wanted to do until I was in high school. CC: Have you always/ever been a comic book/strip fan? How did you first become aware of The Phantom? MS: I was always aware of comic strips since my parents get the paper, but though my older sister used to read them, I never really got into it. I started reading comic books in high school after my friend lent me some of his, but I never actually heard of The Phantom before I met Mike because it's not carried in my local paper. CC: So how did you first meet Mike Manley then? MS: I met Mike because my best friend in art school used to go to the after school high school art classes which our school offers. Mike teaches the class on illustration, so she had known him for several years. We ran into him at a show at school and she introduced me. Mike told us to come to his class and he would teach us even though we were already in college, so I got to know him that way. CC: How did you come be working as an assistant to him? MS: Mike just asked me one time if I'd like to do art filing for him. He'd asked my friend the same thing previously but she didn't want to. So I did that all last spring and then started working on the strips as an assistant during the summer. CC: What do you about recall the first Phantom strip you contributed to? MS: I started working in the beginning of June ... I think the first day I worked on was June 28th 2017, since Mike is a few weeks ahead. It was where Mozz tells the Phantom of his vision that he's going to get killed. CC: A pretty powerful strip to cut your teeth on!! The Daily Phantom strip is credited as a Mike Manley illustration. What would you say is your contribution to his success? MS: I just ink the backgrounds and occasionally some people. My help does save Mike a good bit of time but I don't expect to ever be credited. CC: How much do you consider the fact that, in its 80+ year history, you are the first ever known female artist assisting with the syndicated Phantom comic strip? What effect do you think this has on yourself, on the comic industry, or on aspiring female comic artists? MS: I think the fact that I'm the first female to work on The Phantom reflects how the art world/ comics world is changing. At my art school and most others female students are in the majority, and there are many more female professionals working in comics now than there ever used to be. CC: What are your long term ambitions as an artist? Do you think you will stay in the field of comics / comic strips? Will you take over from Mike? MS: I like comics a lot and I think it's a good way to practice a wide variety of skills, but doing comics long term is not really my main goal. My main goal professionally is to do visual development for animation, though I do want to make my own comics too. However I wouldn't want to work on a newspaper strip which already exists and is written by someone I don't know. I'd rather do comics based of my own ideas or work with a friend. CC: Do you take commissions? MS: I do take commissions, though I can't work on anything like that for a couple of weeks until finals are over. #MikeManley #Dailys #Sundays #MimiSimon #Kingpublisher #LeeFalk

There are times, it is said, when The Phantom should stay out of politics. Our guest in Episode 101 would vehemently disagree! Robert Aman may not yet be a big name in Phantom circles, but the chat we had with him in the podcast may well be one of the most fascinating in the history of X-Band. A Senior Lecturer in Education at Linköping University (Sweden), Robert conducts research into ideology, national identity and the politics of representation in comics. His argument about the influence of Swedish national and foreign policy on The Phantom is compelling, but perhaps not quite as fascinating as his argument about the influence of the Phantom on Swedish national and foreign policy! Robert explains to us how Team Fantomen reimagined The Phantom to have him become a leading proponent of international solidarity and social justice. He has had his Phantom-focused writing published in the Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, which you can find here: https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2017.1403334 Excitingly, Robert has also just signed with Palgrave Macmillan to publish a book on these ideas, with probable release in late 2019 or early 2020. If this chat intrigues you as much as it did us, you can email Robert at robert.aman@liu.se to keep the conversation going for yourself. #XBand #Podcast #PhantomHistory #TeamFantomen #Semic #UlfGranberg #RobertAman #MagnusKnutsson

The late Ed Rhoades is greatly revered in the Phantomverse. He was one of the founders of Friends of the Phantom in the USA, a great mate of Phantom creators and phans alike, and a keen collector of Phantom art, memorabilia and merchandise. Indeed, we recently voted in Ed (together with his great mate Pete Klaus) as one of the Top 20 Most Influential Phantom people in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #110, which you can listen to here. One of the areas Ed and Pete were influential was in sharing information about 'unknown' or little known artists that had a huge impact. André LeBlanc was a brilliant example; he would be otherwise unknown, but you can read about him in Friends of the Phantom Newsletter Volume 18, which is available at our Phantom Preservation Project. For those who have come in late, Ed sadly passed away in 2012, leaving a lasting imprint on the Phantom world. He, Pete Klaus and some others created the Friends of the Phantom (FotP) group in the 1990's. Pete and Ed were the main contributors to the group. They brought out regular newsletters interviewing Phantom creators, researching and cataloging Phantom collectibles and researching Phantom history. Along the way, they both also purchased, commissioned and were gifted a great range of Phantom art and other collectibles. It is now almost seven years since Ed's sudden and untimely death. His widow Kimberley's grief and loss, as well as sheer scale of the task, has naturally made the idea of letting Ed's collection go a daunting and reluctant prospect. However, time marches on. With life throwing up challenges for the Rhoades family that would be better helped with money than art and collectibles, Kimberley is now ready to part with items that will be highly prized by other collectors. In the last month or so we have started to see parts of Ed's personal collection available to the market. This is due in large part to the work of Ed's friend and prominent Australian collector, William (Billy) Higgins. Billy has remained in contact with Kimberly and is now acting as an agent for the Rhoades family, helping to find new and appreciative homes for these pieces. According to Billy, what really made Ed's collection stand out was the connections he made with people. As with any good collection, most pieces have a story behind them. "He truly embraced his passion and made many life-long friends through it. So many of the items in his collection reflect that," he told us. "The artwork that I've listed so far is just the tip of the iceberg - there is so much more to come. Ed had walls of his two-level garage filled with framed original artwork and prints, as well as display cases, filing cabinets - there is just so much there. It will all come to the market over time." What separates this art collection from what you will normally see is the historical importance of the pieces. It features work from George Wilson (cover artist of the Avon novels), André LeBlanc (long term penciller to Sy Barry), Hans Lindahl, Bill Lignante, Fred Fredericks and many more. Over the coming months, more artwork, prints and merchandise from the Rhoades estate will come up for sale. "There's lots of memorabilia, not just art. Production items from the 1996 Billy Zane movie, Lee Falk scripts, art from Avon novels with George Wilson work including reference models, as well as much of the bits and bobs that many collectors have - it will all be available over time." The prices listed do not necessarily represent the 'bargains' that some phans are renowned for nosing out. According to Billy, "The prices reflect the provenance of the pieces - who owned it, how it came to him, the connection to Friends of the Phantom." That said, all things are negotiable. "Reasonable offers on items that are not moving will be considered. Low-ballers and bargain-hunters can look elsewhere though!" To view items as they come available, you will need to be a member of the Trader Joe's General Store For Phantom Collectables group on Facebook. As Billy explains, "This is the only place we are selling. Kimberly needs to get the money for the collection, but she has firmly said that items are only to go to true Phantom phans. It's what Ed would have wanted." Trader Joe's is a closed group so membership will need to be approved, but it is well worth the price of entry! Team CC was luckily enough to spend time with Ed's partner-in-crime Pete Klaus in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #88 and he talked a great deal about his dear friend Ed, FotP and the impact he had on the Phantom around the world and especially the USA. Jermayn and many other notable phans have had a relationship with Ed and were lucky enough to call him a phriend. We look forward to hopfully picking up a piece of Ed's collection over the coming period, and hope that you do too. Make sure you check out Trader Joe's today and email Billy as soon as you see something you're after! #EdRhoades #FriendsofThePhantom #AndréLeBlanc #GeorgeWilson #BillLignante #FredFredericks #HansLindahl #PeteKlaus #LeeFalk #1996movie

The Phantom has had some awesome and slightly unusual merchandise items over the years with lamps, crockery, clothing, rings along with the usual stickers, badges, posters etc but the one thing we have never had is a descent action figurine with full articulation. Over the past sixty years we have had a few attempts of an action articulated figurine but each time they have had issues, looked ugly and in one case, even took off with everyone's money. Every other action hero has received cool action fully figurines and now it looks like we will finally get a proper Phantom fully articulated action figurine not by one but two different companies in 2020. (Please note, this may be pushed out with COVID-19) The first articulated action figurine is by Boss Fight Studio's which we have interviewed in X-Band: The Phantom Podcast Episode #146. The second is a re boot of the Defenders of the Earth range which features The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Mandrake, Lothar and Ming the Merciless the main antagonist from N.E.C.A Toys. Both will be released toward the latter parts of 2020, in time for Christmas (virus crises permitting). We recommend keeping an eye out on our website and social media accounts if you want to keep an eye out on the products as they are released. However before we get to play with our toys, let us have a look at the past articulation Phantom figurines. First of all we will show a Gallery with all of the figurines, then we will go into more detail on each one. Please note, we have not included the plastic PVC figurines which feature no articulation. Starting from the beginning the first action figurine was the 1966 Captain Action Playset which was best described as a boys version of a barbie doll with the hero, Caption Action having different outfits you can dress him up in. There was Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Aquaman, the Phantom, The Lone Ranger (and Tonto), Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Sgt. Fury, Steve Canyon, and the Green Hornet. For the ring collectors, it did include a special hologram plastic ring. This Captain Action attempt had limited articulation and was a ploy to try and compete with the success of GI Joe's. It failed! Captain Action was revived in 1998, by retro toy company Playing Mantis. In addition to Captain Action and Dr. Evil, costumes released boxed with Captain Action figure were The Lone Ranger (in red and black outfit), Tonto, Flash Gordon (& Ming the Merciless), The Green Hornet (& Kato) and of course The Phantom with his arch enemy Kabai Singh. In 2009 Castaway Toys also released a Captain Action which featured brilliant packaging that did not cause you to ruin the box and packaging if you wanted to take it out of the box. The big difference was the detail they put into the Phantom line. It featured multiple Phantom suits with red, gray, olive colour versions and a Mr Walker outfit. It also featured the arch enemy Kabai Singh along with a special exclusive Redbeard the Pirate. The packaging was different and they even included a cool skull throne limited edition version (pictured above). The skull thrones now command close to a $1,000AUD when they make it online to sell. The Castaway Toys release was the best version hands down of the captain Action series. Apart from the Captain Action figurines the others are the 1980's Defenders of the Earth figurine's with accessories and play sets which included vehicles. While these figurines were articulated and featured a cool punch feature with the back dial it was never as good as the cool GI Joe's a lot of kids grew up on. The other attempt was the 1996 Phantom movie figurine. The less said about the owl shaped Phantoms head the better. It did not do the movie or Billy Zane any justice at all. As bad as the 1996 movie figurine was it was still a better story than the next two attempts by a company called Shocker Toys. It is a shocking story of false dawns and a company that thankfully is not around anymore. If you would like to learn more about the company I would suggest reading this article from Bleeding Cool. They did release the SDCC 2009 Mallow figurine (short for marshmallow) which would be a precursor for the now famous Pop Vinyl range. The Phantom Pop Vinyl range was released in 2015. It came in purple, blue, red and grey. The Mallow figurine has more articulation than the Pop Vinyl and while both sold well and are in majority of collections, it still lacks something special and looks cheap. What really got phans excited was when Shocker Toys released their "Indie Spotlight Series 2" which featured the Phantom along with many other King Features licenses. Originally announced at the New York Toy Fair in 2009 and then displayed at San Diego Comic Con in July 2009. The line was announced to be available in August 2009, then the end of 2009 and then to 2010 and then nothing. A lot of phans pre ordered this and are still angry at being duped including me. It is rumoured that King Features did end up with the molds for this figurine in their possession. It may have taken another ten years but it looks like we will finally get what we want. Both N.E.C.A Toys and Boss Fight Studio's figurines have way more articulation than the Shocker Toys figurine (pictured right). If you would like to see the prototype of the Boss Fight Studio figurine with their art director Erik Arana showing the capabilities we suggest you watch our video X-Band: The Phantom Podcast with him from the 35 minute point. The YouTube video is below. #ShockerToys #CaptainAction #figurines #BossFightStudio #NECA #CastawayToys #PlayingMantis #CollectorsCorner #ErikAraña #DefendersoftheEarth