Chronicle Chamber goes back to the 1960's and 1970's with an interesting discussion with Team Fantomen writer Magnus Knuttsson. He may be a bit of an unknown too many Phantom phans but when you discuss Rhodia / Rodia, females in the Jungle Patrol and the Team Fantomen group who write us stories that are read around the world, Magnus is the father of all of these important elements. Listen as we go into depth on his stories from the 1960's as we learn firsthand about how Semic got the license to create their own stories and the reasons behind his influential stories that all touched upon hot button topics 50 plus years ago. Including Rhodia / Rodia an imitation on then South Africa. We also learnt about how a specific movement saw him having Diana joining the Jungle Patrol which was a pre cursor for other females joining the Jungle Patrol. We recommend re listening to a few important X Band podcasts as the topics we touch upon here are covered elsewhere in other podcasts. X Band Podcast Episode #101: Politics and the Phantom X Band Podcast Episode #97: Interview with Ulf Granberg pt1 X Band Podcast Episode #97B: Interview with Ulf Granberg pt2 X Band Podcast Episode #110: Top 20 Influencers #TeamFantomen #Egmont #MagnusKnutsson #JanneLundstrom #HeinerBade #BertilWilhelmsson #JaimeVallve #MikaelSol #UlfGranberg #RobertAman

Kristian Hellesund works both as a comics journalist and comics lecturer in Norway. Among other things he writes a weekly comics column in the Sydvesten newspaper. Where he writes reviews, comments on current affairs and report from events and comics conventions. This week’s column is about The Phantom coming back to Norway after a horrible 2018 which saw the Egmont Fantomet Magazine along with the Aftenposten newspaper all being cancelled. The good news is that a new Phantom softcover album (or TPB) will be out in Norway in July. Below is a wrap up version of the original article by Kristian, which you can see below. A Hi Res scan will be made available for the Phantom Preservation Project later. The Norwegian Fantomet magazine folded last year. Since then, the national Aftenposten daily newspaper stopped publishing Phantom strips last week. Aftenposten has been important for The Ghost Who Walks in Norway, introducing the character nearly eighty years ago. (Editors Note: You can read about the history here in our article on the Aftenposten newspaper) One could believe that The Phantom has a losing streak in this Scandinavian country at the moment, but right now there are some good news for local phans. As reported in my story in the Sydvesten newspaper in this week, Egmont Norway will publish a new Phantom softcover album in July. This has been since followed up with a Facebook post (Left). Editor Hege Høiby is quoted that the anthology will include four Phantom stories. We conclude that one of them will be "The Masks of the Phantom" (Read Chronicle Chambers review here), that was originally published by the Irish publishers Lightning Strike Comics a few months ago. The story is set in Norway and has artwork by Mike Collins. Collins penciled a Phantom story for Moonstone, and the British artist has also worked on Doctor Who, Judge Dredd and various Marvel and DC superhero comics. The script was made by Arild Wærness with assistance from fellow Norwegian Knut Robert Knutsen. According to the Facebook post, the rest of the contents are two new stories from Team Fantomen in Sweden and a recent American newspaper story. Perhaps the best thing about this new series is that the Fantomet editorial team gets to choose the stories that will appear in their TPBs rather than having to follow the Egmont Sweden Magazine like previously. Something interesting about "The Masks of the Phantom", is that it features a team-up between The Phantom and the local Norwegian detective Varg Veum in the coastal city of Bergen. Veum is created by the Bergen based author Gunnar Staalesen, and some of his Varg Veum novels have been released in English. Staalesen has also cooperated with Arild Wærness and Mike Collins on several Varg Veum graphic novels. In the Lightning Strike comic the detective is called Gunnar Wulff, but in the upcoming Norwegian anthology the detective will have his original name. Above a scene from The Phantom Strikes #2. This scene is set at the BarBarista pub in Bergen, Norway. BarBarista is owned by Arild Wærness' partner May. Arild Wærness himself has a cameo in this drawing. After the Sydvesten newspaper story was printed, Egmont Norway has published three images as clues about the contents of the first book on the Fantomet Facebook page. One image is from the Sunday Newspaper story "The Rat Must Die" by Tony DePaul and Jeff Weigel. The artwork from the front page of the Swedish Fantomen issue 21/2017 (Frew #1805) was also included, suggesting that the story "Fjärilsmannen" ("Butterfly Man") by Claes Reimerthi and César Spadari. The third image is the title page from "Hämndens ängel" ("The Angel of Retribution"), which was made by Claes Reimerthi (script) and Joan Boix (artwork). The story was originally published in Fantomen issue 4/2019 and Frew #1836. Arild Wærness has also posted an image from "The Masks of the Phantom" on the Facebook page The Phantom The Ghost Who Walks Scandinavian Group. From the post it looks like the story will be re-coloured by Mike Collins for Egmont. (Editors Note: Original and re-coloured below) Hege Høiby states in the Sydvesten newspaper that Egmont Norway will publish a new Phantom TPB in October. According to the editor, an Australian Frew originated Phantom story is being considered for that publication. Høiby does not disclose which story Egmont is interested in. We thank you Kristian for your input in the latest happenings from Fantomet Norway and we will continue to report the latest news, previews of covers, contents for future TPBs and do our best to do reviews of these books as they come out. #HegeHøiby #LightningStrikeComics #MikeCollins #ArildWaerness #TeamFantomen #Egmo #TonyDePaul #JeffWeigel #ClaesReimerthi #CesarSpadari #JoanBoix

The Irish publisher Lightning Strike Comics has promised and produced great things on a Phantom-front, but have they delivered? Phantom phans from around the world are sharing their frustration that comics they have paid for not being delivered when promised. We at Chronicle Chamber are receiving word and complaints from places around the world, including Australia, Europe and North America. Phantom phans by nature are patient. We are used to being given the rough end of the stick by major comic publishers with cancellations in the past from big publishers like Egmont, Dynamite, DC & Marvel. We have had to sit through our own version of ‘civil war’ with Dynamite Entertainment and Moonstone both getting the license at the same time which squeezed out the little guys (Moonstone), even though they remain to date the most successful and prolific Phantom publishing company in the USA, the origin country of the Phantom. Lightning Strike Comics is an Irish publishing company. Ireland and the UK are not traditionally countries were the Phantom has been popular, with several publishers trying to establish a Phantom footprint over the last 80 years, with no real success. It takes courage to fund and publish a comic to a non-familiar main audience. So far to date they have published four comics: an 80th Special anthology, a one shot story, and two issues of their four-part series that is due to be published in 2019. Chronicle Chamber has reviewed each comic and interviewed publisher Eoin McAuley. The reviews of the comics can be found here: 80th Special: X Band Podcast Episode #44 Scarlet Sapphire: X Band Podcast Episode #66 & written review Issue #1: X Band Podcast Episode #102 & written review Issue #2: Written review The problem is not the quality or their work. They have achieved success with a high number of quality Phantom creators in Alex Saviuk, Douglas Klauba, Jamie Johnson, Mike Collins, Mike Bullock & Andreas Eriksson, as well as introducing local Irish artists and writers new to the Phantom community. The problem is that they just cannot deliver a comic to a phan. Phans are patient and understand risks with postage, but seven months or more with several failed promises for a comic is not acceptable. Are you a phan that has made an order and are still waiting for the comic to arrive? You're not the only one! We at Chronicle Chamber may have seen PDF versions of the books to review on our podcast, but do not have our own paid-for physical copies. You are not alone, the struggle and annoyance is real! It is worth noting that Lightning Strike have promised full refunds of your order, but the problem is we just want a comic. Phans from around the world want to own, read and promote the comic; we are evangelistic in nature, we shout, we share on social media and are proud of what we own in our collections. However, it seems that you are more likely to make a sighting of Big Foot than receive your comic. If the wait is too much for you, and you would like to explore the full refund option, please contact Lightning Strike directly at this email address. Facebook is littered with comments from phans feeling frustrated with the process. Some have even wondered if anyone has received their comics and if they have even been printed? We have cast a wide call out and we can confirm that the comics exist. Copies were available at the New York Comic Con and the Norwegian Egmont wake. Some phans in Europe have received them and some phans have been sending the comics to various artists for signing. So, they exist, but have they been posted? Good question! Some phans have received tracking numbers but even that does not help with Australia Post a lot of the time using different unique tracking numbers once they reach Australian shores. If you have a package that has been posted, ask Eoin for a tracking number. However, please note that a tracking number does not guarantee the comics will be received. A month ago we posted a photo of one Australian phan receiving a package from Lightning Strike which included a few posters from their conventions. So we can also confirm that Ireland has not ceased their postal service to Australia. To try and get a better understanding of what has happened we have asked Eoin some questions and include them below. Only time will tell if this helps us get the comics or not. Chronicle Chamber: Eoin, we appreciate your time to answer some of our questions on behalf of some very frustrated phans. First up, we had some delays in receiving the 80th Anniversary Special and the Scarlet Sapphire comic here in Australia so why has it taken so long for the comics to be delivered again? Have they even been posted? Eoin McAuley: Hi guys, thank you for taking the time. First off delays with shipping are always regrettable as we want folks to read and enjoy our books as much as possible. All books are shipped within a week of ordering, but our orders have been hampered by several factors: 1) Poor communication between postal services has been a factor - as soon as orders arrive in Australia no more information is communicated to the Irish postal services. When I request more information on my end with them they direct me to fill out a form so that they can request the information from Australia, a process which is glaringly slow. 2) Our operation is very small with shipping requirements falling to one individual. When a customer has a problem it will be addressed but unfortunately there are also several other problems all equally important being addressed and vying for attention (no excuse being offered here just an offer of transparency of why it's taking so, so long). 3) In terms of the economics of it all I try to make our books as affordable and therefore as accessible as possible. To achieve this we offer standard shipping rates, but it is now becoming apparent that standard shipping is not sufficient and a more premium option needs to be offered. I wanted to avoid this, as although it may lead to the safer transport of books it will affect the appeal of single issue sales of the book to certain regions. CC: The majority of phans understand a comic order can take up to a month or two but why has it taken up to seven months? EM: Two factors contributed to this, one was the issue of reshipping and tracking damaged or lost packages and the second is a sliding and delayed production schedule. CC: Have the comics simply been lost? EM: Some stock has been labeled lost, what this means is that packaging was damaged in transit or an address was incorrect or not clear. I'm currently reviewing the packaging situation and upgrading to a higher quality packet. We try to bag and board our comics free of charge, but the exterior envelope does not seem to be robust enough to contain it. I have received some feedback from customers who received their books but their packet was damaged in transit, I always invite feedback from customers to let me know what they think of our product and what condition it arrives in. These orders are being replaced free of charge as well. CC: Have you had to reprint the comics to fulfill the reorders to replace the lost and damaged comics? EM: We have indeed had to reprint a lot, but we always manage on a print-on-demand basis, so this isn't too detrimental to our process but is time consuming. CC: We find it hard to understand how no one in Australia have their comics yet other phans around the world can get their copies. Can you explain that? EM: This is a matter that I'm unclear on myself. There is definitely something wrong that someone can order a copy later in another part of the world and receive it months in advance of someone in Australia. We have succeeded before in shipping our 80th Anniversary and Scarlet Sapphire books before to Australia so it should be a simple matter of retracing the same steps - but still someone who orders in Italy, for example, will likely get it quicker than Australia. It could be that it's easier to ship in the EU while in the EU. The solution that I'm looking towards now is to ship outside of the postal service by other international corporate courier services. CC: Can you understand how frustrated these phans are? What can be done to help alleviate their frustration? EM: Absolutely, and the phans have every right to be so as well. What we're currently offering and fulfilling for everyone who requests it is a full refund. So everyone can rest assured that option is available for them all. We are also happy to refund and still ship until the books arrive. I personally guarantee every book and still stand by that and accept full responsibility for the dissatisfaction of our customers who we greatly appreciate. CC: We have also received word from phans that they did not receive their full order? For example, they ordered 10 and only received 5. Is this true? EM: In this kind of scenario what would likely happen is that the packet used was not sufficient to contain one full order and it was split and sent across two packets with one mislaid due to human error, but that can be rectified by emailing us with their order number. CC: Do you feel that the lack of the response from Lightning Strike has contributed to the fear from phans around the world? EM: Absolutely this is a factor, although, I would see it as a slow response and not lack as I have been reaching out to all customers affected. CC: Can you confirm which countries have received their comics? EM: Brazil, Canada and US, Austria, France and Germany have faced some similar issues but are receiving their orders steadily now. India and Australia are proving to be problematic. CC: Can you tell us when we are likely to see issues #3 and #4 of the 2019 series? EM: Issues #3 and #4 are set for an August release which will coincide with Dublin Comic Con (DCC). We will have a complete set of 1-4 by then and very excited as we have several of the Phantom creators also in attendance. CC: We thank you Eoin, for taking the time to answer some of our questions. Do you have anything left you want to say to the phans who are still waiting for their comics? EM: Everyone is entitled to a full refund, simply email us with your order number and it will be issued. We are still happy to resend books following a refund as we appreciate that everyone wants to read and enjoy the stories. Apologies for any slow responding via email, if email response's are too slow, you can also apply for a refund via PayPal protection as well. All books are guaranteed, we greatly appreciate how patient everyone has been. We are happy to refund and resend so if you have any doubts at all (all very justifiable in the given situation) we will make sure that you are not at a loss. As mentioned previously, other countries are receiving their orders and we are working to resolve the issue with Australia and get these books out to you as soon as possible. All that I can say now is thank you to everyone for their support and offer my sincerest apologies for all delays. The comic book industry is certainly a tough one, but with the support of phans around the world I'm happy to be a part of it. If you are one of the unlucky phans who have not yet received the comics, please let us know. If you have received your comics, also let us know. We will continue to keep you phans up to date with anything new from Lightning Strike. Again if you would like to explore the full refund option, please contact them directly at this email address. #EoinMcAuley #DavidWilliams #MikeBullock #MikeCollins #AndreasEriksson #AlexSaviuk #LightningStrikeComics #80th #OisinRoche #ArildWaerness #DouglasKlauba

Next week Fantomen issue 12/2019 comes out in stores around Sweden. Every issue features a short editorial message from Mikael Sol which is similar to the Message from the Publisher Frew readers see from Dudley Hogarth. What makes this editorial message so cool for us is that he focuses on Chronicle Chamber's X-Band: The Phantom Podcast! Now we are very vocal and proud of what it has become, and we are very happy and ecstatic we get a good shout out in the popular Swedish magazine. Here is a photo of the editorial: Here is a translated version of the above text: -Listen to the Phantom- Yes, or rather listen to us who work on the magazine. The Australian The Phantom-fan page Chronicle Chamber has a podcast with a focus on the Ghost Who Walks. Among other things they interview different people who work with The Phantom, such as the american writer Tony DePaul and the artist Mike Manley... and Sy Barry, who very open heartily tells how it was like working on the Phantom. They have also interviewed the old editor Ulf Granberg, our cover artist Henrik Sahlström and the editor Mikael Sol (that´s me). Since they interview people over Skype the sound can be a hurdle, but if you can overcome that there is a lot to listen to. At the time of writing they have made over 100 episodes. Surf over to ChronicleChamber.com or search for X Band in your podcast app. See you! We must give a huge thank you to Mikael for the wonderful shout out but also to Pidde Andersson and Henrik Sahlström for the spot and help with the translations. If those podcasts interest you, scroll through the below list for some weekend listening. #Fantomen #Egmont #MikaelSol #UlfGranberg #SyBarry #TonyDePaul #MikeManley #KingFeaturesSyndicate #Podcast #XBand #HenrikSahlström #PiddeAndersson

Mikael Lyck on behalf of Chronicle Chamber reviews the latest Fantomen title release the Fantomen Kids: Kit and Heloise on Adventure! We look at the size of the book which is much bigger than anticipated plus the contents and the presentation of the book. This book is out in most stores and online bookshops on the 15th May 2019 between 60kr and 90kr depending on the store. If you want to hear more about this series please listen to the Mikael Sol podcast interview here. #MikaelLyck #MikaelSol #JanBielecki #JensHansegård #FantomenKids #Fantomen #TeamFantomen #Egmont

There might only be four Frew and three Egmont comic books for us to review since our last Comics and News podcast, but there's also a surprising amount of news for us to talk about! Perhaps the biggest Phantom event of the last few years leads the discussion as the phellas reflect on the successful Treasures of Drakon Kickstarter campaign. We also chat about: our Don Newton competition, Mythos in Brazil, what we know about Supanova 2019, and the additions to the Phantom's outfit in the current newspaper story. We're also excited to announce the winner of the Fumo di China Magazine Competition! Enjoy and as always, Happy Phantoming! #XBand #JeffWeigel #Frew #Fantomen #Games #DonNewton #Mythos #LFMBEC #Supanova

During one of our conversations with one of the most phan phaved Phantom artists from the modern era in Felmang, we discussed some of his assistants including Eugenio Benni (Anthony Benny), and today we remember his death on this day ten years ago back in 2009. Thank you to Felmang for his time and the words about his colleague and friend Eugenio Benny we present a lasting memory on him who worked with over 25+ Phantom stories in a 13 year period between 1992 and 2005 for Team Fantomen. Parts of this article was originally published 10 years ago in Italian and now for the first time in English. We can now all learn something new about this talented artist who along left a mark on majority of our Phantom reading lives. Eugenio Benni, was an important and prolific artist of Italian comics since the early Sixties, he was born in France in January 1939 from a Franco-German father and an Italian mother. Aged five he returned to Italy and settled in Abruzzo where he lived for most of his life. As a boy he was a passionate reader of comics, among his favorites were Tony Boy, Sciuscià, Il Piccolo Sceriffo & the famous European comic Tex. In 1960 he graduated in painting at the Art Institute of Abruzzo. The following year, given his great aptitude for drawing and portraits, he was sent to Milan, at the Studio of Nicola Del Principe and started working for the various publications of Edizioni Il Ponte by Renato Bianconi including many of the above comics he grew up on. He had a long fruitful relationship with the Del Principe studio, in fact many of the stories Eugenio Benni worked on were originally credited to Del Principe himself for years. Many artists today modeled their work on Benni. A mutual friend introduced Felmang and Eugenio Benni in the early 1990's and before long Benni was introduced to Ulf Granberg and Semic / Team Fantomen and the first story he worked on was published in 1992 titled "Jungle Snow" (Frew #1054 - 1993 & Fantomen 13/1993). Felmang was very keen to point out that all the artists that he worked on these Phantom stories with were equal collaborators and they together worked for Team Fantomen rather than Benni, Ferri, Usam etc working for Felmang. This is one reason why the stories always credited the full team. Over the course of the 13 years Benni worked on 26 stories with Felmang and occasionally also with Ferri, who was another legendary Italian artist. For a full list of the stories he worked on, go to Phantom Wiki. Some of the stories you will see on the list are legendary stories you would have read and marveled at during the 1990's with classics including: The Revenge of Dogai Singh (Frew #1082 - 1994 & Fantomen Krönika 2/2003), The Triads (Frew #1096-#1100 - 1995 & Fantomen Krönika 5/2000), The Suicide Mission (Frew #1129 - 1996 & Fantomen 20/1995) and Lily Palmer's Secret (Frew #1197 - 1998 & Fantomen 3/1998) just to name a few. However by the time he came to Team Fantomen to work with Felmang he was already a well known and credited artist. A brief rundown on his other work below helps show just how much of a giant he was in the European and Italian comics industry. 1964 worked on Capitan Miki and Il Grande Blek at a rate of two stories a week. Between 1969 to 1974 working the publisher Editrice La Terza part of the Sexy Comics field working on nearly 120 albums drawing Angelica and Teodora. Plus fifteen stories of Alcina la Maga. Between 1969 and 1970 he worked on 11 books for Joe Ringo and 17 books on la Freccia Nera. In 1976 for Edinational he drew four books featuring Robin Hood adventures. Between 1972 to 1978 when Benni moved to Sardinia he work with the Milanese and Bianconi Studio's which included Tom Billy By and Zorro. In the mid 1980's he worked on various titles with the Roman studios of Giolitti and Sergio Rosi and the publisher Francesco Coniglio. In 1987 he worked on five issues of Sfitty and five issues of Zippo Panino which was the last collaboration he did with the publisher Del Principe-Bianconi. We thank Felmang for his help with this article as we remember Eugenio Benni (Anthony Benny) who sadly left our world on this day 2 May 2009. #Felmang #Spada #Egmont #Semic #TeamFantomen #EugenioBenni #UlfGranberg

Jermayn flies solo as he talks to New Zealand born David Bishop who grew up on Phantom comics in the doctors surgery as a child and then was reconnected with our hero as he started writing Phantom comics for Team Fantomen. Listen as there is a fabulous in depth conversation of his Phantom stories including the classic ongoing saga of the female pirate called Kate Sommerset and her adventures with not one, but three different Phantom generations including mothering the 17th Phantoms child. We fly through majority of his almost 50 Phantom stories including when the Phantom finally made his first visit to New Zealand. Interestingly, Red Zone was not his first attempt at the Phantom visiting the land of the long white cloud. #DavidBishop #TeamFantomen #Egmont #MikaelSol #CesarSpadari #RafaelRuiz

A lot of phans from Brazil, South America and around the world are very excited about what Mythos has announced. Thanks to our discussions with editor Julio Oliveira and a second release article by Mythos, we are now aware that their new publications do not stop at their first release of Daily stories in the four issues they have already announced (You can read that here). We can now say that they will also publish eight editions containing the modern Sunday stories of the Ghost Who Walks. Apart from the Daily and Sunday stories they are also planning to reprint the first Hermes comic series and the Jim Aparo Collective Works. According to Julio Oliveira, the first release of this new line of comics will be in May 2019. Read more about this date including how you can order your own comics in the below interview. After the interview we look in detail the extra issues announced. Chronicle Chamber: Thank you for your time. To start can you tell us about yourself Julio and your position at Mythos. Julio Oliveira: I’m an editor at Mythos Editora. I have worked here since 2014, and I’m responsible for some our main lines, like the Gold Edition (where we publish French Comics in its original size and format), Prime Edition where I work with characters like Hellboy and including The Last Phantom series, published originally by Dynamite (O Último Fantasma 2014 & 2016). CC: Why the Phantom? Did you pursue this character? JO: On Mythos, we work with characters that have great powerful nostalgic appeal, including Tex Willer, the ranger from Bonelli Comics. The permanence of the character to us showed that there is still a market for heroes that don’t compromise, that do that right thing, and that is The Phantom in spades. The Phantom has a long comic book publication tradition, having being published by many publishing houses in Brazil, including Mythos from 2007. CC: What makes the Phantom a character Mythos wants to publish? JO: It is a phan favorite and long absent of the comic book shops and newsstands in Brazil. We think the time is ripe for a new go at it and to gain a new readership. And it is just a marvelous character. Helcio de Carvalho, our CEO has fond memories of trading The Phantom comics when he was at school, some decades ago. He like to say that The Phantom was worth two other comics in trade, since it was so much sought at. We still think it has this kind of value: it is still worth twice as much compared to other comics in appreciation of the stories. CC: Why print the Dailies and Sunday's from the year 1999/2000 onwards? Is it because majority of phans have not seen these stories before in comic format? JO: The main reason is that these were not published in Brazil in any format. But the fact that the stories get progressively more complex is a plus that cannot be overlooked. CC: Who do you target with your comics? JO: It depends from title to title. The classic strips have a smaller print run and is marketed to the old collectors. The newer ones have a more signification printing run and is designed to appeal to everyone. The Jim Aparo material is limited in number and for the ones that liked his work on Batman… his work on The Phantom have many similarities. CC: Why Hermes? JO: It was a self-contained material with one the most beloved writers in Brazil: Peter David. CC: Are you creating new covers with local artists? JO: Yes, with Jubran. We will show these to the public very soon! CC: Will you ever create your own Mythos created stories? JO: The sky is the limit, but it not on our plans right now. Unfortunately, the costs of creating from step one are very steep. CC: How can phans from around the world buy / purchase these comics? JO: We intend to sell on Amazon, and we take orders to sell directly. We are currently working so that people would be able to get directly from our site. CC: When will the first comic be published? JO: All is currently in production, but we expect to have the first two on May. CC: Thank you Julio Oliveira for your time answering some of our questions. About the Sunday Stories Issue One: The Shipwreckers, The Briefcase & Terror in Mawitaan pt1 Issue Two: Terror in Mawitaan (conclusion), The Sinbad Stone, The Viking Fortress Mystery & The Iron Python Issue Three: On the Trail of an Assassin, The Time Skip, The Ossuary & Plutonium Pirates pt1 Issue Four: Plutonium Pirates (conclusion), The Accursed Land, The Jungle Lesson & The Love Triangle pt1 Issue Five: The Love Triangle (conclusion), The Lost Kingdom of Avari, The Dirty Half-Dozen & The Return of Colonel Weeks pt1 Issue Six: The Return of Colonel Weeks (conclusion), The Nomad, The Shadows of Rune Noble & The Power House Gang pt1 Issue Seven: The Power House Gang (conclusion), Revenge in Rhodia, Mandrake's Bon Voyage & Death Stalks the 5th Phantom pt1 Issue Eight: Death Stalks the 5th Phantom (conclusion), The Ghost Story & The Iceman That is a huge 24 Sunday stories written by Tony DePaul, Claes Reimerthi & Graham Nolan and art by a large number of artists including George Olesen, Fred Fredericks, Graham Nolan, Paul Ryan, Eduardo Barreto & Terry Beatty. Talk about a treat! Interestingly these will be printed in landscape format sized 13.5cm x 20.5cm so the chances are these could be in unedited original format. These volumes will all be in COLOUR and each issue will be 80 pages each. About the Hermes Stories We can also confirm that Mythos will be releasing more new content in Brazil for the first time featuring the Hermes Press Danger in the Forbidden City six part mini series by writer Peter David and Sal Velluto. No word yet if this will be released as a six part mini series or as a TPB. We are also under the impression that Mythos has entered into a relationship with Hermes and will also be republishing some of their other work like the Jim Aparo Phantom Collection Book. All credit must go to Mythos for not just slightly dipping their toes into the water. They have fully committed to at least a two year publishing cycle with up to 15 TPBs of the Phantom. That is a solid commitment for the people of Brazil to find their love of the Phantom again. ComicsTV is a program by Brazil comics personality Thiago Gardinali who interviewed Julio Oliveira about their new series being released in May 2019. You can watch below: If you are going to be buying these series and would like to send in your audio reviews of the books, please contact us at chroniclechamber@gmail.com and we can include them in our X Band Phantom Podcasts. #SalVelluto #PeterDavid #HermesPress #Mythos #TonyDePaul #ClaesReimerthi #GrahamNolan #GeorgeOlesen #FredFredericks #PaulRyan #EduardoBarreto #TerryBeatty #KingFeaturesSyndicate #Sundays #JimAparo

How on earth is it nearly the end of April? It has been way too long between drinks in terms of updates to the Phantom Preservation Project (P3), so we hope adding a suite of additions makes up for it. Of course you should check out the Index, but a couple of weeks ago we added the following for April 2019: Four songs from Sweden An interview with Sy Barry from 1982 (Comic Scene Publications #1) A scan of 2018 Fumo Di China #280 3 Newspaper articles, including one from India in 2018 No fewer than FIVE Friends of The Phantom newsletters #3, 5, 7, 8 & 10 13 files of pamphlets from Bradford Exchange 11 files of advertisements from Denmark comics The complete 71 page PDF version of Johnson's Official Phantom Price Guide (3rd Edition) 4 video files from Bradley Peach's Albury exhibition "Enter the Phantom" Existing Patreons have already received their message granting them access to the P3. We hope they enjoy sifting through all this Phantom goodness. Any new P3 members (at the $5 tier) will be able to find the link in messages that become available to them. Any phans who sign up to the $5 / month level of support will also be granted immediate access to this vast array of Phantom video, audio, print material, games, artwork. There are of course greater rewards for the awesome people who are happy to sign up for the $20 or $50 / month levels, which is all outlined on the Patreon page. Don't forget that all Patreon members will be automatically entered into our competition for the FREE COPY OF THE DON NEWTON'S COMPLETE PHANTOM BOOK. Even if you are not a current member you can still join up and be in the running. Our review of this amazing book is below. If you aren't already a Patreon Supporter, there is still a chance to join and be in the running for this amazing prize. The draw will be drawn at the end of May and posted free of charge to the winner. The raffle draw is random, and Patreons will be entered at a rate of one ticket for each dollar pledged monthly. For instance, supporting at $1/month equals one entry, supporting at $5/month equals 5 entries. So, head over to our Patreon page and as we always say - Happy Phantoming! #FriendsofThePhantom #Phantom2040 #P3 #SyBarry #Fantomen #BradfordExchange #Fantomet #PriceGuide #BradleyPeach #Exhibition

Beginning today in the newspaper Daily adventure strip we will start to see something different with the Phantom fitting himself out with emergency medical gear plus some extra .45 ACP clips of ammo for this adventure. We can only guess because of the extra care given pre-mission, we are going to experience an action-packed adventure coming up were he is expected to be needing medical attention and some extra ammunition throughout. Before some get too upset, please note this is only for some stories and it is not a permanent costume addition or change. To the right is a sneaky look at the Phantom wearing the full kit, which will come out on Thursday 25 April 2019. Huge thanks to Tony DePaul and Mike Manley for providing us this unique glance into the future. Maybe our memory fails us, but we do not remember a previous newspaper or even Team Fantomen adventure with the Phantom running out of ammunition half way through the fight. We even re-read the bloody battle between the Phantom and the Nomad's men in A Reckoning with the Nomad, which saw the Phantom outgunned, badly wounded and barely escaping with his life all without needing to reload his guns. He certainly could have also done with a medical kit along with the extra ammunition in that adventure. The Phantom has been before shown in both newspaper and Team Fantomen stories wearing extra items above and beyond the normal minimalist look, including medieval boots, shoulder belts and even a cloak alongside with a sword that has been upgraded over time. Attached below are two examples drawn by Sy Barry in past newspaper stories that Tony and Mike used for ideas on this latest slight upgrade. This is not the first time we have seen the Phantom accessorising, in the Golden Circle Avon novel, the Phantom is described as having accessories hidden in his belt. We are not yet at the level of the Phantom copying Batman with his accessory belt, or the 2009 SyFy Phantom, or the French/American-created Phantom 2040 series from 1994, but it's good to see the Phantom being prepared for what he expects to be a heavy upcoming battle. In talking to Tony DePaul about the Phantom’s new accessories, he told us: “Extra ammo, medical supplies… for old-timey river thugs, no problem, but we can’t expect the Phantom to fend off a terrorist militia with only 16 rounds of .45 ACP. I started thinking about this when he was surrounded and getting the kitchen sink thrown at him after being lured into the body-double trap by the Nomad. I think he fired only three or four shots in the whole fight before he made a run for it, using up, at that time, all or most of what he had left, I suppose. So that’s why I started thinking, hmm… gotta fix this somehow. And then he caught that piece of shrapnel in the neck, the bleed and all that…. The Phantom won't be wearing it in every adventure” We asked both Tony DePaul and Mike Manley on the risk of the Phantom becoming a Batman and the possible backlash of the Phantom with too many accessories. Tony commented: "I thought of him carrying a tactical bag, so he could preposition ammo and medical gear where he could get to it on a run. In fact, I wrote it that way at first. But it made things overly complicated and awkward. I’m so, so very wary of adding gizmos to the Phantom’s bag of tricks, ala SyFy Channel (or Batman). If we added stuff like grenades or gas bombs, etc the problem is, then he’s Batman with the utility belt. Whatever we do, safeguarding what makes the Phantom unique is paramount. His main weapon must always be the myth, the mystery, the legend. Then his guns. And, given that he bleeds like any ordinary man, we’ve got that covered now." Mike Manley had this to say: "The Phantom is not Batman. The issue we face is how to update the character and keep the mythos in an era of the modern terrorists and armed thugs and criminals who now sport high tech, heavy military weaponry and the cellphone. Batman was always out of the shadows, using fear, mystery and his brainpower first. I think Kane and Finger got that from the Shadow and The Phantom. It would be easy to have him roidded up and looking like a 90’s Image hero, all gun belts and straps. It's a fine line to be sure because we try and appeal to readers like my father who read him as a kid in the 30’s and 40’s to modern readers who still find him and follow the adventures. Also I think the syndicate would balk at Tony and me turning him into Rambo. So I was thinking light compact med kit with little Guran med packs for pain, healing etc. even a Bandar version of super-glue to close wounds, and extra ammo, but he’s a dead shot like Marshall Dillion—not a bullet waster. No submachine guns for him to just spray the enemy. Like a surgeon with his hand, knife or pistol, this way he might scar the chin but not kill." It is obvious from the above comments, Mike and Tony have purposely restrained from accessorising the Phantom in a way that is too extreme, and they are very keen to keep the uniqueness and the mythology of the Phantom in tact. They are not dreaming up of ways to ruin the character. Mike Manley was kind enough to send through some preliminary images of the accessories for the Phantom which you can see below. It will give you a unique view of the progress from sketches to finished product we see in the newspapers day to day. While some may see the slight change to the Phantom costume as sacrilege, we don't. We would love to hear your thoughts on these new additions to the Phantoms costume for the occasional adventure. Do you like them? Do you see them as necessary or do you think this is a step too far? Let us know via email, social media or Jungle Drums. We must say thank you to Mike Manley and Tony DePaul for the sneak peak into the future with these panels of the Phantom accessorising, and for answering all our pesky questions. #TonyDePaul #MikeManley #SyFy #KingFeaturesSyndicate #Dailys #AvonBooks #Phantom2040

Sweden's Fantomen issue 9/2019 has come out and it features the results of the votes for the best adventure story for Fantomen 2018. The best story as voted by the phans is "Spöket vid Gallows' Inn" which featured in Fantomen issue 17/2018 written by Claes Reimerthi and drawn by Heiner Bade. This is yet to published by Frew and a crude Swedish to English translation of the title would be "The Ghost at Gallows' Inn". Second overall in the votes was Andreas Eriksson's "Blodregn' (English translation "Blood Rain") which was published in Fantomen issue 24/2018. This made news late last year as it features no fewer than eight artists: Sal Velluto, Heiner Bade, Alex Saviuk, Joan Boix, Kari Leppänen, Carlos Pedrazzini, César Spadari and Rafael Ruiz. You can read more about this issue and watch Mikael Lyck's review of the story here. The third most voted story was an old classic story "Excalibur" ("The Legend of the Swords, Part 1: Excalibur") by Norman Worker and Jaime Vallvé. Sometimes classic stories are just that good. This was previously published in 1981 by Fantomen and nearly 40 years later it is still one of the best stories published in modern day 2018. This was published by Frew in 2007 in issue #1476. Out of only 165 votes, a third of those votes where for these three. Interestingly the fourth most favourite story of the year was another classic in "Flame" which features an adventure filled, romantic story of how the 9th Phantom battled slave traders and ended up marrying Flame Stanbury who was also masquerading as the Phantom. It was also originally published in 1980 and written by Norman Worker and drawn by Georges Bess. This story was published in 2003 in issue #1359. Both "Flame" and "Excalibur" are stories that are must reads for any Frew readers who do not have these comics in their collection. No word yet when these other two stories will be published by Frew. Other interesting notes of the results are: - 10 stories received votes that are from the archives including the two mentioned above. - In 2017 the best adventure story was Daily Phantom story "Farewell to the Deep Woods" by Tony DePaul and Mike Manley. The highest newspaper story to receive a vote was "The Phantom is Everywhere" by Tony DePaul and drawn by Terry Beatty and Jeff Weigel. It was 15th overall. Below is a photo of the full results and how many votes were received for each story. Thanks goes to Mikael Lyck for the heads up and above photo's. Did you vote? #ClaesReimerthi #HeinerBade #AndreasEriksson #SalVelluto #AlexSaviuk #JoanBoix #KariLeppänen #CarlosPedrazzini #CesarSpadari #RafaelRuiz #MikaelLyck #NormanWorker #JaimeVallve #GeorgesBess

I first met Jim Shepherd in 2003. I had made a prototype comic book storage device that I was looking to bring to market and I needed an avenue to advertise it. Frew Publications’ ‘The Phantom’ comic (published in Australia since 1948) seemed to be the perfect place for me to reach my target audience and Jim had agreed to meet me to sell me some advertising space. I remember thinking he was quite a reserved man – giving away nothing (and why would he? He didn’t know this nerdy looking guy sitting in his office from anyone) and chain smoking like nothing else I had seen outside of my time in the old offices at British American Tobacco. Slowly, but surely the walls began to break down as I spoke to him of how three generations of Frazers had read ‘The Phantom” and it was my grandfather who had introduced the purple-clad hero to me. We talked about advertising rates as Jim moved papers and comics around a very cluttered desk, before asking me to bring in a sample of the ad within two weeks. It was then I summoned up the courage to ask if Frew took cover submissions. “Why, bit of an artist are you?” Jim responded whilst putting out a ciggie and lighting another. Sheepishly I responded, “Well… Yeah I’ve done a bit of drawing and cartooning in my time.” (an understatement of sorts). Jim leaned forward whilst checking his schedule again, “Well why don’t you bring something in for me to have a look at when you come in next.” I thanked him and raced home to work on a range of redesigned cover sketches, pulling out old covers and rereading stories (I didn’t need an excuse) so I could feel the action and present something on the faint chance Jim would like my work. Two weeks passed and I returned to the office to present my ad. Jim told me the edition it would appear in and I paid the rate. After what felt like an eternity, I self-consciously presented the three layouts I had finished. Jim had a look, cleared some space on his cluttered desk to examine his hand written schedule and said, “There’s a spot in six weeks time that needs a front and back cover, think you can make that deadline?” Make it?? Are you kidding?? Once again I raced home and began work. Needless to say, I was done in a week and for the third time returned to Jim’s office with the final pieces. And just like that, within five weeks, edition number #1368 – The Boy from San Diablo appeared on newsstands all around Australian and New Zealand and not long after that (for would be the final time) I entered Frew Publications’ office, when Jim’s secretary Ruth presented me with a pile of #1368's (“to give out to your friends and family.”). Now I’m sure Jim didn’t need to give me the pleasure of drawing the front and back cover of a comic book I had read since I was eight, nor pay me for the gig, but he did and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity. To this day (2013), that graphic design job is both my first and (by far) the most recognisable job I have done. Jim passed away on Tuesday 15 April 2013 at the age of 80. His influence and impact will be sorely missed. Thank you Jim for your work, the chance you gave me, and the legacy you leave behind. May you rest in peace sir. This was originally posted on an now unpublished blog on 18 April, 2013 to reflect on the great man by Jason Frazer. Re-published with permission by Jason. It was simply too good not to re-publish as remember this great man who left us with a huge imprint on our hero - The Phantom! You can find more about Jason at www.BamGameOnline.com and download his app here. #JasonFrazer #JimShepherd #Frew

In the latest X Band podcast Jermayn & Dan have the privilege to chat with Swedish Fantomen editor Mikael Sol. It is a great conversation as we learn about Mikael the person and Mikael the person behind the Phantom / Fantomen in Sweden. As Mikael is the editor of the magazine and team leader of Team Fantomen which gives us the perfect opportunity to ask Mikael many questions about the Swedish magazine. Some of the questions we asked were: Did Sandal Singh carry the Phantoms child? The 22nd Phantom saga About the closing of the Fantomet magazine Working with Phantom royalty in Ulf Granberg, Claes Reimerthi & Hans Lindahl Will Lamanda Luaga come back to the presidency? Fantomen Kids Creating your own stories Future of Fantomen & the character in Sweden Increase of the Fantomen budget Falkism & Post Modernism plus much more. Make sure you listen and if you have any follow up questions, contact us :) Happy Phantoming! #XBand #Podcast #UlfGranberg #Egmont #Semic #Fantomen #Fantomet #LeeFalk #TonyDePaul #ClaesReimerthi #MikaelSol

On the back of Mythos from Brazil committing to publish the Phantom in 2019, another publisher called Regal Publishers from India has also started the year off with a positive start. Not only have they published the first licensed Indian Phantom comic for many years, they have also published comics from Lee Falk's other character Mandrake at the same time with more promised to come regularly. India has such a rich history of the Phantom with the comic being published in comics, newspapers and magazines all the way back as far as 1940. It is good to see the Phantom back being published in this country. Like Australia, many Indian phans see the Phantom as their national hero which is something we will have to explore more. We have touched upon the love of the character in India before with two past podcasts with Kevin Patrick and his book The Phantom Unmasked (Podcast link) and Abir Roy (writer, director, editor) and Sagardeep Roy (actor - Choloman) for the Bengali fan-made Phantom film Cholomon Oshoriri (Podcast link). This new comic has the Sunday Story The Lookout by Lee Falk and George Olesen / Fred Fredericks and is interestingly most famous for featuring a pair of roughnecks called Quill and Drax - the same names used for the villains from the 1996 movie The Phantom. We have been informed that a number of these comics have found their way into Australia and will soon be available through Phantom's Vault, or you can contact the publisher themselves from their Facebook page. The obvious question is about the regularity of the comic being published. We have been in contact with Regel Publishers who have informed us that the regularity of the comic all depends on the demand by the phans. At this stage we have not decided as to whether the Phantom comics will be published weekly, fortnightly monthly. In the next 8 to 10 months as the comics are released, we will analyse the market situation and the customer demand. Based on the analysis, we will decide whether the series are to be published weekly, fortnightly, monthly or every two months. This is not the first Phantom comic Regal Publishers has published the Phantom. Back in 2012 they released a one-shot comic featuring a beautiful cover by Joe Jusko which was originally used for the 1996 Phantom movie trading card series. The story featured in this comic was The Jungle Olympics by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy. You can purchase this comic from Phantoms Vault for $7.50 (GST Exc). Regal has marketed this throughout India and at comic book conventions, along with their other comic character they are known for: Tarzan. Below are two of the marketing brochures plus a photo from one of the conventions. Swaroop Chand, a phriend to many in the Phantom community, has been kind enough to review the comic which you can see in the video below. Our thanks to Regal Publishers for keeping us up to date over the publication of this comic and the ongoing series and Swaroop Chand for the review. #Indrajal #CholomanOshoriri #KevinPatrick #SwaroopChand #India #LeeFalk #WilsonMcCoy #FredFredericks #GeorgeOlesen #RegalPublications #1996movie #PhantomsVault #Mandrake