During Barry's early years he and Falk modernized the strip, laying the foundation for what is considered the Phantom's modern look. Under Barry, Bangalla became a democracy and the character of President Lamanda Luaga was introduced. Barry worked on ''The Phantom'' for over 30 years until his 1994 retirement, drawing a total of about 11,000 strips.
His longtime assistant George Olesen remained on the strip as penciller, with Keith Williams inking the daily strip. The Sunday strip was inked by Eric Doescher until
Fred Fredericks
Harold "Fred" Fredericks, Jr. (August 9, 1929 – March 10, 2015) was an American cartoonist who drew the '' Mandrake the Magician'' comic strip from June 1965, taking over for the late Phil Davis. Creator Lee Falk modernized the comic when ...
succeeded him in 1995.
Falk continued to script ''The Phantom'' and ''Mandrake'' until his death on March 13, 1999. His last daily Phantom strip story, "Terror at the Opera," was finished by his wife, Elizabeth. After Falk's death King Features cooperated with European comic publisher ''
Egmont'', publisher of the Swedish ''Fantomen'' magazine (which changed from publishing ''Phantom'' stories in comic-book format to providing the newspaper strip as well) by adapting their own ''Phantom'' comic-book stories into the strip format. ''Fantomen'' writers
Tony DePaul
Tony DePaul is the current writer of the Lee Falk created adventure comic strip The Phantom
''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional c ...
and Claes Reimerthi alternated as writers of the newspaper strip after Falk died, with DePaul handling the daily strips and Reimerthi the Sunday ones. DePaul would later become the strip's sole writer. Some stories were adapted from those originally published in ''Fantomen''.
In 2000, Olesen and Fredericks retired from the Sunday strip. It was continued by comic-book artist
Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon.
Biograp ...
, who had drawn three ''Fantomen'' covers. In early 2005 Olesen and Williams left the daily strip after Olesen retired, and artist
Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
(who had worked on the ''Fantomen'' comic stories and had been a fan of the character since childhood) took over the daily strip. Ryan succeeded Nolan as artist on the Sunday strip in 2007. On July 31, 2011,
Eduardo Barreto
Luis Eduardo Barreto Ferreyra (1954 – December 15, 2011) was a Uruguayan artist who worked in the comic book and comic strip industries including several years of prominent work for DC Comics.
All of his children are artists. Two of them, D ...
became the Sunday-page artist. He died after only a few months, and Ryan temporarily took over the Sunday page again on January 15, 2012 (which featured a memorial to Barreto). Ryan also did the following week's strip, before
Terry Beatty
Terry Beatty (born January 11, 1958''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107) is an artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the American comic book industry, where he is perhaps best known for his co-creation of the fema ...
became Barreto's replacement.
Ryan died at his home unexpectedly on March 7, 2016.
Mike Manley succeeded Ryan as artist on The Phantom, beginning with the strip dated May 30, 2016.
Beatty stepped down as Sunday artist in 2017, and was replaced by
Jeff Weigel
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
.
Internationally
United States
''The Phantom'' has been published by a number of publishers in the United States. During the 1940s the strips were reprinted in ''
Ace Comics
''Ace Comics'' was a comic book series published by David McKay Publications between 1937 and 1949 — starting just before the Golden Age of Comic Books. The title reprinted syndicated newspaper strips owned by King Features Syndicate, follow ...
'', published by
David McKay Publications
David McKay Publications (also known as David McKay Company) was an American book publisher which also published some of the first comic books, including the long-running titles ''Ace Comics'', ''King Comics'', and '' Magic Comics''; as well as ...
.
Harvey Comics
Harvey Comics (also known as Harvey World Famous Comics, Harvey Publications, Harvey Comics Entertainment, Harvey Hits, Harvey Illustrated Humor, and Harvey Picture Magazines) was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfr ...
published ''The Phantom'' during the 1950s. In 1962
Gold Key Comics
Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...
took over, followed by
King Comics
King Comics, a short-lived comic book imprint of King Features Syndicate, was an attempt by King Features to publish comics of its own characters, rather than through other publishers. A few King Comics titles were picked up from Gold Key Comic ...
in 1966 and
Charlton in 1969. By 1977, a total of 73 issues were published. Principal ''Phantom'' artists during this period were
Bill Lignante
William Gaetano Lignante (March 20, 1925 – February 27, 2018), better known as Bill Lignante, was an American artist notable for his varied career as a comic book illustrator, comic strip artist, animator and television courtroom sketch artist.
...
,
Don Newton
Don Newton (November 12, 1934 – August 19, 1984) was an American comics artist. During his career, he worked for a number of comic book publishers including Charlton Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on The Phan ...
,
Jim Aparo
James N. Aparo (August 24, 1932 – July 19, 2005) was an American comic book artist, best known for his DC Comics work from the late 1960s through the 1990s, including on the characters Batman, Aquaman, and the Spectre, along with famous stories ...
and Pat Boyette.
In 1943,
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
released the 15-episode serial ''
The Phantom
''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...
'' starring
Tom Tyler
Tom Tyler (born Vincent Markowski; August 9, 1903 – May 1, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 s ...
as "The Phantom" and
Jeanne Bates
Jeanne Bates (May 21, 1918 – November 28, 2007) was a retired American radio, film and television actress. After performing in radio serials, she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1942 which began her career in films both in bi ...
as "
Diana Palmer".
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
published a ''Phantom'' comic book from 1988 to 1990. The initial May–August 1988 miniseries was written by
Peter David
Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...
, penciled by
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...
, and inked by
. A subsequent series, written by
Mark Verheiden
Mark Verheiden (born March 26, 1956) is an American television, movie, and comic-book writer. He was a co-executive producer for the television series '' Falling Skies'' for DreamWorks Television and the TNT network.
Career
Comics and comic-r ...
and drawn by
Luke McDonnell
Luke McDonnell (born July 19, 1959) is an American artist whose early career was spent specialising in comic books.
Career Comic books
Luke McDonnell began his career as a comics artist in 1980 and illustrated a wide variety of comics including ...
, ran for 13 issues from March 1989 to March 1990. In the series, the Phantom fought racism, toxic dumping, hunger and modern-day
piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
. According to Verheiden, the series ended as much because of licensing issues as falling sales. In the final panels of issue 13, the Phantom marries Diana.
In 1987,
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
published a four-issue miniseries written by
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
and based on the ''
Defenders of the Earth
''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assista ...
'' TV series. Another three-issue Marvel miniseries, ''The Phantom: The Ghost Who Walks'' (February–April 1995) followed which was written and drawn by
David de Vries
David (Dave) de Vries (born 1961) is a New Zealand film writer, director, and producer who also writes and illustrates comic books. He was born in New Zealand and emigrated with his family to Australia.
De Vries was born in Wellington, New Z ...
and
Glenn Lumsden
Glenn Lumsden is an Australian comic book artist and writer.
Born in Sydney in 1964, he began self publishing in 1985 with David de Vries, Gary Chaloner and Tad Pietrzykowski under the Cyclone Comics imprint, working on ''The Southern Squadr ...
; it featured the 22nd Phantom with an updated, high-tech costume. Marvel later released a four-part miniseries (May–August 1995), pencilled by
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
co-creator
Steve Ditko
Stephen John Ditko Page contains two reproductions from school yearbooks. A 1943 Garfield Junior High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen Ditko". A 1945 Johnstown High School yearbook excerpt lists "Stephen J. Ditko" under extracurricular act ...
, based on the ''
Phantom 2040
''Phantom 2040'' is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero ''The Phantom'', created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, ...
'' TV series. One issue featured a pin-up by the original two Spider-Man signature artists, Ditko and
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita (; born January 24, 1930) is an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including the Punisher and Wolverine (character), Wolverine. He was indu ...
In the United States and Australia, ''
The Phantom
''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...
'' was released in theaters as a major motion picture starring
Billy Zane
William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the 1989 Australian film ''Dead Calm'', a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promi ...
as “The Phantom/Kit Walker,” the 21st Phantom. Opened June 7, 1996 nationwide in the aforementioned markets.
Moonstone Books
Moonstone Books is an American comic book, graphic novel, and prose fiction publisher based in Chicago focused on pulp fiction comic books and prose anthologies as well as horror and western tales.
The company began publishing creator-owned com ...
published Phantom graphic novels beginning in 2002. Five books, written by
Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''.
Career
While in college, DeFalco "wrote fo ...
,
Ben Raab
Benjamin Raab (born October 13, 1970, in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor.
Early life
Raab is a native of Cedarhurst, New York, and attended Lawrence High School. He gradu ...
and
Ron Goulart
Ronald Joseph Goulart (; January 13, 1933 – January 14, 2022) was an American popular culture historian and mystery, fantasy, and science fiction author.
He published novelizations and other work under various pseudonyms: Kenneth Robeson, Con ...
with art by
Mike Collins were published. In 2003, Moonstone introduced a ''Phantom'' comic-book series written by Raab, Rafael Nieves and
Chuck Dixon
Charles Dixon (born April 14, 1954) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on the Marvel Comics character the Punisher and on the DC Comics characters Batman, Nightwing, and Robin in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Early life
D ...
, and drawn by Pat Quinn, Jerry DeCaire, Nick Derington,
Rich Burchett
Rick Burchett (born March 9, 1952) is an American comic book artist known for his work on such characters as Batman and Superman.
Career
Burchett began his artistic career in St. Louis, Missouri, and did his early professional comics work at Fir ...
, and EricJ. After 11 issues
Mike Bullock
Mike Bullock is an American author and musician born in Washington, DC. Bullock began writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry in the 1980s. He worked professionally in the music and comic book industries since 1986 and is best known as the creato ...
took over the scripting, with Gabriel Rearte and
Carlos Magno
Carlos Magno (born 29 May 1995) is a football player who currently plays as midfielder for Pro Liga de Timor Leste club S.E. Gleno and Timor-Leste national football team.
International career
Carlos made his senior international debut is in 1 ...
creating the artwork before Silvestre Szilagyi became the regular artist in 2007. Bullock's stories often feature topical issues, based on actual African conflicts. In a 2007 three-part story arc, "Invisible Children", the Phantom fights a fictional warlord called "Him" (loosely based on
Joseph Kony
Joseph Rao Kony (likely born 1961) is a Ugandan militant who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Christian fundamentalist organization, designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union and various ...
).
In 2006 Moonstone published a
retcon
Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in which established diegetic facts in the plot of a fictional work (those established through the narrative itself) are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subse ...
of the Phantom's origin, "Legacy", by Raab and Quinn. Three years later the company reintroduced the series as ''The Phantom: Ghost Who Walks'', beginning with issue 0 (a retelling of the first Phantom's origin). The aim was to make the comic darker, grittier and more realistic, similar to the 1930s stories by Lee Falk and Ray Moore. It updated the Phantom, giving him modern accessories, and introduced a number of supporting characters and villains. In the series, the Phantom fights reality-based enemies such as modern terrorists,
organ smugglers and
Somali pirates.
Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...
introduced a monthly comic-book series, ''
The Last Phantom'', in August 2010. The series was written by
Scott Beatty
Scott Beatty is an American author, comic book writer, and superhero historian actively published since the late 1990s.
Biography
Scott Beatty has authored hundreds of adventures for many of comics’ most iconic characters including Batman and R ...
and drawn by Eduardo Ferigato, with covers painted by
Alex Ross
Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...
.
In 2013 the Phantom appeared in Dynamite's five-issue miniseries, ''Kings Watch''. In the series, written by Jeff Parker and drawn by Marc Laming, the Phantom joins Flash Gordon and Mandrake the Magician to fight Ming the Merciless and prevent his attempt to take over the planet. It was followed by the 2015 five-issue miniseries ''King: The Phantom'' in which Lothar as the new Phantom looks for the rightful heir to the legacy. In 2016 started a new crossover of King Features characters (The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, Flash Gordon, Prince Valiant, Jungle Jim), ''Kings Quest''.
In 2014
Hermes Press
Hermes Press is an American publisher of art books, comic books, and comic book reprints. The company was founded in 2000 and is best known for their archival reprints of classic comic book and strip series and art books.
History
Hermes Press was ...
announced that it would publish a Phantom comic-book miniseries with new content, written by
Peter David
Peter Allen David (born September 23, 1956), often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Greatest Hits" Co ...
and illustrated by Sal Velluto,
scheduled for publication in November 2014.
It debuted October 31, 2014.
For
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
2015, Hermes published a Phantom comic book with art by
Bill Lignante
William Gaetano Lignante (March 20, 1925 – February 27, 2018), better known as Bill Lignante, was an American artist notable for his varied career as a comic book illustrator, comic strip artist, animator and television courtroom sketch artist.
...
and samples of the new miniseries
Nordic region
Egmont Publications has published original Phantom stories in a fortnightly ''Phantom'' comic book in Sweden as ''Fantomen'', in Denmark and Norway as ''Fantomet'' and in Finland as ''Mustanaamio'' (''Black Mask''). The first issue of ''Fantomen'' was dated October 1950, and over 1,600 issues have been published. The first story created originally for ''Fantomen'' was published in 1963, and there are a total of over 900 ''Fantomen'' stories. The average ''Fantomen'' story is over 30 pages, compared to 20–24 pages for most American comics. Artists and writers who have created stories for ''Fantomen'' include
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
Early li ...
, Donne Avenell, Heiner Bade,
David Bishop,
Georges Bess
Georges Bess (born 1947) is a comics artist and comic book creator, best known for his collaborations with Alejandro Jodorowsky.
Biography
Early in his career Bess moved to Sweden in 1970 where he lived for a period, illustrating for publications ...
,
Jaime Vallvé, Joan Boix,
Tony DePaul
Tony DePaul is the current writer of the Lee Falk created adventure comic strip The Phantom
''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional c ...
, Ulf Granberg,
Ben Raab
Benjamin Raab (born October 13, 1970, in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor.
Early life
Raab is a native of Cedarhurst, New York, and attended Lawrence High School. He gradu ...
,
Rolf Gohs,
Scott Goodall
Scott Goodall MBE (7 November 1935 – 7 March 2016) was a British comics writer.
Career
Goodall started out his comics career in the early-to-mid 1960s. He was part of a rotating cast of writers for the spooky strip ''The Strangest Stories Ever ...
,
Eirik Ildahl,
Kari Leppänen,
Hans Lindahl
Hans Lindahl (born October 15, 1954) is a Swedish comic book artist, best known for his work on the series ''The Phantom''. His work on the ''Phantom'' has been published in countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, England, Australia an ...
, Janne Lundström, Cesar Spadari,
Bob McLeod, Jean-Yves Mitton,
Lennart Moberg, Claes Reimerthi,
Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
,
Alex Saviuk
Alex Saviuk (; born August 17, 1952) is an American comics artist primarily known for his work on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man.
Early life
Alex Saviuk grew up on Long Island, New York, graduating from Floral Park Memorial High Schoo ...
,
Graham Nolan
Graham Nolan (born March 12, 1962) is an American comic book artist, best known for work for DC Comics on Batman-related titles in the 1990s and his work on ''The Phantom'' Sunday strip. He frequently collaborates with writer Chuck Dixon.
Biograp ...
,
Romano Felmang and
Norman Worker, and they have been nicknamed "Team Fantomen". The team have experimented with the character and his surroundings, with Singh Brotherhood leader Sandal Singh taking over as President of Bangalla and the Phantom and Diana having marriage problems. In 2018, the Norwegian branch of Egmont issued a statement that the Norwegian Fantomet edition would get cancelled at the end of 2018, thus leaving the Swedish edition as the only remaining edition in Scandinavia. The Phantom has been noticeable part of culture in Sweden especially. Between 1986 and 2009 there was even a "Fantomenland" (Phantom Land) at the Parken Zoo in
Eskilstuna
Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...
in Sweden.
Australia
In Australia, the ''
Australian Woman's Mirror
''The Australian Woman's Mirror'' was an Australian weekly women's magazine published by '' The Bulletin'' magazine in Sydney, between 1924 and 1961.
History
The first issue of the magazine was published on 25 November 1924 with the following ...
'' began publishing the strip in 1936 and
Frew Publications
Frew Publications is an Australian comic book publisher, known for its long-running reprint series of Lee Falk's ''The Phantom''. Frew formerly published other comics, including Falk's earlier creation '' Mandrake the Magician''.
History
Frew Pub ...
has published a fortnightly ''Phantom'' comic book since 1948, celebrating 60 years of uninterrupted publication in September 2008. Although Frew's comic book primarily contains reprints from the newspaper strips, ''Fantomen'' (translated into English) and other Phantom comic books, it has occasionally included original stories drawn by Australian artists such as
Keith Chatto
Ronald Keith Chatto (1924 – 22 October 1992) was an Australian comic book artist and writer. He was the first Australian illustrator to draw a full-length episode of ''The Phantom'' comic.
Biography
Keith Chatto was born at Kogarah, New South ...
. The editor-in-chief was Jim Shepherd until his death. Frew's ''The Phantom'' is the longest-running comic-book series with the character in the world, and Australia's bestselling comic book. Frew ''Phantom'' comics appear in a number of
Sydney Royal Easter Show
First held in 1823, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the Easter period. It comprises an agricultural show, an amusement park and a ...
, Royal Adelaide Show, Melbourne Show and
Perth Royal Show
The Perth Royal Show is an annual agricultural show held in Perth, Western Australia at the Claremont Showground. It features informational exhibits, agricultural competitions and animal showcases, a sideshow alley and rides, and showbags. It ...
showbag
A showbag is a themed bag of commercial products, novelty items and promotional merchandise, usually made available for purchase. It is a distinctive feature of Australian agricultural shows (the Australian equivalent of state fairs or travelling ...
s.
In 2013 publisher Jim Shepherd, who had bought the rights from the original owners during the late 1980s, died of a heart attack. Shepherd had taken over the company and introduced some minor changes to placate King Features, which had become unhappy at Frew's treatment of its character. Shepherd's changes included glossy covers (replacing the standard newsprint covers), brief editorials, regular 100-page specials and, most significantly, an annual special of between 200 and 300 pages which included multiple stories and a standalone "replica" reprint of a very early Frew edition. Shepherd also embarked on an ambitious project to reprint the entire backlist of Lee Falk stories in their original formats: Frew's reprints had often been heavily edited to fit its 32-page format. Following Shepherd's death, Frew and ''The Phantom'' were continued by Shepherd's wife Judith until she sold the business to artist
Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...
and Rene White in 2016. Since then, the new "Frew Crew" (with new publisher Dudley Hogarth) have introduced a range of innovations:
* ''Kid Phantom'', a standalone quarterly all-colour, glossy comic book aimed at children, with original material, illustrated by Dr Paul Mason and written by Andrew Constant.
* ''Giant-Size Phantom'', a standalone quarterly comic book series reprinting Frew's other characters from the 1950s as well as ''The Phantom''. The title revives an earlier title published by Frew between 1957 and 1960.
* ''Phantom's World'', a standalone quarterly comic book series which features Phantom stories from around the world, often seen for the first time in English, as well as original material.
New Zealand
King Features sold ''The Phantom'' to a number of New Zealand newspapers, included ''
The New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...
''. ''The Phantom'' also appeared in a successful comic from the Wellington-based Feature Publications during the 1950s. The Frew comics are also available in New Zealand.
India
In India, ''The Phantom'' first appeared in ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' in the 1950s. In 1964, the Indian publisher
Indrajal Comics
Indrajal Comics was a comic book series in India launched by the publisher of ''The Times of India'', Bennet, Coleman & Co in March 1964. The first 32 issues contained Lee Falk's ''The Phantom'' stories, but thereafter, the title alternated betwe ...
began publishing a ''Phantom'' comic book in English.
[Karline McLain,''India's Immortal Comic Books''. Indiana University Press, 2009, , (p. 30, 36).] Later Indrajal would also publish ''The Phantom'' in several Indian languages.
Over the years, other Indian publishers have printed Phantom comic books, the most prominent being
Diamond Comics
Diamond Comics is an Indian comic books publisher and distribution company, headquartered in Delhi. It is the largest comic book distributor and publisher in India. Diamond Comics created several original Indian comic characters like Chacha C ...
, Euro Books (formerly Egmont Imagination India), and Rani Comics. The
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
regional daily
Eenadu
''Eenadu'' () is the largest circulated Telugu-language daily newspaper of India sold mostly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.[Anandabazar Patrika
''Anandabazar Patrika'' (Bengali: আনন্দবাজার পত্রিকা, ) is an Indian Bengali-language daily newspaper owned by the ABP Group. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1 million cop ...](_blank)
, had published the comics in Bengali, under the character name, Aranyadeb (the god of the jungle), in their elite magazine, ''
Desh'', later in their children's periodical, ''
Anandamela
''Anandamela'', ''Anondamela'', or ''Anondomela'' (Bengali: আনন্দমেলা) is a children's periodical in the Bengali language published by the ABP Group from Kolkata, India.
History and profile
The first issue of ''Anandamela'' ...
'', and continue to publish the strips in their Bengali newspaper, ''Anandabazar Patrika''.Gujarathi newspaper Mumbai Samachar also used to print the Phantom comics in their Sunday supplement named Utsav.
Other countries
Italian publisher Nerbini reprinted the Phantom strip in its weekly comic newspaper L’Avventuroso, starting in issue 101, September 13, 1936. In 1939, Roberto Lemmi and Emilio Fancelli started to produce some new stories.
Italian publisher Fratelli Spada produced original Phantom stories for their ''L'Uomo Mascherato'' (''The Masked Man'') series of comic books during the 1960s and 1970s. Contributing artists included Raul Buzzelli, Mario Caria, Umberto Sammarini ("Usam"), Germano Ferri, Senio Pratesi, Angelo R. Todaro, and
Romano Felmang. Ferri, Usam, Felmang and Caria later worked for ''Fantomen''. Brazilian publisher RGE and German publisher
Bastei
The Bastei is a rock formation rising 194 metres above the Elbe River in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains of Germany. Reaching a height of 305 metres above sea level, the jagged rocks of the Bastei were formed by water erosion over one million years ...
produced original Phantom stories for their comic books; in Brazil, the Phantom is known as ''o Fantasma''.
In 1939, the Phantom appeared in the second story of the Yugoslav comic ''
Zigomar'', "Zigomar versus the Phantom", as an opponent and then an ally of the title character.
In South Africa, ''The Phantom'' ran in Afrikaans newspapers as ''Die Skim''. In the Republic of Ireland, the Phantom appeared in both the ''
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis.
The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines.
Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' and ''
Sunday Independent'' newspapers during the 1950s and 1960s.
Also in 1939, the Phantom appeared in Turkey as "Kizilmaske", which translates to "Red Mask" in Turkish, by publishers Tay Yayinlari. Originally, the publishers colored the hero's costume in red on the covers, and decided to stay with that color throughout the history of the comic in Turkey, rather than use the original purple coloring. Under the name "Kizilmaske" and with color covers drawn by Turkish artists, older Lee Falk stories of the Phantom has since appeared in Turkish comic books primarily in black and white.
Reprints
The entire run of the ''Phantom'' newspaper strip was reprinted in Australia by
Frew Publications
Frew Publications is an Australian comic book publisher, known for its long-running reprint series of Lee Falk's ''The Phantom''. Frew formerly published other comics, including Falk's earlier creation '' Mandrake the Magician''.
History
Frew Pub ...
, and edited versions of most stories have been published in the Scandinavian ''Phantom'' comics. In the United States, the following Phantom stories (written by Lee Falk) have been reprinted by
Nostalgia Press
Woodrow Gelman (1915 – February 9, 1978) was a publisher, cartoonist, novelist and an artist-writer for both animation and comic books. As the publisher of Nostalgia Press, he pioneered the reprinting of vintage comic strips in quality hardcov ...
(NP), Pacific Comics Club (PCC) or
Comics Revue
''Comics Revue'' is a bi-monthly small press comic book published by Manuscript Press and edited by Rick Norwood. Don Markstein's Toonopedia, Don Markstein edited the publication from 1984 to 1987 and 1992 to 1996.
As of 2020, it has published ...
(CR):
* "The Sky Band", Ray Moore, November 9, 1936, CR
* "The Diamond Hunters", Ray Moore, April 12, 1937, PCC
* "Little Tommy", Ray Moore, September 20, 1937, PCC
* "The Prisoner of the Himalayas", Ray Moore, February 7, 1938, NP
* "Adventure in Algiers", Ray Moore, June 20, 1938, CR
* "The Shark's Nest", Ray Moore, July 25, 1938, PCC
* "Fishers of Pearls", Ray Moore, November 7, 1938, CR
* "The Slave Traders", Ray Moore, January 30, 1939, CR
* "The Mysterious Girl", Ray Moore, May 8, 1939, CR
* "The Golden Circle", Ray Moore, September 4, 1939, PCC
* "The Seahorse", Ray Moore, January 22, 1940, PCC
* "The Game of Alvar", Ray Moore, July 29, 1940, PCC
* "Diana Aviatrix", Ray Moore, December 16, 1940, PCC
* "The Phantom's Treasure", Ray Moore, July 14, 1941, PCC
* "The Phantom Goes to War", Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy, February 2, 1942, PCC
* "The Slave Markets of Mucar", Sy Barry, August 21, 1961, CR
![Phantom image on Papua New Guinea shield](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Phantom_image_on_Papua_New_Guinea_shield.jpg)
In its October 2009 issue, ''Comics Revue'' began reprinting the Sunday story "The Return of the Sky Band" in color.
As of August 2019,
Hermes Press
Hermes Press is an American publisher of art books, comic books, and comic book reprints. The company was founded in 2000 and is best known for their archival reprints of classic comic book and strip series and art books.
History
Hermes Press was ...
has reprinted sixteen volumes of Phantom dailies and five volumes of Phantom Sundays. Volumes nine and ten of the dailies also carry the color Sundays from 1949 to 1951, when the stories for dailies and Sundays were synchronized. More planned. In 2011 Hermes began reprinting the Complete Gold Key Volumes 1 & 2 with issues 1–17 and King's Complete ''Phantom'' issues 18–28 comics side by side.
The following year, it began reprinting the Charlton Years: Volume One through volume Five issues 30–74 (There is no issue 29, it was an international publication.) Hermes has also published a full size Phantom Sunday Archives, 1939–1942.
Other media
A live action serial entitled
''The Phantom'' was released in 1943 stars
Tom Tyler
Tom Tyler (born Vincent Markowski; August 9, 1903 – May 1, 1954) was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 s ...
. As the
alter ego
An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...
of Kit Walker had not yet been introduced in the comic strip the serial uses the moniker Geoffrey Prescott.
The 1986 Animated series ''
Defenders of the Earth
''Defenders of the Earth'' is an American animated television series produced in 1986, featuring characters from three comic strips distributed by King Features Syndicate—Flash Gordon, The Phantom, Mandrake the Magician, and Mandrake's assista ...
'' is a team-up between The Phantom,
Mandrake the Magician
''Mandrake the Magician'' is a syndicated newspaper comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloon ...
(another hero by Lee Falk) and Flash Gordon.
The animated series ''
Phantom 2040
''Phantom 2040'' is an animated series that is loosely based on the comic strip superhero ''The Phantom'', created by Lee Falk. The central character of the series is said to be the 24th Phantom. It was aired from September 18, 1994 to March 3, ...
''ran for two series between 1994 and 1996. It follows the 24th Phantom.
A live action film of
''The Phantom'' was released in 1996, starring
Billy Zane
William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the 1989 Australian film ''Dead Calm'', a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promi ...
.
A live action mini-series,
''The Phantom'', was released on
Syfy
Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...
in 2009 starring
Ryan Carnes
Ryan Gregg Carnes
at TV.com (born November 21, 1982) is an American actor. He is most known for playing the ...
as the 22nd phantom.
Tribal pop art
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, soldiers received care packages containing comics. The soldiers stationed in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
shared these comics, and the Phantom became extremely popular among the tribes. The Papuan people who could read English would read the stories and share the images with others (by the 1970s they were available in
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from s ...
,
Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...
). The character's image is often painted on ceremonial shields or alongside other tribal art. This is sometimes referred to as "tribal pop art."
[Archived a]
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
References
External links
The Phantomon
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom, The
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