The Phantom:
A Publishing History in Australia

by Bryan Shedden

The Phantom Diaries (1993-2007)

Mallon Publishing Pty. Ltd. (1993-2007)

In late 1992, Mallon Publishing produced the first of the Australian Phantom Diaries (1993), and continued to produce one for each year. The first five diaries have a sturdy hardcover, measuring 215mm x 265mm, and contain about 128 pages. Most of the diaries had one week to a double-page, with little tidbits of Phantom facts intermixed throughout. Several double-page spreads were also included, each covering a specific aspect of The Phantom's world. A brief index of the content of each issue is listed below. The 1994 edition included reprints of the newspaper strip stories The Gooley-Gooley Witch (S82) and Aboard the S.S. Gay (D55); and the 1997 edition featured a little flicker image on the top page (copied from the Better Little Book The Phantom and Desert Justice).

The 1998 Diary was the first in a new series in a "convenient new format". The hardcover was replaced with a wiro-bound softcover, and the size of the diary was reduced to 170mm x 230mm. The retail price remained at Aus$19.95, increasing to Aus$22 for the 2004 diary. The new format featured a selection of various Phantom comic covers on the left page opposite each weekly page on the right. The double-page spreads of Phantom facts were dropped. The new series was published irregularly, and included diaries for 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004 (numbered #1, #2, #3 and #4). No diaries were produced for 1999, 2001 or 2002.

The 2005 Diary was the first of yet another new format with a cover price of Aus$24.95. This version features a hard cover with wiro binding inside. Otherwise, the content of the diary is similar to the ones from 1998-2004. This format was repeated for the 2006 and 2007 Diaries.

1993 1994 1995

Text by Jim Shepherd

  • Hero and Devil
  • The First Phantom
  • Mr. Walker
  • The Twins
  • Hideouts
  • Villains
  • The International Phantom
  • The Wedding

Text by Jim Shepherd

  • The Singh Brotherhood
  • Diana in Trouble
  • The Truth About Hero
  • The Phantom on Film
  • The Phantom in Paperback
  • Trapped!
  • Monsters, Giants and Aliens
  • Kids' Stuff
  • The Milk Drinker

  • The Phantom Ancestry
  • The Phantom Artists
  • The Phantom Treasure
    (by Bryan Shedden)
  • The 12 Tasks
  • Phantomania
  • The Wives of The Phantom
  • Giant Antogonists
  • The Golden Ox
  • The Phantom Trading Cards
1996 1997 1998

Lee Falk's Favourite Stories

  • The Childhood of The Phantom
  • Queen Samaris XII
  • Masked Marvel
  • Blackie
  • Princess Valerie
  • The Chain
  • The Test
  • Great Drums of Timpenni
  • Wedding of The Phantom

The Phantom Movie
Commemorative Edition

  • The Phantom Movie
  • The Singh Brotherhood
  • Phantom: Nemesis of Pirates
  • Kabai Singh
  • Sixty Years of Phantom History
  • Sala
  • Diana and the Pirates
  • Phantom Humour
  • Lee Falk: Creator of The Phantom

New Series No.1

2000 2003 2004

New Series No.2

New Series No.3

  • A Phantom crossword competition with a page of Glenn Ford's original artwork to #1131 The Search for Byron as the prize
  • 16 covers from USA
  • 8 covers from Australia
  • 8 covers from India
  • 5 covers from Sweden
  • 4 Bera-Na-Liva covers from Fiji
  • 4 covers from Italy
  • 2 NZ Feature covers
  • 2 covers from England
  • 2 covers from Spain
  • 1 cover from Denmark
  • 1 cover from Thailand

New Series No.4

2005 2006 2007



Guess what? More covers from around the world. These come from Australia, USA, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Poland and England.

Trielle Corporation (1997)

Designed and written by Steve Panozzo and Stuart O'Connor (see below), this nice little 1997 diary was produced by Trielle. It was designed to capitalise on the release of The Phantom Movie in 1996. The diary had a softcover, measuring 135mm x 190mm, and contained 128 pages. The contents were very similar in design to the Mallon diaries (one week per double page, several double page trivia pages), but was a bit more practical for everyday use. The guys who put the diary together "borrowed" many images from this website and gave me full credit in the acknowledgements ... not to mention a free copy! Thanks fellas. Unfortunately, Trielle have since gone broke and this diary was strictly a one-off.


© 2006 KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. THE HEARST CORPORATION


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Bryan Shedden / guran@deepwoods.org
Last updated 2 December 2006