New@FREW

Release Date: 1 August 2003

• Pages: 36
• Price: $2.20 inc. GST
• Cover: Antonio Lemos
• No Phantom Forum in this issue

• Nebuchadnezzar's Ring
  • Script: Tony De Paul
  • Art: Paul Ryan
  • First published in Fantomen Nr.14/2003 by Egmont, Scandinavia. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Brian Jensen.

• Message from the Publisher:
  Another new adventure in this issue from the writer-artist team of Tony De Paul and Paul Ryan. Nebuchadnezzar's Ring takes us back to the year 1831 and the time of the 14th Phantom.
  Covers for this issue are by Antonio Lemos and this is the 99th cover he has created for Frew! Antonio has promised something really special to mark his 100th cover, which should appear in either August or September and we have promised him free rein to design what will be a collector's item.
  Back to Nebuchadnezzar! Strangely, while so many people know the name, few seem to know much about him! It will be worth your while carrying out some private research. He was, you will discover, the second and greatest king of the Chaldean dynasty, known for his military might, the splendour of his capital, Babylon and his important role in Jewish history. You will find many references to him in the Bible and despite what you will read, in modern times, he has been treated as a type of Godless conqueror. Napoleon was compared to him! The story of Nebuchadnezzar is the basis of Giuseppe Verdi's opera, Nabucco and his supposed seven years of madness is the theme of a famous William Blake painting titled simply, Nebuchadnezzar. His ring, which forms the main theme of the story in this issue, is more myth than fact, but there are still many historians who believe it existed! Who knows? For many years, people doubted the recorded existence of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which Nebuchadnezzar allegedly created out of love and respect for his wife, a Medean Princess. Yet there is now overwhelming evidence to suggest the Hanging Gardens really did exist at some time in the period of his reign as King of Babylon!
  Read on - and take your time. You will be fascinated!

Jim Shepherd
Publisher

[Comment from Guran: This is a rather peculiar story because it makes no mention of the fact that the Great Ring of Nebuchadnezzar is actually one of the rare items in the Major Treasure Room of the Skull Cave. The ring was shown in the Sunday strips on 24 Jan 1971 (see below), where it was no larger than a typical ring that could be worn by a man. In this new story by Tony De Paul, the ring is much larger (about 200mm diameter), and in 1831 was buried in the sands near the ancient city of Babylon, where it has remained ever since.]