New@FREW

Release Date: 15 August 2003

• Pages: 36
• Price: $2.20 inc. GST
• Cover: Hans Lindahl & Jim Shepherd
• No Phantom Forum in this issue

• Curse of the Troll Drum
  • Script: Claes Reimerthi
  • Art: Hans Lindahl
  • First published in Fantomen Nr.15/2003 by Egmont, Scandinavia. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Brian Jensen.

• Message from the Publisher:
  Claes Reimerthi and artist Hans Lindahl have combined to produce the fascinating historical adventure in this edition. Curse of the Troll Drum is a mix of fiction, mythology and fact!
  Lee Falk, the creator of The Phantom, was intensely interested in the legends of trolls and leprechauns and his famous 1968 Sunday story, The Little Ones, which Frew will re-present in the very near future, delves into the subject.
  You will find it rewarding to carry out some research into the troll legends. There is plenty of information on the Internet and in many CD-Rom encyclopedia releases. If you intend looking, search for information on the character Carl Linnaeus, who appears early in the story. Carl Linnaeus and Professor "Rudbeckius" were real-life people! Linnaeus is the Latinised form of the surname Carl von Linne and he was the 18th century botanist to whom we owe the modern system of classifying plants and animals by generic and specific names. Professor "Rudbeckius" is based on the famous Swedish botanist Professor Rudbeck, who employed Linnaeus in his famous botanical gardens and as a deputy university lecturer. Author Reimerthi has set this story in Amsterdam, where Linnaeus worked for a long period in between field trips to Lapland, England, France and Sweden.
  In our next issue (Frew #1362, on sale 29 August), The Phantom will be heavily involved in more history in an adventure called, The Lyre of Homer. If the Greek epic poet's lyre doesn't ring an immediate bell, here's a clue. Homer's Lyre is among the many priceless items in The Phantom's Major Treasure Room and was first mentioned by Lee Falk in the 1970 story, Alexander's Diamond Cup! Homer's lyre was later mentioned in Lee Falk stories on several occasions and once was referred to as the "Ivory Lyre of Homer". The story behind the presence of the lyre in the Major Treasure Room may soon be revealed! A lyre, incidentally, is a stringed instrument which originated in Ancient Greece. Not all the stories behind The Phantom line's acquisition of so many treasures have been told, so The Lyre of Homer promises to be a story with a real difference. Homer (the Iliad and Odyssey) was a really strange character about whom little is known, despite the fact that he has come to represent, for many different ages and tastes, the epitome of poetry and was a great influence on many classical writers.
  The issue to follow is yet another new adventure entitled The Treasure in Ronda, about which, more later.

Jim Shepherd
Publisher