Fantomen Nr.20/2003
by Rolf Gohs
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- The Apprentice
- Script: Ben Raab
- Art: Heiner Bade
- First published with the title The Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantomen Nr.20/2003 by Egmont, Scandinavia. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Brian Jensen.
- Message from the Publisher:
Presenting a truly intriguing story! The Apprentice, written by Ben Raab and illustrated by Heiner Bade, takes us back to the school days of the future 13th Phantom and features a spooky setting in rural aide England.
There are overtones of Merlin the wizard and you will learn something about the ancient belief in alchemy - the still to be discovered secret of turning base metals into gold!
The belief in alchemy dates back to the pre-Christian era and was possibly at its strongest in the late medieval period when nitric, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids were discovered and alchemists went in pursuit of the "philosopher's stone", or elixir which would make possible the transformation of metal into gold.
In the early 16th century attempts to create miracles using alchemy again came into vogue and you may be surprised to learn that even Isaac Newton, the famous philosopher and mathematician, who is credited with discovering the theory of gravitation among other achievements, was a keen believer and a dabbler in the occult.
The secrets of alchemy, if indeed they actually exist, have never been revealed. Yet there are still believed to be thousands of amateur scientists (mainly based in remote parts of Europe) whose faith remains and who continue to experiment!
Establishment scientists and chemists consider it nothing more than hokus-pokus, but despite their ridicule, nothing will shake the devotees!
There are more new adventures on the way!
In Frew #1367 (on sale 24 October) we will bring you The Cruel Revenge, written by Claes Reimerthi and illustrated by Joan Boix. The story is largely set in the exotic location of Venice and contains a tragedy which I'll keep secret for the time being. Suffice to say it concerns The Phantom, young Chris and The Phantom's wife! I have no doubt this story will create some controversy. Writer Reimerthi has taken a few calculated guesses about unrecorded (by Lee Falk) Phantom history!
That will be followed by an adventure set in modern times called, The Boy from San Diablo, written by Graham Nolan and illustrated by Kari Leppänen. The author is the same Graham Nolan who illustrates the current Sunday newspaper Phantom adventures. In this story, the setting is in the mysterious Caribbean islands between North and South America and Leppänen (who lives in the much colder climes in Scandinavia!) perfectly captures the tropical heat and vegetation and includes plenty of gun-toting, heavily moustachioed villains for good measure! Watch for it in Frew #1368, on sale on 7 November.
We have three more editions to follow before we bring you our 2003 Christmas Special, which will go on sale on 19 December. This year's Christmas Special will be another collector's joy, because the issue will be the 1400th Phantom comic book published by Frew! Collectors seem to love Frew issues with large and even numbers and there is no doubt that Frew's 1500th issue, which should appear around late 2006, or early 2007 will have magic appeal!
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