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- The Haunted Castle
- Script: Lee Falk
- Art: Ray Moore & Wilson McCoy
- 21st Sunday newspaper story; 12 Sep 1948 - 13 Feb 1949.
- Previous Frew appearances: #49 (1952), Giant Size #1 (1957), Giant Size #26 (1961), #950 (1990).
- The Bike Gang
- Script: Lee Falk
- Art: Sy Barry
- 88th Sunday newspaper story; 3 Sep - 5 Nov 1972.
- Previous Frew appearances: #504 (1973), #682 (1980), #912 (1988).
- Great Raptor of Rhua
- Script: Lee Falk
- Art: Sy Barry
- 164th daily newspaper story; 23 May - 3 Sep 1988.
- Previous Frew appearances: #930 (1989).
- Chasamba
- Script: Lee Falk
- Art: Sy Barry
- 165th daily newspaper story; 5 Sep 1988 - 4 Feb 1989.
- Previous Frew appearances: #935 (1989).
- Message from the Publisher:
Back to the glorious past in this special, 100-page edition in which we feature four golden oldies from the pen of Lee Falk. All four have been out of print for many years and all are re-presented using digital enhancements of the masters.
The oldest of the four is The Haunted Castle, which originally appeared in 1948-49 and has not been seen in a Frew edition for some 14 years. The art for this classic is credited to original Phantom artist Ray Moore and this is officially the last adventure of The Ghost Who Walks in which he had input. Now turn to the splash page to read more about his actual contribution - you may be surprised to discover how little that was! Keen students of Moore's work, and his understudy Wilson McCoy, will quickly spot McCoy's heavy contribution to the art. McCoy had his own, very special, style for jungle scenes and tended to draw The Phantom in a heavier and shorter manner which was quite distinct from Moore's slimmer depictions. He was, of course, able to imitate Moore's style when it was absolutely essential (The Phantom Goes to War classic which McCoy largely illustrated, is a classic example).
The second story is a Lee Falk-Sy Barry Sunday from 1972. The Bike Gang has not appeared in a Frew edition since #912 in 1988, which means it has been out of print for almost 16 years.
Our third offering is the daily adventure, The Great Raptor of Rhua which originally appeared in 1988. This Lee Falk-Sy Barry gem showcases Sy's brilliance in depicting animals, birds and reptiles (he was a master of everything in comics!).
The fourth adventure is Chasamba, another partnership between writer Falk and artist Barry. This story immediately followed The Great Raptor of Rhua in the daily chronology for 1988. It had its last Frew appearance in #935 in 1989. Chasamba is a longer than normal daily story and the sort of plot which always appealed to Sy ... lots of intrigue, great settings and plenty of opportunities to depict The Phantom fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds. Our splash page provides a great deal of new background to this story, which Lee - as did so many other comics creators of the time - used to campaign against international drug distribution and the evil-doers who seek to profit from this most sordid of activities.
In future issues we will bring back many more Lee Falk classics in their entirety and you will see a healthy batch in our 2004 Christmas Special and also in the 2005 Annual edition. By our estimation, we have around 18 old Phantom adventures to reassemble to ensure the Frew Chronology can finally claim to have published every Lee Falk story in full. It takes time! However, the light is burning a little more brightly at the end of a long tunnel!
With just ordinary luck, we should reach our goal by the beginning of the year 2006 - hopefully, in time for that year's Annual Special. 2006 will be the year in which The Phantom will enter its 70th year of world-wide publication and while that milestone is by far the most important, Frew will also have achieved a special goal - to become the first publishing company in the world to have presented every Lee Falk daily and Sunday Phantom story in full!
In our next edition, on sale 3 September, we will return to the continuing saga of the experiences of the 21st Phantom in his first year.
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