New@FREW



Frew #1435
by Antonio Lemos
#1435
(this edition is the 1463rd actually printed)

Release Date: 6 Jan 2006

  • Pages: 36
  • Price: $2.50 inc. GST
  • Cover: Antonio Lemos
  • No Phantom Forum in this issue

Fantomen Nr.16/1983
by Rolf Gohs

  • The Ghost Comet
    • Script: Idi Kharelli
    • Art: Kari Leppänen
    • First published in Fantomen Nr.16/1983 by Semic, Sweden. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Ulf Granberg.

  • Message from the Publisher:
    We travel back to 1983 in this edition to pick up on The Ghost Comet, a story published all those years ago in Scandinavia, but which has never previously been released in Australia.
    The Ghost Comet was voted one of the most popular stories in Sweden and Norway that year. And for good reason! Writer 'Idi Kharelli' (pen name of veteran scripter Eirik IIdahl) and artist Kari Leppänen clearly had loads of fun with this adventure!
    While they had no intention of creating a new 'Old Jungle Saying', they have cleverly followed Lee Falk's tried and trusted technique to show how it was always done. Refer to the climax of this story and the depictions of natives recalling how The Phantom 'picked up a star which fell and threw it back into the sky' ... and you will get the point. In so many Phantom stories, some simple illusion by The Ghost Who Walks so dazzled the natives that an OJS was born overnight. An easy example can be found in the 1959-60 story, Oogooru and the Witchmen, which last appeared in Frew's 2001 Annual Special. In that adventure, The Phantom had Hero suspended in a sling under a helicopter which was hidden in low cloud ... the legend of The Phantom and his great flying horse was born!
    I know you will enjoy The Ghost Comet! Just as interesting as the background to a potential Old Jungle Saying, is the character of the villain in the story! He's such a conniving, cowardly and cringing creature it's hard not to feel sorry for him!
    Our next issue is the first BIG ONE for 2006 - the 2006 Annual Special! It goes on sale on 20 January as a 284-page whopper complete with a bonus replica of Frew #15 (final part of the Golden Circle adventure) from 1949. And - because Frew has once again absorbed all the extra costs of paper and production - at the traditional retail price of $11.00 (inc GST)! Simply - that's the Frew way of thanking all Phantom enthusiasts for their enduring loyalty. I guarantee you will have hours of enjoyment from the 2006 Annual Special. We have showcased seven Lee Falk classics (The Game of Alvar, Diana Aviatrix Lost, The Phantom's Treasure, Castle in the Clouds, The Scarlet Sorceress, Rex: Prince of Baronkhan and Massacre at Walker's Table). That means you have art from Raymond Moore, Wilson McCoy and Sy Barry, all reproduced from new, enhanced masters. All seven stories will run in strict order of appearance, commencing with the oldest (The Game of Alvar) and those among you who like to study the art as much as read the stories, are in for an historic adventure. The development and modernisation of the art over the years through to Sy Barry and beyond, is absolutely fascinating. All the usual features are included in the Annual Special. You will find the full 2005 Frew publishing chronology, details of best-selling issues and most popular covers and a tricky little trivia quiz!
    Another reminder about the bonus replica issue! Frew No 15 was one of a few early issues printed in what was known as a landscape format with the spine staples on the short side. Be careful when you open the replica for the first time, because it is all too easy to tear the front cover!
    A reminder that on 17 February, we will bring you yet another collector's edition which will celebrate the 70th Birthday of The Phantom. It comes complete with a special liftout, separate issue tracing the incredible career of Lee Falk, creator of Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom!

Jim Shepherd
Publisher


Future issues planned as of 20 Nov 2005 (subject to change without notice):

Check the New@Egmont and The Missing Semic Stories pages for details of other upcoming stories.

My thanks to the staff of Frew Publications for providing this information.


More Frew stuff ...



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Bryan Shedden / guran@deepwoods.org
Last updated 7 January 2006