Frew 2006 Annual Special



Frew #1436
Terry Welsby (Tessa)
#1436
(this edition is the 1464th actually printed)

Release Date: 20 Jan 2006

  • Pages: 284 (plus 24 page replica of #15)
  • Price: $11.00 inc. GST
  • Cover: Terry Welsby (Tessa)
  • No Phantom Forum in this issue
  • Annual Trivia Quiz, Frew 2005 Publishing Chronology, Statistics (pp.280-282)

Frew #15

  • The Game of Alvar
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Ray Moore
    • 13th daily newspaper story; 29 Jul - 14 Dec 1940.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #7 (1949 & 1998 replica), #120 (1957), #211 (1962), #460 (1971), #939 (1989).
    • The title of this story was incorrectly spelt on the cover ("Alva")

  • Diana Aviatrix Lost
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Ray Moore
    • 14th daily newspaper story; 16 Dec 1940 - 12 Jul 1941.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #23/24 (1950), #124/125 (1958), #223/224 (1962), #351/355 (1967), #513 (1973), #935A (1989).
    • In the introduction to this story, it is claimed that it is "one of the longest daily strip stories in the Chronicles". At 30 weeks, it is the equal 8th longest daily story. The longest daily stories are The Phantom Goes to War (D16, 49 weeks), The Tarashima Terrorists (D160, 40 weeks), The Singh Brotherhood (D1, 38 weeks), Romance and the Vesta Pirates, (D30, 35 weeks), Tale of Rex (D149, 34 weeks), The Mysterious Ambassador (D85, 33 weeks), The Governor and Suzie (D19, 31 weeks), and The Maharajah's Daughter (D22, 30 weeks).

  • The Phantom's Treasure
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Ray Moore
    • 15th daily newspaper story; 14 Jul 1941 - 31 Jan 1942.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #5 (1948 & 1996 replica), #76B (1955), #144 (1959), #244 (1963), #379 (1968), #541 (1974), #722 (1981), #972 (1991).

  • Castle in the Clouds
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Ray Moore & Wilson McCoy
    • 8th Sunday newspaper story; 18 Oct 1942 - 18 Apr 1943.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #20 (1950), #107 (1957), #197 (1961), #308 (1966), #457 (1971), #975 (1991).

  • The Scarlet Sorceress
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Ray Moore & Wilson McCoy
    • 16th Sunday newspaper story; 11 Aug - 22 Dec 1946.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #37 (1951), Giant Size 14 (1959), #955 (1990).

  • Rex: Prince of Baronkhan
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 166th daily newspaper story; 6 Feb - 5 Aug 1989.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #948A (1990).

  • Massacre at Walker's Table
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 167th daily newspaper story; 7 Aug - 11 Nov 1989.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #955 (1990).
    • The introduction to this story incorrectly stated that it was originally published as The Massacre. That was a related but different story which was the 87th Sunday story published in 1972.

  • Message from the Publisher:
    Presenting - the 2006 Annual Special, the 16th in the series!
    Seven old classics have been lovingly restored and this Annual again contains a bonus replica edition. All the classic stories have been out of print for many years and rather than reproduce from film on file, we have reproduced from digitally restored copies of the original masters. Not a single frame has been dropped, but the eagle-eyed among you will note that there are a few examples of some frames and continuity boxes being transposed. Sadly, such minor modifications were necessary to avoid cropping or enlarging panels. The old daily and Sunday stories were designed for newspapers when newspapers were both larger in page size and Sunday comics supplements huge compared with today.
    I know you will enjoy all the stories ... 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. All are from the pen of Lee Falk and the artists involved are Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy and Sy Barry, the three most famous Phantom artists in newspaper strip history.
    The replica issue is the final episode of The Golden Circle, which appeared in Frew #15, published in 1949. Remember this was a landscape printing format, so be careful when you turn the front cover for the first time!
    Most of the classic stories included in this Annual have been out of print for up to 15 years, so new Phantom fans have hours of reading enjoyment ahead. Old hand enthusiasts may have seen the stories before, but I'm sure will agree they have never seen them reproduced in such quality. The first six stories are now some 60-odd years old! That they still stand up as wonderful comics adventures is a tribute to the creativity of Lee Falk and the artists involved. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Lee Falk was a comics story-teller years ahead of his time! Remember that during this period he was also writing daily and Sunday adventures of Mandrake the Magician, his first comics creation!
    Frew edition #1438, on sale everywhere on 17 February, will celebrate the 70th Birthday of The Phantom and as luck would have it, will go on sale on the exact day The Phantom made his newspaper debut in 1936. In that birthday edition, we will again highlight the work of Ray Moore, Wilson McCoy and Sy Barry. And - there will be a very special bonus lift-out supplement showcasing the remarkable career of Lee Falk. Research into Lee's life in comics and the theatre, began nine months ago and with the generous assistance of Lee's eldest daughter, Valerie Falk Falbo, we have been able to unearth many unknown facts about Lee the man and Lee the creator. I can guarantee even the most dedicated fans will be surprised at what we have discovered - not only about the true background to the creation of The Phantom, but about Lee's quite amazing career as a playwright and his years of involvement as a director and producer of stage plays and musicals throughout the United States! You will also learn about his family life, his hobbies and his lifestyle. At the end of it, you will almost certainly begin thinking along the lines of Lee being the gifted - and certainly the most durable - creator in the world history of comics! His Mandrake the Magician and The Phantom characters are still appearing world-wide after 72 years and will be around for the foreseeable future!

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 14 January 2006