- 99.94 Editions are about to release the third print in their series of limited edition Phantom prints. This one is by legendary newspaper strip artist, Sy Barry. The original oil painting was featured at OZCON7, and is a superb piece of work. Check it out at the above link.
24 November 1998
- I'm sorry to report that Mallon Publishing will not be producing a Phantom Diary for 1999. The 1998 diary did not sell particularly well so they have decided to take a break for a year. If you'd like to see one in 2000, I recommend that you write and tell them so. Send all correspondence to Nola Mallon, Mallon Publishing Pty. Ltd., 22 Warburton Rd, Canterbury VIC 3126, Australia, Ph. 03 9836 0485.
- I forgot to mention Sy Barry's visit to Australia! Sy was a special guest at OZCON in Sydney on 26 and 27 September (yes, I missed meeting him since I was honeymooning in Germany). He also attended a Cocktail Party held on his behalf at Customs House, Newcastle on 30 September. Sy's visit to Australia was organised by Dietmar Liederwasch of 99.94 Editions to launch the limited edition Phantom print that Sy recently completed. The print was displayed at OZCON -- a beautiful painting showing the 6th Phantom with sword held aloft, and the four founding members of The Jungle Patrol behind him.
1 November 1998
Fiona and I have finally returned from our honeymoon in Germany (6.5 weeks!). Sincere thanks to those who sent their best wishes. I will be slowly adding more to the site over the coming weeks. In the meantime, here's a brief review of the latest news:
- Frew's 50th Anniversary celebrations on the night of September 9th, were truly amazing. I will be reporting on the proceedings in the near future, with many photos (provided the developing works!).
- The "Index of the First 50 Years of The Phantom ", published with the anniversary issue #1209, was an extremely useful mass of data. I will be sorting through it in detail over the next few weeks and comparing it with my own research. After that there will be a major upgrade of the reference lists on this site.
- The inside back cover of #1209 featured an advertisement for a new company called Phantom's Vault. I met the Director of the company, Rene White, at the anniversary celebrations, and discussed his new Phantom products. Rene's heart is certainly in the right place, and I strongly recommend his stuff for this reason. Direct your enquiries to PO Box 2206, Clovelly NSW 2031, Australia, Ph. (0414) 460 901, Fax. (02) 9398 1823.
- I also met Dietmar Liederwasch, the fellow behind the new limited edition Phantom prints. He has gone to enormous trouble in preparing the prints, and the appearance of Sy Barry at OZCON was made possible with Dietmar's support. I will soon provide some preview images of the new artwork for the prints, so that phans can see what they're all about. Direct your enquiries to PO Box 451, Hamilton NSW 2303, Australia, Ph./Fax (02) 4961 1637.
9 September 1998
- Today's the day ... the 50th Anniversary of Frew Publications!!! I have yet to see the special anniversary issue, but will soon pick it up. I will be attending the celebrations for Frew Publications being held tonight at The Taronga Convention Centre in Sydney. Special invited guests include Bob Griffin, Pete Klaus, Richard Fry, Tony Di Dio, Paul Whittle and many others. I'll be sure to take lots of photos! Unfortunately, I will not be able to report on the event until early November, since (fortunately) I will be on honeymoon in Germany and Austria from tomorrow. Please understand that I cannot update this web-site during the interim, and probably will not be able to reply to any email or guest-book messages. In the meantime, enjoy the latest addition of the FREW Phantom Cover Archive which includes ALL issues from #1 to #100. Bye for now! .... Bryan Shedden
25 August 1998
- Flatt World Figures have announced they will be producing an 8" poseable Phantom figure. Check out their website for details and a couple of pictures of the prototype.
- After a weekend shopping excursion in Sydney, I discovered that Comic Kingdom in Liverpool St. have piles of DC and Marvel Phantom comics for those who are searching for them. They also have the Pacific Comics Club reprint of Return of the Sky Band ($16), issue #2 of the 1987 Defenders of the Earth series ($2.50), plus the excellent Phantom ceramic plate produced by Monkeys of Melbourne (shows the classic Ray Moore crossed-arms pose) for $30.
20 July 1998
- Some news for those with more dollars than sense: an Australian company going by the name of 99.94 Editions is about to launch a limited edition of fine art prints depicting all 21 Phantoms in the line. Each print will cost Aus$145 (including postage) and will be produced at the rate of one every four months. 800 copies of each print will be produced, plus a further 16 artist's proofs (Aus$250 each). For more details check p.32 of Frew #1204, or make enquiries to 99.94 Editions, PO Box 451, Hamilton NSW 2303, Australia.
9 June 1998
- It's finally happened! Today The Phantom made his first appearance in the Mandrake daily strip, wearing his full Phantom costume. This rare cross-over is a return favour for Mandrake and Lothar's appearance at the wedding of the 21st Phantom in 1977. It would be truly wonderful if Jim Shepherd decides to run this latest Mandrake story as a special extra in the Frew Phantom comic. Hopefully he agrees and can get appropriate permission from KFS.
1 June 1998
- A colour edition of the The Phantom daily strip can now be obtained free at the San Jose Mercury News website (previously it cost US$5 per month). Best of all is that there is no two week delay like at the King Features website. You will need to register and wait at least 48 hours before your request is processed. After that there are about 100 different comic strip titles that you can access (many in colour), including both The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician.
- Speaking of Mandrake the Magician ... Kit Walker recently made an appearance at Mandrake and Narda's third wedding ceremony, repaying his gratitude by rescuing them all from a time-bomb!
27 March 1998
- Jim and Judith Shepherd from Frew Publications will be jetting off soon for their annual trip to the USA (21 May). They will visit King Features to have final discussions concerning The Phantom Magazine, which should be published to coincide with Frew's 50th anniversary (9 September 1998). There will also be a special anniversary edition Phantom comic, which has been discussed previously
- It appears that the current daily and Sunday Phantom stories are drawing to a close, with the final panels appearing on the 18th and 19th of April, respectively.
- Has everyone been following the Mandrake daily strips on the King Features website? If so then you would have noticed that Mandrake has married his long-time girlfriend Narda ... twice already and a third wedding is currently in progress! Those with a keen eye would also have noticed that Narda's wedding ring is carved from a solid diamond ... just like Diana Palmer-Walker's.
- Several new Phantom websites from Swedish fans: Fredrik Oljequist (moved from old URL), Mark Singelton, Daniel Swedin, Stefan Söderdahl, Jonas Wass, Stefan Öhrling and Jesper Ims. My sincere thanks to Brian Jensen for informing me about all but the last one. I'll add some of the better ones to my links page.
22 March 1998
- The Big Little Books Club now have their own official web site. Check it out! In case you're not sure what "Big Little Books" have to do with The Phantom, look HERE.
21 March 1998
- Ivan Pedersen has created another Phantom website. This one features an archive of all the Norwegian Fantomet comics from 1998.
- Music from The Phantom Movie has been used for yet another trailer for a completely different movie. The first few seconds of the Starship Troopers trailer features some of the music from track 2 of The Phantom soundtrack. I'm not sure if the same trailer was used in the USA.
8 January 1998
- Skansen Giftware are now on-line. They have a huge range of Phantom merchandise available, and some items are even on sale for less than 50%! Just look for the catalogue link and search for "Phantom". Unfortunately most of the stuff currently listed is out of stock -- check before paying!
- The Phantom Official Fan Club Australia have posted out their newsletter #14, which follows 6 months after the last one. As usual, the vast majority of the information contained in it is at least 3 months old. The highlights of this issue are some news from Frew about their 50th Anniversary celebrations, a few letters, and a desperate plea from the editors for contributions from members. These guys seem to be flogging a dead horse!
4 January 1998
- Happy New Year!
- Two new Phantom websites for your enjoyment: Erlend Pedersen and Daniel Leahy.
