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In this episode, the boys Dan Fraser, Jermayn Parker, and Stephen East come together to review and discuss Phantom comics, stories, and related news from around the world. Christian Moller joins the team with his reviews of the latest comics from Germany.
Just a friendly reminder that we are a phan website and everyone has full-time jobs, children, and lives outside this website. Occasionally, life does get in the way, which included in this podcast a baby having to join us. We successfully managed to bore her to sleep, and hopefully you will last longer and enjoy the listen or watch.
We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. If you agree and/or disagree with us, you can either email us; leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.
If you're one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed.
Note: "Simulacra" was included in Frew issues 2022 and 2024. For the sake of discussing these parts together, we have included our review of these parts together instead of reviewing them in the individual comics.
Comics Kingdom stories
Frew (Australia) comics
German & Austrian comics
The Phantom news from around the world
We can only report and discuss what we have seen or been told by the phans. We may miss something, especially conventions in your corner of the world with Phantom-related guests, so please let us know of them so we can promote them on our website, socials, and podcasts. We are also looking for reviewers who can review comics from India, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, and some other locations that publish the Phantom. If you would like to join the team with regular reviews, please contact us.
You can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
Something a little different, as Jermayn Parker is joined by Nick Moles and Sean Bassett as they chat about the 2026 Phantom phan catch-up in Sydney, Australia. This event is the world’s largest phan gathering weekend and will see phans from around the world gathering together to celebrate our hero, the Phantom.
As the three all have faces for radio, we will place throughout the video loads of photos of past Sydney weekends for those who want to watch the podcast on YouTube.
Every year since Lee Falk's death in 1999, Phantom phans from around the world and Australia gather to celebrate Falk's legacy and the Phantom. In 2026, the tradition is still going strong, with only a worldwide pandemic causing a stop in the yearly celebration that is close to 30 years in total. The event in 2026 will be held on Saturday, 20th June 2026, which will coincide with the Sydney Supanova event held over the 19-21 June weekend.
The LFMBEC Charity Dinner has raised over $100,000 over their last 30+ dinners. If you would like to learn more about the dinner event, go to their website and/or listen to Antonio DiDio on our X-Band: The Phantom Podcast #258.
At this stage, the comic-related guests for Sydney Supanova are not announced and will be likely closer to the date. We will update this article when they are announced; however, you can purchase your Supanova tickets now at their website.
While Frew will NOT be having a booth in 2026, they will be releasing their 90th Phantom birthday celebration comic around this time, which will be a collection of old and new stories all printed in colour. This will be sold via Glenn Ford's booth, who will be attending the Sydney Supanova. Other guestswho are attending who have Phantom credits include:
To book your Supanova Sydney tickets, click here
Generally, most phans meet up during the event on the Saturday and during the weekend. If you have not attended before and would like to join up to meet with like-minded phans, send us an email, and we will invite you to the private group chat.
If you know of other conventions happening around the world, please contact us—you can email us at [email protected].
If you want to chat with us, you can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles with your feedback at Facebook, Twitter, and/orInstagram. Make sure you stay with us and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast and/or our YouTube channel.
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Something a little different, as today we review the recently remastered in 4K from a 35mm original camera negative by Kino Lorber, a boutique Blu-ray distributor. This new edition comes in both 4KUHD (two-disc) and Blu-ray (single disc) and can be purchased at the Kino Lorber website.
Along with a new master of the film, each set (either two-disc or single) comes with audio commentary from directorSimon Wincer, a new interview with star Billy Zane, and an interview with film composer David Newman. A trailer is also included.
At Chronicle Chamber, we picked up a copy for review. Watch or listen to our video review, and read on for our impressions of the new master, as well as special feature highlights.
The New Master
One of the elements to this film that Simon Wincer frequently comes back to in his audio commentary is the lighting, and it’s for good reason. This new edition of The Phantom is beautiful.
Compared to previous releases, the color and visuals are crisp, clean, and warm. There was a decision to use natural lighting as opposed to filters during production, and it pays off nicely. In outdoor adventure sequences, the natural lighting makes the action feel real and believable. In closed settings, such as Xander Drax and Diana Palmer’s introduction scene early on in the film, a functional, expository sequence feels glamorous and stunning. When Dave Palmer agrees to send his niece, Diana, on a quest during this sequence, this new master captures the warmth and ornate decor of the art deco style of the 1930s.
The sound is also markedly better than previous editions, making for an overall enjoyable rewatch that feels closer to what audiences experienced in theaters 30 years ago.
The Special Features
Director Simon Wincer’s Audio Commentary
Audio commentaries can be hit or miss with many Bluray and 4KUHD releases, even from boutique companies. The Simon Wincer commentary included with this new edition of The Phantom lands right in the middle. It’s not necessarily exciting, but it’s not the worst commentary either. Wincer does highlight some of the elements and motifs he was going for, and he does spend a great deal of time talking about the use of natural lighting versus filtering.
For Phantom fans looking for answers to decisions this adaptation makes, like why Guran was changed into a child helper of The Phantom or why a skeleton strangles a grave robber to death, there aren’t any answers here.
The quality of the audio commentary, at times, is also suspect. Right off the bat, there’s a noticeable audio lag, as if this was recorded over Zoom or some other online meeting software. That’s a bit of a disappointment.
Billy Zane Interview: “Kismet in the Jungle”
Thirty years after the release of the film, Billy Zane is a master craftsman at discussing The Phantom film. Many of the ideas and motifs he touches upon in this new interview have been covered elsewhere in talks at Supanova Con and other interviews. Zane highlights his love of the character stemming from collecting Frew Comics on visits to Australia and notes that, in his performance, he was trying to embody the classic adventure films of classic Hollywood from the likes of Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, John Wayne, and others.
This interview has the highest production values to it, and for fans looking to see Zane wax poetic about all things The Phantom, it’s a good interview.
David Newman Interview: “Slam Evil: Scoring The Phantom”
David Newman is a phenomenal composer, and to see him among the interviews included in this new release is something out of a dream for a huge fan of film scores (such as myself). This interview was conducted over Zoom or some other type of online meeting software, so the production value is a stark difference compared to Zane’s interview.
For film score enthusiasts, the soundtrack to The Phantom is a hidden gem. It’s fast, rhythmic, complicated, and powerful. For Newman, putting this score together was mostly done on instinct and was something akin to a nightmare, which is unfortunate to learn.
In the interview, Newman states that scoring The Phantom was a last-minute rush job that compiled hours and hours of work over a very short period, often with little to no sleep. While Newman doesn’t have great memories of working on The Phantom, it’s the film in his IMDB that he worked the hardest on.
For those looking to learn a little about what’s buried in the beat and rhythm of the soundtrack, Newman speaks to this.
For Those Who Came In Late… What’s the verdict?
For Phantom “phans” who want to revisit this adaptation or film fans looking to tap into a little 90s nostalgia, this new master is absolutely stunning and the best version of The Phantom commercially available. For collectors who love to dive deep into special features and bonus content included in boutique collections like these, it’s a bit of a miss. Apart from the Billy Zane interview, the other two special features feel hastily compiled to pad the set, and it’s not worth the spend if you’re primarily looking to learn more about the production and behind-the-scenes of The Phantom.
Verdict: Buy it for the film, not the special features.
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The American in the Chronicle Chamber crew, Scott Waldyn, jumps on the podcast this week to interview Juancho Vélez, the incredible colorist behind Defenders of the Earth, Defenders of the Earth: Dark Destiny, The Phantom vs. The Sky Band #1, and the upcoming The Phantom vs. The Red Dragons #1 from Mad Cave Studios.
For comic book fans, Juancho Vélez has made a name for himself by contributing beautiful and rich colors to titles across the Mad Cave Studios slate, as well as work at DC and Marvel Comics. His eye for detail and knack for creating lasting moments through the use of light, darkness, and color informs readers' understanding of a scene.
In this interview, Scott and Juancho talk about the art of coloring, including some behind-the-scenes of what went into creating some of the more colorful moments in Defenders of the Earth and The Phantom vs. The Sky Band #1.
Questions asked:
Find Juancho Vélez on his Instagram profile at: https://www.instagram.com/juancho.velez25/. Look for his work in The Phantom vs. The Red Dragons #1 coming in June 2026!
We are looking to interview more creators from the Mad Cave Studios comic book series, please contact us if you have any specific questions you would like to see asked. You can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
In this episode, the boys come together to review and discuss Phantom comics, stories, and related news from around the world, including the team arguing over story elements in the latest newspaper, Frew, and the latest comics from Germany, Austria, and the USA.
We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans. If you agree and/or disagree with us, you can either email us; leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.
If you're one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed.
Comics Kingdom stories
Frew (Australia) comics
German & Austrian comics
The USA comics
The Phantom news from around the world
We can only report and discuss what we have seen or been told by the phans. We may miss something, especially conventions in your corner of the world with Phantom-related guests, so please let us know of them so we can promote them on our website, socials, and podcasts. We are also looking for reviewers who can review comics from India, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, and some other locations that publish the Phantom. If you would like to join the team with regular reviews, please contact us.
Support the show
Jermayn Parker goes solo as he interviews Fantomen creator Mikael Bergkvist who is one of the few creators who draws and writes Phantom stories for the Fantomen magazine. He joins the likes of Joan Boix, Hans Lindahl, Mikael Sol, Felmang and Lennart Moberg.
Mikael is an interesting person whose career has been interwoven with several other known creators, including Fantomen writer Dai Darell and American creators like Neal Adams and Joe Rubenstein.
We go over his two stories, his career, him growing up with the character, being a part of the Fantomen Club and much more.
His two stories are:
Please note. Due to some technical difficulties, some of the times, the camera is a little jumpy. We apologise.
You can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
In this episode, the boys review and discuss Phantom comics, stories, and related news from around the world.
If you agree and/or disagree with us, you can either email us; leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.
If you're one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed.
Note: "Hunters Prey" was included in Frew issue's 2017, 2018, and 2019. For the sake of discussing these parts together, we have included our review of these parts together instead of reviewing them in the individual comics.
Comics Kingdom stories
Frew (Australia)
Germany
Phantom news from around the world
We may miss something, especially conventions in your corner of the world with Phantom-related guests, so please let us know of them so we can promote them on our website, socials, and podcasts. We are also looking for reviewers who can review comics from India, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, and some other locations that publish the Phantom. If you would like to join the team with regular reviews, please contact us.
We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
In this episode, Jermayn Parker and Stephen East are joined by Scott Waldyn, Chronicle Chambers USA's correspondent, to review the first five issues of the new series from Mad Cave Studios.
The Singh Brotherhood is on the hunt for their missing drug cargo. Little do they know they have landed in the Phantom’s backyard. What they think will be a quick and easy track, retrieve, enslave the village, and be out again turns into a dire game of cat and mouse, with the cat not realising it is actually the mouse. But it's no walk in the park for the Phantom, though; this is the jungle, and the jungle has its own mind. There is beauty in its danger, and if you can be at one with it, then you may just get out alive.
We have 5 copies of a variant cover by Boom Tube Comics exclusive drawn by Keith Williams and one copy of Cover 1G by Natacha Bustos to give away. To enter, we will need your review and/or thoughts of the series on either the social media post promoting this podcast or on YouTube.
We discuss many topics and we would love your input on what we have raised plus what we may have missed. We discussed:
You can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
In this episode, Jermayn Parker is joined by co-host Stephen East as they review the Australian comics and include a few rants about Frew missing the mark and other things that are bothering them. Scott Waldyn and Christian Moller also join in with their reviews of comics released in the USA, Germany, and Austria.
Normally, these podcasts are our attempt to wrap up everything from comic reviews to catching up on the latest Newspaper Comics Kingdom stories and related news from around the world. As it has been two months since we last reviewed everything that has happened in the Phantom's world, we have split the wrap-up podcast into two. In the last podcast we discussed all the related Phantom news and reviewed the Newspaper daily and Sunday stories.
We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. If you agree and/or disagree with us, you can either email us; leave your comments at our YouTube channel, and/or leave them at our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram.
If you're one of the phans who can only listen to some parts of the podcast, below is a timeline of what we discussed.
Frew (Australia)
The USA
Germany & Austria
We can only report and discuss what we have seen or been told by the phans. We may miss something, especially conventions in your corner of the world with Phantom-related guests, so please let us know of them so we can promote them on our website, socials, and podcasts. We are also looking for reviewers who can review comics from India, Sweden, Finland, France, Italy, and some other locations that publish the Phantom. If you would like to join the team with regular reviews, please contact us.
You can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
In this episode, Jermayn Parker and co-host Stephen East go for a rant.
As it has been two months since we last reviewed everything that has happened in the Phantom's world, we have split the wrap-up podcast into two. In this podcast we discuss all the related Phantom news and the Newspaper daily and Sunday stories. In our next podcast, we will review all the comics from around the world.
Daily / Sunday Adventures Progress
Phantom News
You can email us at [email protected] or chat with us via our social media profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram. We love comments and feedback from the Phantom phans from around the world. Make sure you stay with us, and do not forget to subscribe and leave a review on our podcast on our YouTube Channel.
Support the show
From the publisher's feed