I have read The Phantom, published in Australia by Frew Publishing, for many years now. Of the comics I read, The Phantom is the only "costumed super-hero" type one I collect and read on a regular basis.
There are several reasons I like The Phantom. I enjoy the art, drawn by a variety of European and American Artists, even though the comic is printed in black and white. I like the mythic background to the character. I like the cast of supporting characters. I like the fact that the character has no "superpowers", although it must be said he has been shot more times than a regular human being would find healthy. ;-)
There have only been two Australian artists who have drawn Phantom comic books published by Frew. The late, great Keith Chatto, and more recently, regular Frew cover artist Glen Ford. It has long been a daydream of mine to write and draw my own Phantom story. Having it published is not important, only the satisfaction of actually completing it.
I have the story basically worked out in my head. It is a darker storyline than some, and involves the Phantom going missing for a couple of weeks and making a new "friends of the Phantom club" member. When I finish scripting the story in written form I will add a link to it from here.
As I flesh out characters, and (eventually) finish pages, I will put them up here. For now there are some rough Phantomy sketches below.
Click on a thumbnail for a larger image...
...or click here for a laugh. :-)
Well no sooner had I decided to start work on this project and all hell breaks loose. Too much work at my real work, and too many other little "projects" popped up all at once. I have completed some of them (including some graphics for our intranet at work) and will be getting stuck into my Phantom stuff very soon. I have purchased some professional comics grade art paper and I'm in the process of building a light box (for transfering sketches to finished page quickly). Thanks for your support and stay tuned!
Wow... time flies when you're not having fun, eh? Still no holiday, but I have finally 'finished' my script! I am working on some changes to the second half, but the first half is here, ready for you to read and comment on. Please, read and let me know what you think! Comment from Phantom Phans is especially sought.
Some things to note about the script are; I have noticed that reading large amounts of text on web pages can be painful, so I have put the script in a table 60% of screen width, to reduce eye scanning distance. Also... this is a script for a visual story, so it was kind of hard to write, and may be kind hard to read! If you have any comments about the visual image you get from any particular scene, let me know! Click here to see the script. :-)
Your comments are most welcome, be they positive or negative. Mail: jez@iinet.net.au
© The Phantom is copyrighted by King Features Syndicate. It is produced and published by permission by several publishers throughout the world,
including Frew in Australia. I believe I am not in violation of copyright, as this page has not been created for commercial purposes. Email me if you feel otherwise.
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This page last modified: Monday 3rd June, 2002.