Frew 2005 Annual Special



Frew #1405
by Antonio Lemos
#1405
(this edition is the 1433rd actually printed)

Release Date: 14 January 2005

  • Pages: 292 (plus 24 page replica of #14)
  • Price: $11.00 inc. GST
  • Cover: Antonio Lemos
  • Three pages of Phantom Forum in this issue
  • Frew 2004 Publishing Chronology, Statistics, and Another Year of The Phantom (p.280-286)

Frew #14

  • The 12 Tasks
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Wilson McCoy & Ray Moore
    • 17th Sunday newspaper story; 29 Dec 1946 - 29 Jun 1947.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #235 (1963), #366 (1968), #967 (1990).

  • Old Baldy
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 62nd Sunday newspaper story; 19 May - 15 Dec 1963.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #335 (1967), #490 (1972), #666 (1979), #876 (1987).

  • The Great Web of Spidera
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 65th Sunday newspaper story; 31 Jan - 27 Jun 1965.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #365 (1968), #523 (1974), #700 (1980), #1020 (1992).

  • The Dolphins
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 79th Sunday newspaper story; 5 Apr - 14 Jun 1970.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #462 (1971), #636 (1978), #845 (1986), #1343 (2003).

  • The Massacre
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 87th Sunday newspaper story; 21 May - 27 Aug 1972.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #504 (1973), #682 (1980), #912 (1988).

  • The Giant of Kaluga
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 119th daily newspaper story; 16 Oct 1972 - 27 Jan 1973.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #503 (1973), #681 (1980), #914 (1988).

  • The Hawk Master
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 89th Sunday newspaper story; 12 Nov 1972 - 11 Feb 1973.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #504 (1973), #682 (1980), #912 (1988).

  • The Things (Vampires of Koqania)
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 121st daily newspaper story; 7 May - 18 Aug 1973.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #521 (1974), #699 (1980), #1018 (1992).

  • The Golden Beach
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 97th Sunday newspaper story; 17 Aug - 21 Dec 1975.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #587 (1976), #781 (1983).

  • The Proposal
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 133rd daily newspaper story; 21 Feb - 2 Apr 1977.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #620 (1977), #830 (1985), #848A (1986).

  • The Eastern Dark at Janorra
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 135th Sunday newspaper story; 14 Jan - 13 May 1990.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #967 (1990).
    • Comment from Guran: This story was incorrectly identified as S119 from 1983/84, most recently published in Frew #1226 (1999).

  • The Irrondi and the Great Ones
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 130th Sunday newspaper story; 4 Oct 1987 - 10 Apr 1988.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #918 (1988).

  • Death from the Sky
    • Script: Lee Falk
    • Art: Sy Barry
    • 133rd Sunday newspaper story; 5 Mar - 23 Jul 1989.
    • Previous Frew appearances: #948A (1990).

  • Message from the Publisher:
    Right on time again - our Annual Special edition, the 15th in the series which commenced in 1991 with the publication of Frew's 1000th issue.
    This time around, we have concentrated on Lee Falk stories, all of which are presented in their original entirety. All bar one (the 1946-47 classic The 12 Tasks) feature the artwork of Sy Barry. The 12 Tasks was started by Ray Moore and finished by Wilson McCoy.
    [Comment from Guran: Actually it's the other way around. Wilson McCoy did the first 6 Sundays of The 12 Tasks and then Ray Moore finished it off.]
    This Annual features 13 stories in strict chronological order, spanning the years 1946-1990 and enthusiasts will be fascinated by the changes in Lee's writing style and the techniques used by Sy as he continued to fine tune his pen and brush brilliance. All the detail of actual appearance dates and miscellaneous information are included on the splash pages.
    Once again we have included a replica edition as a special bonus and this year, it is Frew #13 from 1949, part one of the famous The Golden Circle adventure, illustrated by Ray Moore and which ran in newspapers from 4 September 1939 through 20 January 1940. I'd love to tell you who drew the cover for the 1949 edition, but sadly, no information can be found in the Frew archives. I am, however, reasonably sure the artist was not the late Tom Hughes who left behind a legacy of more than 30 successive years of creating Phantom comic book covers for Frew, almost certainly a world record! Covers for this year's Annual have been created and hand coloured by Antonio Lemos. All our usual editorial features are included in this year's Annual, from details of our best-selling editions to the most popular covers to complete credits for story writers and artists.
    Note that this issue is the 1433rd edition of The Phantom comic book to be published by Frew in the period 1948-2005. That total is a world record by any publisher. It is a reminder to me that Frew's 1500th edition of The Phantom is not far away! At our current production schedule of 31 editions each year, it means that the 1500th edition should hit the newsstands around March 2007. That's not too far distant and just as we did for Frew's 1000th issue in 1991, we will bring out a really special issue to mark the occasion! Frew's involvement with The Phantom in Australia will by then be approaching 59 years!
    In the meantime, plans are well advanced for production during 2005. More and more complete presentations of old Lee Falk stories, the pick of the best stories created in Scandinavia, more giveaways and reader competitions. We have even coaxed "Tessa" (Terry Welsby) out of retirement to produce at least a few covers for us! I can promise you that Frew's basic presentation format will not be subject to any dramatic changes. Some minor changes to editorial layouts and typefaces, a slight increase in the use of painted covers instead of computer enhancing - but not much more.
    We have received many compliments about the "new look" lettering of translated Scandinavian stories and it is high time some special credit was given in this area. Frew stuck to traditional hand lettering for many years because it was felt that a comic book as famous as The Phantom deserved all the traditional treatment possible. However, all of us must move with the times! The Sydney company Phosphorescent Media Pty Ltd has been computer lettering our stories since late 2004.

Jim Shepherd
Publisher


Future issues planned as of 8 January 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 19 January 2005