Frew's Replica Editions


When Frew reached the milestone of their 1000th Phantom comic (#972 in 1991), the event was celebrated with an extra large special edition, which has since gone on to become a series of "annual specials". Published every year in January, this ~300 page comic has proven to be extremely popular and is easily Frew's best seller. Part of the attraction is the inclusion of a free "replica edition" of an early Frew Phantom comic. The first replica was of issue #1 naturally, and the series has continued sequentially with the exception of #1032 in 1993. To date, the first 15 Phantom comics have been re-issued in replica form, providing a unique opportunity for fans to experience these exceptionally rare and expensive Australian comics. The first three replicas were so authentic in appearance that complaints were received about the difficulty of distinguishing them from the originals. There have been countless cases of unscrupulous people passing off these replicas as the 1948 originals, asking ridiculous prices for them on ebay. The following webpage provides a simple step-by-step way to identify the originals from the replicas. My thanks go to Frew Publications for permitting me to photograph their "office copies" of the first two Frew issues.


The Phantom #1 (unnumbered)

Frew's first comic book was The Phantom: Enter the Phantom, published on 9th September 1948. This book was unnumbered but has since become known as issue #1. The replica edition of this comic was included free with #972 in 1991 (the 1000th Issue). The 1948 original and 1991 replica are shown together in the photo below (click on the image for a larger view).

Front cover of The Phantom #1 - original vs replica 1948 Original
1991 Replica

The most immediately obvious difference between the original and replica is the colour of the Phantom's costume; it is very light purple in the original and a dark purple in the replica. Since most on-line auctions of these comics typically only show a photo of the cover, this is a useful but not conclusive indicator. The most reliable method is to turn the front cover and look at the inside title page, which is shown below.

Inside front cover of The Phantom #1 - original vs replica 1948 Original
(close-up)
1991 Replica

Note that the original had a line of text at the bottom of the page which says "Printed by ROTARY COLORPRINT CO. PTY. LTD., 15 Hamilton St., Sydney, for the publishers, FREW PUBLICATIONS, 39 Martin Place, Sydney" (see it in close-up). This line is not present on the replica edition and is the best evidence of authenticity. For both the original and replica editions, the same line is also printed on the back cover and should not be confused with the inside cover differences.

Another difference is the condition of the paper: the original will have yellowish-white paper whereas the replica will have bluish-white paper due to the difference in age. However, this difference is becoming less obvious as the replica ages (presently 15 years old!), and is not reliable since such effects can be simulated.

A fourth indicator is made possible because the cover image for the replica was reduced by 3.3%. Therefore, a careful measurement of the height of the red region on the letter "P" of the title "Phantom" from the lowest point to the top (parallel to the spine) should give 102mm for the replica compared with 106mm for the original.

It has been claimed that the replica is larger than the original (width 259mm vs 255mm), but this is not a reliable indicator since the numbers seem to be in error (my replica is 250mm wide!), and if true, it invites forgery by trimming of the replica edition.

Finally, it has also been claimed that there may have been an alternate print run of the original comic because at least one original copy exists that does not have a bullet-hole in the skull on the front cover. The bullethole is present on both the original and replica editions in the above photo and I have personally sited this on four different copies of the 1948 original and countless copies of the replica. Therefore, any edition of #1 that does not have a bullethole in the skull is clearly an original from 1948, potentially from an alternate print run.


The Phantom #2 (unnumbered)

Frew's second comic book was The Phantom: In the Tiger's Lair, published on 1st October 1948. This book was again unnumbered but has since become known as issue #2. The replica edition of this comic was included free with #1000 in 1992. The 1948 original and 1992 replica are shown together in the photo below (click on the image for a larger view).

Front cover of The Phantom #2 - original vs replica 1948 Original
1992 Replica

The replica of #2 is particularly difficult to spot. Once again, the most immediately obvious difference between the original and replica is the colour of the Phantom's costume; it is very light purple in the original and a dark purple in the replica. Since most on-line auctions of these comics typically only show a photo of the cover, this is a useful but not conclusive indicator.

Another difference is the condition of the paper: the original will have yellowish-white paper whereas the replica will have bluish-white paper due to the difference in age. Once again, this difference is becoming less obvious as the replica ages (presently 14 years old!), and is not reliable since such effects can be simulated.

The most certain method of identification owes to the fact that the cover image for the replica was enlarged by 3.8%. Therefore, a careful measurement of the height of the red region on the letter "P" of the title "Phantom" from the lowest point to the top (parallel to the spine) should give 116mm for the replica compared with 112mm for the original. Furthermore, the binding on the spine of the replica was positioned very close to the edge of the "P" so that only 1mm of the background is observable between the "P" and the spine. In comparison, the original cover shows 6mm of background to the left of the "P".

It has been claimed that the replica is larger than the original (height 178mm vs 172mm), but this is not a reliable indicator since there is some printer variation, and it also invites forgery by trimming of the replica edition.


The Phantom #3

Frew's third comic book was The Phantom: Smashing the Crime Ring, published in November 1948, and was the first to feature an issue number on the cover (No.3). The replica edition of this comic was included free with #1063 in 1994. The 1994 replica is easily identified from the 1948 original by the subtle addition of a small "R" in the cufflink worn by the villain on the cover (see image below).

The Phantom #3 replica The Phantom #3 replica - detail of the 'R' in the cufflink


The Phantom #4 to #15

Starting with the replica of The Phantom #4 in 1995 (issued with #1094), the problem of identifying the replica editions was eliminated by the addition of a very distinctive "REPLICA EDITION" printed (usually) in the top-right corner of the front cover (see the Replica Gallery below). The situation became even more obvious starting with the replica of The Phantom #6 in 1997 (issued with #1156) when barcodes were added to the cover of each replica. The quality of reproduction also started to dip at the same time, reaching a low with The Phantom #8 replica in 1999 (issued with #1219), before returning to a consistently good standard since then.


Why all the fuss?

The reason for the concern about whether a comic is original or replica comes down to market value. Obviously an original comic from 1948 is worth vastly more than a replica published 40-odd years later. To give you a rough idea of the difference in value of the originals versus the replicas, the following is extracted from Johnson's Official Phantom Price Guide (1996). All prices are in Australian dollars and the rated conditions are fair (F), very good (VG) and near mint (NM). On average, the originals are worth about 300 times more than the replicas. Caveat emptor!

Issue Original Replica
F VG NM F VG NM
#1 $900 $2500 $5000 $2 $5 $12
#2 $700 $1500 $3000 $2 $5 $12
#3 $500 $900 $1800 $2 $3 $5
#4 $350 $700 $1400 $2 $3 $5
#5 $300 $600 $1200 $2 $3 $4


Replica Gallery

The Phantom #1
in #972 (1991)
The Phantom #2
in #1000 (1992)
no replica in
#1032 (1993)
The Phantom #3
in #1063 (1994)
The Phantom #4
in #1094 (1995)
The Phantom #5
in #1125 (1996)
The Phantom #6
in #1156 (1997)
The Phantom #7
in #1187 (1998)
The Phantom #8
in #1219 (1999)
The Phantom #9
in #1249 (2000)
The Phantom #10
in #1280 (2001)
The Phantom #11
in #1312 (2002)
The Phantom #12
in #1343 (2003)
The Phantom #13
in #1373 (2004)
The Phantom #14
in #1405 (2005)
The Phantom #15
in #1436 (2006)
The Phantom #16
in #1467 (2007)


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Bryan Shedden / guran@deepwoods.org
Last Updated 31 March 2007