The Phantom:
A Publishing History in England

by Bob Griffin and Bryan Shedden


Alan Class & Co. Ltd. (1960s-1970s)

Suspense #80 Secrets of the Unknown #237 Secrets of the Unknown #86 Uncanny Tales #181 Sinister Tales #71
Creepy Worlds #94 Secrets of the Unknown #88 Creepy Worlds #89 Suspense #87 Creepy Worlds #98
Sinister Tales #69 Sinister Tales #74 Creepy Worlds #86 Creepy Worlds #87

From the early 1960s until about the early 1990s, a British publisher called Alan Class published thousands of black and white reprint comics which featured material from Atlas, Marvel, ACG, Charlton, Archie and occasionally other American publishers. Amongst these comics were reprints of the Phantom and Mandrake comics published by King Comics in the USA (Sep 1966 - Dec 1967), including the original cover art. Several different comic book titles included Phantom stories: Creepy Worlds, Secrets of the Unknown, Sinister Tales, Suspense, and Uncanny Tales. Each issue measured 235mm x 185mm (9 1/4" x 7 1/4"). The balance of each comic was made up with other comic book titles. During the late 1960s, each issue contained 68 pages and sold for one shilling. Sometime between 1968 and 1971, King Features Syndicate sued Alan Class over publishing rights. With the introduction of decimal currency in 1971, Alan Class began to issue reprints of the earlier issues, with cover prices ranging from 10p to 55p and pages from 48 to 100. These "reprints of reprints" had the same stories and covers as the earlier ones. In total, all of the Phantom stories from King's Phantom and Mandrake comics were reprinted by Alan Class, except for Phantom #28. An example of each of the Phantom and Mandrake covers is shown above.

(Thanks to Les Gray for providing information and scans)

IssuePricePagesCoverPhantom StoryReprint of
Creepy Worlds
861'-68Mandrake #3The Magic Ivory Cage 
871'-68Mandrake #4The Girl Phantom 
891'-68King #25The Cold Fire Worshippers 
941'-68King #23Delilah 
981'-68King #27The Story of Hero 
16015p68Mandrake #4The Girl Phantom87
19320p68Mandrake #4The Girl Phantom87
19720p48Mandrake #3The Magic Ivory Cage86
23125p48King #25The Cold Fire Worshippers89
23430p48King #23Delilah94
Secrets of the Unknown
851'-68King #19The Astronaut and the Pirates
The Masked Emissary
 
861'-68King #20The Adventures of the Girl Phantom
The Invisible Demon
 
881'-68King #24Riddle of the Witch (Girl Phantom) 
23730p48King #19The Astronaut and the Pirates
The Masked Emissary
85
24455p100King #20(no Phantom story)86
Sinister Tales
691'-68Mandrake #1SOS Phantom 
711'-68King #22The Secret of Magic Mountain 
741'-68Mandrake #2The Pirate Raiders 
14210p68Mandrake #2The Pirate Raiders74
17320p68Mandrake #2The Pirate Raiders74
17720p68Mandrake #1SOS Phantom69
Suspense
801'-68King #18The Treasure of the Skull Cave 
871'-68King #26The Lost City of Yiango
The Pearl Raiders
 
23055p100King #26The Lost City of Yiango
The Pearl Raiders
87
23455p100King #18The Treasure of the Skull Cave80
Uncanny Tales
18155p68King #21The Terror Tiger
The Treasure of Bengali Bay
 



© 2006 KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. THE HEARST CORPORATION



Return to The Phantom in England

Bryan Shedden / guran@deepwoods.org
Last updated 10 September 2006