 #1 |
 #2 |
 #3 |
 #4 |
#1 |
#2 |
#3 |
#4 |
This four part colour miniseries was published in 1987 by Marvel under their Star Comics label. Star Comics were targetted at pre-teen audiences of animated television programs. Other titles included Care Bears, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Inhumanoids, and Ewoks. The Defenders of the Earth minseries was based on the animated TV series that featured the 27th Phantom, Mandrake and Flash Gordon. Stories were based on episodes from the TV series, and where adapted by Stan Lee (dialogue on the first story) and Michael Higgins (all others), pencilled by Alex Saviuk, and inked by Fred Fredericks (his first involvement with The Phantom). Issue #3 is of greatest interest to Phantom Phans as it sees the 27th Phantom battling it out with his evil twin brother Kurt.
 #1 |
 #2 |
 #3 |
Following the moderate successes of DC with their 13 issue Phantom series, Marvel tested the waters from December 1994 with a 3 issue monthly colour miniseries about the 22nd Phantom. The story was written and coloured by Dave De Vries and illustrated by Glen Lumsden -- both are Australians with their own comics studio in the Barossa Valley (near Adelaide). The artwork was incredibly detailed and so was the plot. The story saw the return (yet again) of General Bababu aided by a mercenary who looked remarkably like Australian cricketer Merv Hughes. It was all done in the ultra-slick, ultra-violent 90s fashion, and seemed quite out of place for The Phantom. It was interesting to see that despite all the slick production, a BIG error slipped in -- issue #3 accidentally included one of the pages from #2! Marvel milked the comics for all they were worth by sponsoring a set of collector cards based on the series (Comic Images).
 #1 |
 #2 |
 #3 |
 #4 |
This four issue monthly miniseries was launched in May 1995, as yet another cross-media grab based on an animated TV series -- this time it was Phantom 2040. These stories about the 24th Phantom were written by Peter Quinones, pencilled by Steve Ditko, inked by Bill Reinhold, and coloured by Mike Worley. All except for the first issue were original stories. An oversize edition of the series was also produced in the UK. Look HERE for details.
© 2004 KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC. THE HEARST CORPORATION
