Frew Publications

Frew Publications is an Australian comic book publisher, known for its long-running reprint series of Lee Falk's The Phantom. Frew formerly published other comics, including Falk's earlier creation Mandrake the Magician.

Frew Publications Pty. Ltd.
Founded1948
FounderRon Forsyth, Jim Richardson, Jack Eisen, Peter Watson
Country of originAustralia
Headquarters locationUnit 13, 77-79 Bourke Road Alexandria, New South Wales
Key peopleGlenn Ford and Rene White[1]
Dudley Hogarth (Publisher)
Publication typesComics
Fiction genresAdventure
Official websitehttps://www.phantomcomic.com.au/

History

Frew Publications was founded in 1948 by Ron Forsyth, Lawford 'Jim' Richardson, Jack Eisen, and Peter Watson, with each contributing 500 Australian pounds to establish the publisher. The name "Frew" is an acronym made from the surnames of the four founders, Forsyth, Richardson, Eisen, and Watson. Eisen and Watson withdrew from the company before the first publication was issued.

Forsyth and Richardson approached Yaffa Syndicate the Australian representative of King Features Syndicate about producing an Australian comic book issue of The Phantom. The agreement was conditional that Frew could not print any stories that was currently running in other publications, nor any story soon after it had appeared in the Australian Woman's Mirror. The first edition of The Phantom, "The Slave Traders", published by Frew debuted on 9 September 1948. The first two issues were not numbered and printed in a landscape format, with the staples were on the short edge of the cover. The third issue, "Mr Hog", was the first to be numbered and reverted to the traditional portrait format.

Between 1949 and 1958 Frew also published comics including Popeye, The Phantom Ranger, The Shadow (an Australian creation not to be confused with the American version of The Shadow), Sir Falcon, Catman and Super Yank Comics, peaking to a total of thirty titles in the mid 1950s. In the early 1960s due to the influx of imported American titles Frew reduced their publications to a single title, The Phantom.

In November 1978 Frew published its first Swedish Phantom adventure entitled "The Ghost" (Issue #730), although it was not until January 1983 that another Swedish story appeared, "The Tiger from Rangoon" (Issue #763).

In 1987 Forsyth and Richardson engaged Jim Shepherd as a consultant, the following year he was employed as its managing director. Shepherd and Forsyth's son, Peter subsequently bought all the shares in the company. In 1995 Shepherd purchased Forsyth's shareholdings, becoming the sole owner of Frew Publications.[2]

In 1990 Frew published the first ever Australian created Phantom adventure, "Rumble in the Jungle" (Issue #951A), with art by Keith Chatto and the story by Jim Shepherd. Chatto and Shepherd produced another two Phantom stories "Return of the Singh Brotherhood" (Issue #962) and "The Kings Cross Connection" (Issue #1000). Shepherd also wrote another story "The Search for Byron", published March 1996 (Issue #1131), which was illustrated by Glenn Ford.

On the 15 April 2013 Shepherd died of a heart attack at his Sydney home, at age eighty. He is survived by his wife Judith, who was also the senior editor at Frew Publications and son, Stephen. In 2016, the company and licence was purchased by Glenn Ford and Rene White[1]

Frew has a tradition of using their own cover art, created specially for the publisher. Cover artists have included Tommy Hughes, Keith Chatto, Terry Welsby (credited as "Tessa"), Glenn Ford, Antonio Lemos, Meg Coates, Terry Lee, Paul Agnew, Jason Frazer, Jeremy MacPherson, Wai-Chew Chan, and Shane Foley Jamie Johnson.

In 2017, some of the classic Frew characters were revived in new adventures in a new series of Giantsize Phantom. Stories include:[3]

  • "Sir Falcon: Riddles in Armour and Black" by Shane Foley
  • "The Phantom Ranger: Phantoms" by Shane Foley
  • "Sir Falcon": "The Stolen Chronicle" by Shane Foley
  • "Planetman" by Shane Foley
  • "Planetman" by Christopher Sequeira, Massimo Gamberi, and Luca Giorgi
  • "The Shadow" by Jeremy MacPherson
  • "The Phantom Ranger" by Felmang and Max Fish

The Phantom publishing chronology

The following section is a publishing chronology for the years when Frew used original titles. The first edition of The Phantom was issued in Australia in 1948 and it has today reached an estimated circulation of 25000 units. As of 2007, Frew sales figures place The Phantom's distribution above all other contemporary comic books sold in Australia.[4] It also places first in duration of publication: in 2006 Frew celebrated 70 years of continuity, longer than any other Australian comics syndicate.[4]

1948
Edition Number Production Code Official Title Frew Working Title Writer Artist
1D9The Slave TradersEnter the PhantomLee FalkRaymond Moore
2D28Queen Asta of TrondeleyIn the Tiger's LairLee FalkWilson McCoy
3D29Mister HogSmashing the Crime RingLee FalkWilson McCoy
4D30Romance Pt 2The Phantom versus the Jewel ThievesLee FalkWilson McCoy
5D15The Phantom's TreasureThe Phantom's Treasure StolenLee FalkRaymond Moore

1949
Edition Number Production Code Official Title Frew Working Title Writer Artist
6D1The Singh Brotherhood Pt 2The Phantom's RevengeLee FalkLee Falk, Raymond Moore
7D13The Game of Alvar Pt 2The Phantom versus the Gun RunnersLee FalkRaymond Moore
8D2The Sky Band Pt 2Death to the Sky BandLee FalkRaymond Moore
9D8Fishers of PearlsThe Pearl PiratesLee FalkRaymond Moore
10D12The Seahorse Pt 1The Phantom versus the Spy RingLee FalkRaymond Moore
11D12The Seahorse Pt 2On Bleak IslandLee FalkRaymond Moore
12D7The Shark's NestThe Shark's NestLee FalkRaymond Moore
13D11The Golden Circle Pt 1The Phantom's DilemmaLee FalkRaymond Moore
14D11The Golden Circle Pt 2Golden Circle Pt 2Lee FalkRaymond Moore
15D11The Golden Circle Pt 3The Poison Gas ChamberLee FalkRaymond Moore
16D6Adventure in AlgiersAdventure in AlgiersLee FalkRaymond Moore
17D10The Mysterious Girl Pt 1Kidnapped in EgyptLee FalkRaymond Moore

1950
Edition Number Production Code Official Title Frew Working Title Writer Artist
18D10The Mysterious Girl Part 2Trapped Under the SeaLee FalkRaymond Moore
19S12The Golden PrincessThe Golden PrincessLee FalkWilson McCoy
20S8Castle in the Clouds Pt 2The Phantom versus the Old Man of the MountainsLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
20S9The Ismani CannibalsThe Ismani CannibalsLee FalkWilson McCoy
21D5The Prisoner of the Himalayas Pt 1The Kidnapped BrideLee FalkRaymond Moore
22D5The Prisoner of the Himalayas Pt 2Sentenced to DeathLee FalkRaymond Moore
23D14Diana Aviatrix Lost Pt 1Jungle VictoryLee FalkRaymond Moore
24D14Diana Aviatrix Lost Pt 2The Phantom's TriumphLee FalkRaymond Moore
25D22The Maharajah's Daughter Pt 1The Kidnapped MaharajahLee FalkWilson McCoy
26D22The Maharajah's Daughter Pt 2The Royal PrisonerLee FalkWilson McCoy
27D16The Phantom Goes to War Pt 1The Phantom Goes to WarLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
28D16The Phantom Goes to War Pt 2The Red InvadersLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy

1951
Edition Number Production Code Official Title Frew Working Title Writer Artist
29D16The Phantom Goes to War Pt 3Death to the InvadersLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
30D16The Phantom Goes to War Pt 4The Hero of OolanLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
31S10Hamid the Terrible Pt 1Hamid the TerribleLee FalkWilson McCoy
32S10Hamid the Terrible Pt 2The Sultan's PrisonerLee FalkWilson McCoy
33D17Bent Beak BroderBent Beak and the Phantom MarkLee FalkWilson McCoy
34D18The Phantom's EngagementThe Phantom's EngagementLee FalkWilson McCoy
35S11The Young Phantom,
The Childhood of the Phantom		The Young PhantomLee FalkWilson McCoy
36S15King of BeastsKing of BeastsLee FalkRaymond Moore
37S16The Scarlett SorceressThe Kidnapped PrincessLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
38S14Queen Pera the PerfectThe Reluctant BridegroomLee FalkRaymond Moore
39S18The Dragon GodThe Dragon GodLee FalkRaymond Moore
40S13The Strange FishermanThe Strange FishermanLee FalkWilson McCoy

1952
Edition Number Production Code Official Title Frew Working Title Writer Artist
41D24Lago the Lake GodUnderwater DoomLee FalkWilson McCoy
42D25The Wild GirlThe Lion WomanLee FalkWilson McCoy
43S1The League of Lost MenThe League of Lost MenLee FalkRaymond Moore
44S4The BeachcomberThe BeachcomberLee FalkRaymond Moore
45S2The Precious Cargo of Colonel WinnThe Precious Cargo of Colonel WinnLee FalkRaymond Moore
46D41Whirlpool ChannelWhirlpool ChannelLee FalkWilson McCoy
47D27Princess Valerie Pt 1Princess Valerie Pt 1Lee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
48D27Princess Valerie Pt 2The Phantom versus the Hairy TwinsLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
49S21The Haunted CastleThe Haunted CastleLee FalkRaymond Moore, Wilson McCoy
50D42The Tiger GirlThe Tiger GirlLee FalkWilson McCoy
51S3The Fire GoddessThe Fire GoddessLee FalkRaymond Moore
52D39The White MonkeyThe White MonkeyLee FalkWilson McCoy
53D32The Lady Luck Part 1The Lady Luck Part 1Lee FalkWilson McCoy

Unnumbered editions

The following Frew editions were without edition numbers when issued. For ease of reference, official Frew archivists have assigned them either an 'A' or a 'B' as per their publishing date:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 65A
  • 76A
  • 76B
  • 817A
  • 825A
  • 840A
  • 858A

Untitled editions

In editions 43-47, 49-821 and 823-828 no story title appeared on the front cover. Frew did not alter the official titles, which in most instances appeared at the start of the story.

Missing edition

Due to an accident in production, edition number 330 was never issued. Edition number 331 was substituted in its place.

Exclusions

List is restricted to pure Phantom comic books; supplementary Frew editions and associated publications have been excluded.

References
  2. Hope, Steffan. "Jim Shepherd interview". Fantomet.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. https://www.phantomcomic.com.au/collections/giantsize-phantom
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-03-13. Retrieved 2017-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sources
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