Dear ComiRades,
Welcome back to TCU. Let us shuffle our memory cards and get back to the Chennai Book Fair 2011 post in TCU. At that time itself TCU has mentioned about the brand new Commando Comics and though it was well known to us, we kept the trade secret of the Phantom comics in waiting. Yes, TCU knew in 1st hand that Euro Books are about to publish the Phantom series in India with stories which were never ever published (in a book format, in colour). Since then, every time TCU paid a visit to the book shops (Which happens to be twice in a week), the only look was to know about the availability of Phantom series from Euro Books. Though we know that once they are packed, they will be sent to us, even before they reach the book shops. Still, TCU was waiting eagerly. And then, last fortnight, Yours truly received a call right in the middle of a meeting. As it was a call much awaited, Yours truly excused from the meeting and attended the call and got the news.
let’s get straight to the point – Phantom is back in India. Yes, Phantom is now available in New Comics Books in India and across the world. Thanks to Mr Om Prakash of Euro Books, TCU has got hold of the latest set of 24 books even before they reached the shops in Tamil Nadu. Old timers may recall that when the news about the Drona comics was known, it was Mr Om who delivered the book to us even before it reached the bookshops such as Landmark, Odyssey, etc. Even now, we have received a full set from him much earlier than they have reached the shops (Only this week the shops are showcasing these books).
Each one of the book is a compilation from the Daily strips and they are in multi colour and packaged amazingly with very good paper quality. They are also priced rightly. Initially they were priced at INR 55 per book. Later on, They revised the pricing and got it rounded off to INR 50 per book. This price is very much acceptable for a multi colour book in B-5 Size with a an average Page count of 84 (12 Books are 96 Pagers and the remaining 12 are 72 pagers). Here are the scans of Book 1 from this series which is the only one penned by Lee Falk before his demise. The 1st page of the story and the last page of the story are also provided to have a clear view of the printing quality.
| Euro Books Book No 1 The Dakk Pirates | Euro Books Book No 1 The Dakk Pirates 1st Page | Euro Books Phantom Series Back Cover |
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Though these books are dated as 2010 in the credits page, They were made to available for sales only from April 2011. Here is the complete index of all the stories and the creators info. Thanks to Steve Cottle and his wonderful Site, we have got the complete index. Here is the Link to Steve’s Site: I Love Comix
| The Complete Index of the Euro Books – The Phantom Daily Strips series – Euro Books Dated 2010 – On Stands April 2011 |
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Note: There are certain books which end before the total number of pages mentioned in the index. For Example, the last book has a total number of pages of 96. However, the story ends in page 81 itself. To maintain the continuity with the number of pages, the publishers have included the preview of other phantom stories as fillers for the remaining pages. Hence in the last book, we have the preview of The locus God (8 Pages) and the Secret Temple of Eden (7 Pages).
Behold, here is the complete cover gallery of all the 24 Euro books in the Phantom series. Those residing in Tamil Nadu, here is the contact Number of Mr Om Prakash (Mobile:09383588878 & Mail id: ompra_73@yahoo.com). Those in India, Kindly click on the Contact page to get the contact details of Euro Books to buy this wonderful set.
| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 1 The Dakk Pirates Cover | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 2 The Ghost Wall Cover | Euro Books Phantom Series Book 3 The Treasure Hunters Cover |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 4 The Secret City Cover | Euro Books Phantom Series Book 5 The Valley of Gorilla Man | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 6 Ghost Quest Cover |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 7 Ghost Pirates | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 8 The Animal Collector | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 9 The Immortal Man |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 10 Jungle Mystery | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 11 The Hit Men | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 12 The Connoisseurs |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 13 The Viper God | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 14 The Locust God | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 15 Stripes |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 16 U Boat Mystery | Euro Books Phantom Series Book 17 Secret Temple of Eden | Euro Books Phantom SerieBook No 18 The Crime Apprentices |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 19 The Challenge | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 20 The Return of Chatu | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 21 The Doorman |
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| Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 22 The Jungle Gang | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 23 Ordeal At Sea | Euro Books Phantom Series Book No 24 Graffitti |
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As in the case of the regular posts, here are the details of the creator details of these stories. Some of these creators’ photos are not available online considering the fact that Phantom happens to be the most well known comic character across the globe.
News for the Tamil Comics Fans: There is a good news waiting in the wings for the Tamil Comirades. Very Soon (In fact, very, very soon) we are going to read these absolutely wonderful stories in our own Language – Tamil. Yes sir, that is going to happen. A Well known Publisher (An old friend of Yours truly) has recently acquired the rights to publish these in Tamil and this is the 1st time that he is venturing into Comics/Graphic Novels. As this involves lots of trade risk, TCU is holding the name of the publisher for the time being. However, you’ll get to know that news officially very soon and that will also be posted in TCU as well. Remember, you read it first here.
Well, that's all for the time being. As usual, post your comments in the comments section. For those who want to Pen their thoughts in Tamil, Kindly Use the Option Provided in the Widget in the Blog.
Thanks & Regards,
King Viswa.
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