Frew Publications

Frew Publications publishes Lee Falk's "The Phantom" comic in Australia, and formerly published other comics including Falk's earlier creation "Mandrake the Magician". It operates from central Sydney and its managing director is Jim Shepherd.

History

Namesake

The Name Frew is an acronym made from the surnames of the four founders of Frew publications. F: Forsyth, Ron

R: Rishardson, Jim

E: Eisen, Jack

W: Watson, Peter

Establishment

Frew Publications began in 1948 with the four founders each contributing 500 Australian pounds to fund the establishment of the publishing house.

The Phantom Publishing Chronology

The following section is a publishing chronology for the Frew Publications comic series The Phantom. The first edition of The Phantom was issued in Australia in 1948 and it has today reached an estimated circulation of 25000 units. [hxxp://z9.invisionfree.com/TheChronicle_Chamber/index.php?showtopic=138] As of 2007, Frew sales figures place The Phantom's distribution above all other contemporary comic books sold in Australia.http://haiche.bigcat.net.au/phantoms/images/phantom70years.jpg] It also places first in duration of publication: in 2006 Frew celebrated 70 years of continuity, longer than any other Australian comics syndicate. As of November 6, 2007, Frew has issued 1492 editions of The Phantom.

1948

1951

1954

1957

1960

1961

Notes

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

"Index: The First 50 Years of the Phantom", compiled/edited by Jim Shepherd, first published by Frew Publications in 1998
"The Phantom: A Publishing History in Australia", by Bryan Shedden, [http://deepwoods.org/frew_chron.html]

External links

[http://www.deepwoods.org/frew.html A History of Frew Publications]