Defenders of the Earth, edition number 3 by US based publisher Mad Cave Studios have started to appear online for pre-order.

The Defenders of the Earth cartoon series main characters are Flash Gordon, the Phantom, Mandrake the Magician and Lothar, who are all licensed by King Features Syndicate. Mad Cave Studios currently hold publishing permission to release new Flash Gordon and Defenders of the Earth comic books.

This third edition is due for release on the 30th of October 2024, a series scheduled to contain 8 editions, with a new edition due for release on a monthly basis. Pre-order advertisements describe this edition as:

Kit Walker’s brother, Kurt, claims to be the new Phantom and has launched an all-out war with the Singh Brotherhood. Even worse, his brother convinced his daughter, Jedda, to join him. Meanwhile, Rick Gordon battles an enemy from his own past. With the world crumbling around them both, is Mandrake’s magic enough to hold the pieces together?

Two varying cover designs are currently seen, which both feature the Phantom. Cover 3A (seen below left) is illustrated by Jim Calafiore and cover 3B (seen below right) is illustrated by Djordje Djokovic. The story is written by Dan DiDio, illustrated by Jim Calafiore, colored by Juancho Velez and lettered by Carlos M. Mangual.

Interestingly, cover 3B contains an image of the Phantom figure released by NECA in the USA in 2022, however NECA released the figure in a box packaging and not attached to a card as found on the Mad Cave Studios comic book cover. The look of the figure is more reminiscent of the design seen on the Defenders of the Earth figure released by Galoob in the UK in 1985.

The pre-order advertisements on Mad Cave Studios website for the third edition of the Defenders of the Earth comic book series can be found HERE

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