Phantom Comic #2000 By Frew Publications

Frew Publications based in Sydney, Australia have achieved an amazing milestone, publishing a continuous Phantom comic book series since the 9th of September 1948, releasing edition number 2000 this week.

Frew Publications was established as a publishing house by Ron Forsyth, Jim Richardson, Jack Eisen and Peter Watson. The first letter of each of their surnames was used to create the company name, FREW.

The commencement of the Phantom comic book series in Australia was a gamble for Frew Publications at the time, evidence of this uncertainty of how the Australian public would take to the Phantom is seen with edition number 1 and number 2, with a comic book number omitted on these first 2 editions. From comic book number 3, a comic book number is published on the front cover.

‘Enter The Phantom’, issue number 1, went on sale on the 9th of September 1948, containing the Phantom story ‘The Slave Traders’ at a price of sixpence. Issue number 2, titled ‘In The Tiger’s Lair’, contained the story ‘Queen Asta of Trondelay’, also at a price of sixpence. It’s believed that the titles on the comic covers were different/changed to the titles of the comic strips to making the story sound more exciting and appealing to the comic book buying public in Australia. These 2 comics were printed in landscape format (which was unique at the time) with color printed only on the front covers and 2 staples holding the pages together on the left side of the comic.

More information about edition number 1 can be found HERE

A number of other series have been released by Frew Publications over the years which feature the Phantom, sometimes in conjunction with other characters in separate comic strip stories, within the one comic book. Some of these other series include:

Super Yank Comics – 18 comic book series published from 1950 thru till 1952
The Phantom Adventures – 3 story book series published from 1955 thru till 1956
Giantsize Phantom Comics (firsts series) – 26 comic book series published from 1957 thru till 1961
The Phantom’s World – 12 comic book series published from 2017 thru till 2020
Kid Phantom – 10 comic book series published from 2017 thru till 2021
Giantsize Phantom Comics (second series) – 32 comic book series published from 2017 thru till now

More information on these series can be found HERE

In 1991, Frew Publications celebrated the release of the 1000th edition with a 292 page collector’s special comic, number 972, by providing a free giveaway comic book in the form of a replica of the first edition to be released in the series back in 1948 titled ‘Enter The Phantom’. It was sold in newsagents in a sealed clear plastic bag with the replica comic inserted loose in the rear of the pack. This 1000th edition was also the first time we saw a Phantom comic book sold in plastic packaging in Australia.

In 2025, we continue to find a Phantom comic book in newsagents on a fortnightly basis in Australia. This 2000th edition is a large milestone, not shared by another publishing house releasing a comic book character in a continues unbroken series, in print for 77 years!!!

Although the number printed on the front cover is number 2000, a few anomalies in the numbering system found in the series have been published by Frew Publications since 1948, resulting in the actual edition to be released this week being the 2028th edition in the series. The anomalies include:

Unnumbered – no comic number appears on the cover,
Numbered ‘A’ – a second comic edition number is seen followed by a letter ‘A’,
Unpublished – the comic was omitted from going to print,
Incorrect Number – the incorrect comic number appears on the cover.

A detailed list of the numbering anomalies found in the series can be found HERE

This 2000th Phantom comic book edition just released by Frew Publications contains 228 color pages. Cover art is completed by Australian artist Daniel Picciotto with six Phantom comic strip stories published within:

The Golden Circle – written by Lee Falk and illustrated by Ray Moore.
The Golden Circle – written by Lee Falk and illustrated by Ray Moore.
Return of The Golden Circle – written by Julie Ditrich and illustrated by Wendell Cavalcanti.
The Chain – written by Lee Falk and illustrated by Wilson McCoy.
The Chain – written by Tony DePaul and illustrated Bret Blevins.
The Tomb of Zadak – written by Pidde Andersson and illustrated Giancarlo Caracuzzo.
Fury #2 – written by Paul Mason and Amanda Bacchi and illustrated by Paul Mason.

The front and back cover can be seen below.

Unlike other countries who have seen Phantom comic book series published on-and-off by a myriad of publishers, Phantom fans in Australia have been fortunate to have a continuously released Phantom comic book series since 1948, in a format which has remained relatively unchanged by Frew Publications.

Not to also mention that Phantom comic books are sold in the majority of newsagents throughout Australia, and a subscription service commencing several years ago by Frew Publications, making them extremally accessibly at a competitive price.

A big CONGRATULATIONS must be extended to the ‘Frew Crew‘ and a continued successful formula of tremendous work put in at Frew Publications.

KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!!!

Frew Publications website can be found HERE