The Fantomen comic book series was first published by Serieförlaget in Sweden, with edition number 1 released on the 5th of October, 1950.
The 36 pages found in edition number 1 were not solely dedicated to the Phantom, but also contain stories featuring Louie, Nancy, Curly Kayoe and Hopalong Cassidy. For the first eight years of Fantomen, daily newspaper strip stories were published in chronological order, serialized across several consecutive issues. The Phantom also didn’t appear on all Fantomen covers until 1959, where the comic book content shifted to solely feature the Phantom.
Fantomen edition number 1 measures 17cm x 26cm and is published in full color. We find a portion of the Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy Phantom story, ‘The Maharajah’s Daughter’ in the comic book. The front cover is illustrated by George Camitz, with the back cover containing a wrist watch advertisement.
Below we see a few internal pages featuring the Phantom found within the comic book, in his blue suite and red trunks, the colors the Phantom is published in Sweden. The comic strip is published in Swedish language.
Fantomen edition number 1 also introduces readers to Fantomen Klubben, a Phantom club that would become hugely popular amongst Swedish fans, run by the publisher of Fantomen for over 50 years. Below we see the publishers introductory page, plus some information on the Phantoms creator, Lee Falk.
We find the edition number of Fantomen number 1 on the front cover, plus we also find it on the outside back cover, on the top right. This unique feature is not commonly seen on comic books.
Replica
In 1990, Semic Press released a replica of Fantomen edition number 1 to commemorate 40 years since Fantomen commence publication. The replica was attached to the centerfold of Fantomen comic book number 20. This edition would also mark the first time that wraparound cover art would be found on a Fantomen comic, illustrated by Kari Leppänen.
We see an image of Fantomen edition number 1 on the front cover, notify readers that this edition is found within. Containing a total of 106 pages, the comic is published in full color and measures 17cm x 26cm.
Below we see Fantomen edition number 1 still attached to the 1990 Fantomen comic book number 20.
The front and back covers of the replica of Fantomen edition number 1 can be seen below.
The Phantom 