Giantsize

Giantsize Phantom comics were first published by Frew Publications in April 1957 and contained a compilation of four or five complete stories about various characters in each issue. These 92 page comics were published about every two months, and had a cover price of two shillings. The comic book size varied from edition to edition, with spine roll and cover detachment common due to the thickness of the comic.

The first story in each issue was the Phantom, and these were backed-up mainly by the Australian-created characters “Phantom Ranger”, “The Shadow”, and “Sir Falcon”. Other characters featured in the series, were “Catman & Kit”, “Planetman”, “Range Rider”, “Wonder Boy”, “Steve Rampart”, “Phantom Lady”, “Kalar the Caveman”, “Davy Crockett”, “Robin Hood”, “Red Wing”, “Bomb Squad F”, and “Buster Crabbe”. The glossy art-paper covers featured the Phantom teamed up with the three or four other main characters contained in the comic.

The first two issues of the series were not numbered and could be identified by the following means: #1 was called GIANTSIZE PHANTOM COMIC, while #2 was called GIANTSIZE COMIC WITH THE PHANTOM. The series ran for 26 issues, with the last edition being published in about April 1961.

The publisher changed names midway through the series: the first five issues were credited to Frew Publications, but from #6 to the last, the publisher was Tricho Publications Pty. Ltd., of 149 Castlereagh St, Sydney.

Although the words GIANTSIZE COMIC appeared on all of the covers, the main cover title varied throughout the series: #1 GIANTSIZE PHANTOM, #2-16 GIANTSIZE, and #17-26 PHANTOM.

In 2017, Frew Publications reintroduced Giantsize comics into it’s stable of series of comics, following a similar format and mix of characters as seen in the first series from the 1950’s. The first 16 comic book covers in this series can be seen below.