El Hombre Enmascarado (which translates to ‘The Masked Man’) is the first time the Phantom appears in Spain in comic book form, printed by Hispano Americana de Ediciones based in Barcelona. 3 separate series of comic books were published, commencing from 1941 thru till 1953.
The 3 series were published with the covers printed in color and internal pages in black and white. They were produced in landscape format and changed in size from series to series. The paper they were printed on was extremely thin and transparent, with comic strips on the other side of the page commonly visible (see example below).
The first series ran from 1941 until 1943, containing 105 editions and measure 21cm x 32cm in landscape format. Each comic typically contained 20 pages.
The second series ran from 1949 until 1951, containing 40 editions and measures 17cm x 24cm in portrait format. Each comic typically contained 12 pages.
The third series ran from 1952 until 1953, containing 38 editions and measure 12cm x 17cm in landscape format. Each comic typically contained 12 pages.
Between 1943 to 1944, Hispano Americana de Ediciones also released a set of 8 ‘Red’ albums, containing approximately 96 pages each and measure 21cm x 33cm. Edition number 8 can be seen below.
Hispano Americana de Ediciones also published a series of magazines titled ‘Ediciones Aventurero’, commencing in 1936 which was split into 3 separate series. They featured a mix of comic book characters which included Flash Gordon, Terry and the Pirates, Jorge and Fernando, Jungle Jim, Secret Agent X-9, Brick Bradford, The Lone Ranger and more. The Phantom was also included in the series.
The first series was published from 1936 thru to 1938 and ran for 166 editions, containing approximately 8 pages per edition measuring 34cm x 24cm with a mix of comic strip characters published within each edition, with one internal page dedicated to each character. The Phantom wasn’t featured on any of the front covers.
The second series was published in 1945 and ran for 31 edition, containing approximately 12 pages per edition measuring 37cm x 26cm. The Phantom appeared on the header image of all editions, plus featured as the main character on 6 front covers, as can be seen below.
An Almanaque Aventurero edition was published by Hispano Americana in 1946 containing 74 color and black and white pages measuring 26cm x 18cm. the Phantom is found both within the comic book, plus on the front and back covers.
The third series was published in 1953 and ran for 38 editions, containing approximately 28 pages per edition measuring 29cm x 20.5cm with a mix of comic strip characters published within each edition, with one internal page dedicated to each character. The Phantom wasn’t featured in this series.
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