Back-Up

The Back-Up fanzine series was published by Tristan Lapoussière in France commencing in January 1998. Throughout its run, the series contains 12 editions, with the final edition released in November 2002. Each fanzine features informative articles centered around comic books and their creators, delving into the intricate details of the storytelling, artistic styles, and historical context of the comics featured.

Edition number 7, released in August 2000, prominently features the Phantom, both on the front cover and within several feature articles, consisting of approximately 90 black and white pages. The front cover showcases an image by Don Newton, which was originally published by Charlton Comics in the United States on the cover of edition number 74 in 1977. The front and back covers are displayed below.

An edition number is prominently displayed on the front cover, along with the month and year of release. The title of the series is located at the top of the front cover, accompanied by the series tagline, ‘Pour Une Nouvelle Approche Des Comics’, which translates to ‘For A New Approach To Comics’.

Contained in the 7th edition of Back-Up fanzine are a range of informative articles, including two that focus on the Phantom, on pages 7 and 23:

  • Page 3 – Editorial by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 6 – Pin-Up: Illustration by George Tuska for Detective Book vol. 4 n°7 (Fiction House, fall 1944)
  • Page 7 – File: The Phantom: the golden age of the Phantom by Pierre Bercé
  • Page 23 – Bibliography: Publications at Remparts du Fantôme, Ray Moore and Ray Moore / Wilson McCoy period by Pierre Bercé & Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 27 – Rereading: Deathlok: towards a new approach to narration by Jérôme Pescheloche
  • Page 42 – On shelves: The Gene Colan Annual, The Art of Nick Cardy, Superheroes: Joe Kubert’s Wonderful World of Comics by Philippe Benoist & Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 45 – Internet: Gene Colan’s Virtual Studio, the Back-Up site, the DBTFCA by Philippe Benoist, Xavier Souplet & Tristan Ladusse
  • Page 47 – In Memoriam: Don Martin by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 48 – In Memoriam: Charles Schulz by Tristan Ladusche, Philippe Benoist & Pierre Bercé
  • Page 55 – In Memoriam: Pat Boyette by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 64 – In Memoriam: Dick Sprang by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 71 – In Memoriam: Fred Rhoads by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 74 – In Memoriam: George Roussos by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 77 – In Memoriam: Alfredo Pidz Alcala by Tristan Lapoussière
  • Page 82 – Spotlight: Meteor Martin: the joys of space opera according to Basil Wolverton by Daniel Duclos
  • Page 89 – Without a Single Crease: readers’ letters

The full series of Back-Up fanzine, which showcases a diverse range of creative expressions and perspectives from various contributors, can be seen below, providing readers with an enriching experience that highlights the passion and dedication of the underground scene immersed in zine culture.