Phantom 1979

MESSAGE FROM THE PUBLISHER The feature story in this issue is another from the prolific pen of Claes Reimerthi and who might you expect to capture the brooding imagery of a dark arts, supernatural plot for Fantomen? Kari Leppänen, is an easy fit for this type of material since he has owned this unique style over many years and a plethora of Phantom stories. The murder of Grigori Rasputin, Russia’s infamous “Mad Monk,” is the fodder for a great

FREW PUBLICATIONS PTY LIMITED AS TRUSTEE OF THE HERO AND DEVIL UNIT TRUST ABN 22 635 668 711 POSTAL ADDRESS PO Box 2206, Clovelly West NSW 2031 STREET ADDRESS Unit 13/77-79 Bourke Road, Alexandria, NSW 2015 Australia Phone + 61 (0)2 9261 8122 email: dudley@frewpublications.com.au Web: www.phantomcomic.com.au

historical tale that blends fact and legend. The best-known account of Rasputin’s murder appears in Yusupov’s memoirs, published in 1928. The prince claimed to have invited Rasputin to his palace to meet his wife, Irina, then served him a platter of cakes and numerous glasses of wine laced with toxic potassium cyanide. To Yusupov’s astonishment, Rasputin appeared to be unaffected by the poison. The desperate prince borrowed a revolver from Grand Duke Dmitri, the czar’s cousin, and shot Rasputin multiple times but was still unable to kill him. As Yusupov later wrote, “This devil who was dying of poison, who had a bullet in his heart, must have been raised from the dead by the powers of evil. There was something appalling and monstrous in his diabolical refusal to die.” Rumors that circulated in the immediate aftermath of Rasputin’s death suggested water was found in his lungs, indicating the “Mad Monk” had ultimately died by drowning. Rasputin’s rise from the peasant ranks to spiritual advisor and faith healing guru to the czar and his family followed by this disturbingly macabre assassination certainly lends itself to inspire boundless magical and mythical conjecture. Rasputin’s last appearance in a Phantom story

Cover: Fantomen9/2019 Artist: Luca Erbetta

Rene White - Director Glenn Ford - Art Director Dudley Hogarth - Publisher

Kayleigh Martin - Office Manager Alan Ho - Production Assistant Front Cover Art: Tadam Guerz Printed by James Yeates Printing Bairnsdale Victoria Distributed by Are Direct Sydney Melbourne Auckland Pre Press - Frew Publications Pty Limited This is the 2007th edition. Published on 12/09/2024 The Phantom © King Features Syndicate Inc. 2024 ™ Hearst Holdings, Inc. New York NY USA World rights reserved CONTENT ADVISORY: Please note that this publication is a direct reproduction of historical content and is presented in its original form. As such, it may include negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. Frew Publications Pty Limited first published The Phantom 09 September 1948

The Mad Monk Grigori Rasputin

was in in issue #1836 “The Angel of Retribution” prior to that in “The Dark Chalice” parts 1 and 2 (#1833 and #1834) and even earlier in “Rasputin’s Puzzle” (#1705) The end of “The Seventh Icon” gives us an indication of Claes Reimerthi’s intention to take the character further. Perhaps another writer might pick up on that idea in time? Our final story is the wonderful “Operation Domino” part 3 by Duncan Munro with art by Fabio Alves. The Phantom and Anders Larsen have been captured by German soldiers in Yemen of all places, so camels and sand storms are a given I’d imagine! Fare thee well, till it be morrow!” Dudley Hogarth, Publisher at Frew. NB: All back issues of Phantom, Phantom’s World, Giantsize and Kid Phantom as well as our Trade Paper backs are available direct at www.phantomcomic.com.au Coming Next: On Sale 26th September 2024

Issue #1980 “The Mystery of the Mali Bex” and “Operation Domino” p4

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