Set Description
"No! You must not kill! Only the law can take a life! Even these men have the right to a fair trial by jury!"----STRAIGHT ARROW (September 1950)
"Stand back and shut up,pop! The first one to open his mouth will be swallowing bullets!"--Crime Does Not Pay # 39 (November 1943)
"In 1933 came the COMIC BOOK, and while it swamped the nation with sensationalism, it became gradually clear that here was one of the most remarkable educational potentials yet discovered in man's history."--COULTON WAUGH, author of The Comics
‘PITY THE NATION THAT HAS NO HEROS!’ ‘PITY THE NATION THAT NEEDS THEM!’- GALILEO, BERTOIT BRECHT
"We have met the enemy and he is us."--POGO POSSUM
"I spare you to live--to live in misery also--to watch and see the suffering and grief that I, your creation, will cause the human race. You will chase me, but never get me! I go now, always haunting and tormenting you!"---FRANKENSTEIN, Prize Comics # 7 (December 1940)
"I believe in the brotherhood of man and PEACE ON EARTH. If I could do it with a wave of my hand I'd STOP ALL THIS WAR and this SILLY NONSENSE OF KILLING PEOPLE. So I used the SUPER HEROES' powers to accomplish what I couldn't do as a person. The SUPER HEROES were my wish-fulfillment figures for BENEFITTING THE WORLD."--GARDNER FOX
"I had no idea how one would go about stealing from a locker in GRAND CENTRAL, but I have COMIC BOOKS which describe that in minute detail and I could go out now and do it." ---DR. FREDERIC WERTHAM, author of Seduction of the Innocent
"It may be said that no acceptable evidence has been produced by WERTHAM or anyone else for the conclusion that the reading of comic magazines has, or has not, a significant relation to delinquent behavior."---PROFESSOR FREDERIC M. THRASHER, "The Comics and Delinquency Cause or Scapegoat"
In the passage from heroes to superheroes we are closer to the redundancy of the heroic, the fact that conditions for ordinary heroism are increasingly impossible. Is this a sign of impending apocalypse, as the postmodern genre repeatedly signals through its dystopian universe? Or else might the genre, through an overall sharpening of contradictions, give a glimpse of a time when not heroism but the lack of it will determine human relations. David Gonzalez purchased a 1930s era abandoned house in ELBOW LAKE, MINNESOTA for $10,000. He found a copy of ACTION COMICS # 1 among some newspaper used as insulation in a wall cavity. SUPERMAN had made his FIRST APPEARANCE on the cover of Action Comics # 1 in JUNE 1938. This copy of Action Comics # 1 sold for over $175,000. SUPERMAN is considered by many to be AMERICA'S FIRST SUPERHERO. THE PHANTOM comic strip debuted in THE NEW YORK JOURNAL on FEBRUARY 17, 1936. The PHANTOM was a mysterious MASKED crime-fighter in SKIN TIGHT COSTUME who used his totemic SKULL RING to brand his enemies with the SKULL SIGN. The PHANTOM was dedicated to the destruction of all forms of PIRACY, GREED and CRUELTY. Despite the fact that the PHANTOM PREDATES the debut of SUPERMAN in ACTION COMICS # 1, the character's contribution to the SUPERHERO genre has been routinely overlooked. Even though he looked very much like a superhero, the PHANTOM possessed none of the extraordinary powers or abilities commonly associated with such characters.THE PHANTOM has struggled to receive OFFICIAL RECOGNITION as America's First Superhero, but to his INTERNATIONAL FANS, there is little doubt about his rightful historical status. The relative obscurity of the PHANTOM in the UNITED STATES has been offset by his phenomenal success in AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN and INDIA.
YOUNG PERSONS (HARMFUL PUBLICATIONS) BILL-INDIA, 1956.
The intensity of public debate surrounding comic books provoked governments in AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN, and INDIA to introduce legislation which POLICED the production and dissemination of comic books, especially to minors. This controversy reached the HIGHEST LEVELS OF INDIA'S GOVERNMENT after PRIME MINISTER JAWAHARLAL NEHRU, appalled by the CONTENTS OF A "HORROR COMIC" given to his GRANDSON, called for them to be "SUPPRESSED RUTHLESSLY." THE INDIAN PARLIAMENT'S LOK SABHA (HOUSE OF THE PEOPLE) unanimously passed the YOUNG PERSONS (HARMFUL PUBLICATIONS) BILL in NOVEMBER 1956, which prohibited the production and sale within INDIA of any publication which used illustrations to portray "ACTS OF VIOLENCE OR CRUELTY" or " INCIDENTS OF A REPULSIVE OR HORRIBLE NATURE." INTERESTINGLY! just TWO YEARS ago the following had transpired in the UNITED STATES. The year was 1954 and three significant things happened. Dr Frederic Wertham, a long time vociferous critic of the comic book industry, published SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT, a book which detailed the allegedly ill effects upon children of reading comic books containing crime, sex, and violence. Next, the United States Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in the United States held public hearings on the deleterious effects of comic books on children. Finally, in October 1954, comic book publishers established the self regulatory Comics Code Authority which imposed a strict set of industry standards upon comic books. Did JAWAHARLAL NEHRU-THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA SECRETLY communicate with DR FREDRICK WERTHAM? Or was he inspired by SOTI to introduce the INDIAN BILL in NOVEMBER 1956? It is UNKNOWN but there may be a CONNECTION. We may never find out. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE!
THE CULTURAL DEFENSE COMMITTEE-AUSTRALIA, PAMPHLET OF 1935.
This committee was founded by the FELLOWSHIP OF AUSTRALIAN WRITERS. The success of MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN which debuted in DECEMBER 1934 in THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY which was launched in JUNE 1933 fed mounting public concerns over the CORROSIVE INFLUENCE OF AMERICAN CULTURE WITHIN AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY. The Cultural Defense Committee launched a blistering attack on the MORAL EFFECTS OF IMPORTED AMERICAN COMIC STRIPS. In its 1935 pamphlet, MENTAL RUBBISH FROM OVERSEAS, condemned MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN in particular as an OUTRAGE not only to "COMMON SENSE AND SCIENCE, BUT ALSO COMMON MORALITY AND INTELLECTUAL DECENCY". Such comic strips were, according to the committee, the PRODUCT OF A DEBAUCHED SOCIETY where belief in witchcraft and demonology, brought to AMERICA BY SUPERSTITIOUS EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS, "found new stimulus from contact with AFRAMERICAN NEGRO ideas of voodoo." This chorus of disapproval, briefly silenced for the duration of World War II grew louder in AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN and INDIA in the postwar era. AUSTRALIA'S federal government amended the CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS in 1952, which now banned the importation of comics which "UNDULY EMPHASIZED MATTERS OF SEX, HORROR, OR CRIME AND WERE LIKELY TO ENCOURAGE DEPRAVITY." Several state governments throughout AUSTRALIA introduced measures to further control the publication and distribution of comic books within their jurisdiction. VICTORIA and NEW SOUTH WALES passed laws which held magazine wholesalers liable for the publication and distribution of "OBSCENE" literature. AUSTRALIA'S largest magazine distributor, sought to protect itself from prosecution under these new laws by INSTIGATING A SECRET CENSORSHIP PROGRAM whereby publishers were required to submit forthcoming magazines distributed by the company for review PRIOR to publication. THE PHANTOM was not spared and throughout 1954-1958, FREW PUBLICATIONS removed all traces of KNIVES and WHIPS from villains' hands and ALTERED SOME OF DIANA PALMER'S REVEALING COSTUMES TO MAKE THEM MORE MODEST.
HISTORY OF COMICS IN INDIA AND WORLD WAR II
INDIA's wartime experience highlights the informal and irregular channels whereby AMERICAN COMIC BOOKS circulated throughout the world during the 1940s. INDIA, still under BRITISH COLONIAL RULE, became a vital source of material supplies and military personnel for BRITAIN's war effort. Following the UNITED STATES' declaration of war against Japan, INDIA became a STRATEGIC OPERATIONAL BASE for the ALLIES' SOUTH EAST ASIA COMMAND, from where BRITISH and AMERICAN FORCES launched operations against the JAPANESE in neighboring BURMA. AMERICAN SOLDIERS brought with them not only WEAPONS and MACHINES, but COMIC BOOKS as well. AABID SURTI who was born in 1935 and who created the FAMED INDIAN COMIC-BOOK HERO BAHADUR, recalled how he received his FIRST-EVER COMIC BOOK featuring MICKEY MOUSE from SOLDIERS TRAVELING THROUGH BOMBAY, WHO THREW COPIES FROM THE TRAIN TO CHILDREN BEGGING FOR MONEY AND FOOD. There was little evidence of locally published children's periodicals, of any description, in the decade following INDIA'S INDEPENDENCE FROM GREAT BRITAIN IN 1947. Aside from children's supplements appearing in English language newspapers such as THE TIMES OF INDIA, the earliest and possibly only example from this period was CHANDAMAMA, an illustrated "children's paper" edited by film producer B. NAGI REDDY, and initially published in TELGU and TAMIL editions in JULY 1947. The bulk of the comic books available to INDIAN READERS following the WAR would be imported from GREAT BRITAIN and the UNITED STATES by local publishers, many of whom had commercial interests in wholesale book distribution and retail bookstalls. AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN and INDIA soon became valuable markets for AMERICA'S COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY, which was now facing some unique challenges arising from its explosive wartime growth. There was an ECONOMIC DOWNTURN that was exacerbated by the DEMOBILIZATION OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS, whose comic-book purchases at MILITARY POSTAL EXCHANGES (PXs) had previously exceeded sales of mainstream magazines to service personnel by TEN TO ONE. American publishers were thus compelled to look abroad in search on untapped foreign markets. COMIC BOOKS came relatively late to INDIA and, as such locally drawn comic books did not really captivate INDIAN audiences until 1960s and 1970s, long after the postwar comic-book craze had subsided in AUSTRALIA and SWEDEN. Despite INDIA's large population, imported BRITISH and AMERICAN COMICS still only reached a relatively small readership. In 1962 one INDIAN DISTRIBUTOR said that although demand for imported comic books had grown by 25 percent in the previous decade, his company still imported a rather modest 25,000 comic magazines per month. These were miniscule sums given that, by 1966, approximately 12, 000,000 INDIANS were deemed to be "LITERATE IN ENGLISH." Domestic magazine publishing was further stymied by the scarcity of imported newsprint, the allocation of which was controlled by the OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR OF NEWSPAPERS FOR INDIA during the 1960s. When set against this challenging backdrop, the eventual success of THE PHANTOM comic-book franchise in INDIA seems all the more remarkable. Yet just as it was with the birth of AMERICA'S COMICS INDUSTRY during the mid-1930s, economic concerns drove the birth of INDIA's comic book industry in the early 1960s.
SUPERMAN-INDRAJAL COMICS CONNECTION AND BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO.
ANANT PAI (1929-2011) was a junior executive in BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO's book publishing division at the time when his supervisor P.K. ROY, remarked that the company's printing presses lay idle after orders were met for INDIA's calendar production season. ROY thought they could be used to print comic books to keep them operating at peak capacity, and INITIALLY SUGGESTED THAT SUPERMAN WOULD BE A SUITABLE TITLE. PAI, however, recommended the company choose THE PHANTOM instead, on grounds that its "STEAMY TRIBAL MILIEU" would be more familiar to INDIAN AUDIENCES. THE PHANTOM thus became the designated "STAR" of the company's FIRST COMIC MAGAZINE, INDRAJAL COMICS, which also contained locally produced educational features (OUR NEW AGE OF SCIENCE) and humorous comic strips (LITTLE RAJA). BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO, marketed the comic in THE TIMES OF INDIA, promoting it as a "MODERN EDUCATIONAL COMIC" that was " SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR INDIAN CHILDREN." Mindful of the anti-comics furor which convulsed INDIA in the 1950s, the FIRST ISSUE also contained an editorial which emphasized its positive contribution to the NATION'S MODERNIZATION DRIVE. It is listed below:
" The truth is that the medium of comics is an EXCELLENT one, and, there are GOOD COMICS and BAD COMICS. The medium of COLOUR COMICS could be effectively employed in a variety of ways in our country and made to serve the cause of the eradication of illiteracy and of imparting education through entertainment."
INDRAJAL COMICS was launched in MARCH 1964, printed in color and simultaneously published in HINDI, ENGLISH, and MARATHI language editions. The magazine's INDIAN PROVENANCE was reinforced by GOVIND BRAHMANIA'S STRIKING COVER ILLUSTRATIONS which utilized the flat, two-dimentional aesthetic common to INDIAN CALENDAR ART to great effect. BRAHMANIA'S ILLUSTRATIONS emphasized the faux-Indian trappings common to many of LEE FALK'S stories; as FALK himself later disclosed, he invented the PHANTOM'S AFRO-INDIAN domain partly to indulge his desire to write stories featuring RAJAS and BENGAL TIGERS. The FIRST issue contained FALK'S 1954 story "THE BELT" but this had to be modified to appease local readers sensibilities. The PHANTOM'S fictional country. "BENGALI," was changed to "DENKALI" on the grounds that readers would have been confused by the presence of BANDAR PYGMIES in what they presumed was meant to be the BENGALI REGION OF NORTHEAST INDIA. Furthermore, the name of the pirate who murdered the PHANTOM'S FATHER in "THE BELT" was changed from "RAMA" to "RAMALU" in deference to the HINDU DEITY. These changes greatly enhanced the comic's appeal to local audiences. Comic books were also affordable and ubiquitous, sold at pocket-money prices, and obtainable through a variety of retail outlets, such as newsagents in AUSTRALIA, bookstalls in INDIA, and tobacconists' kiosks in SWEDEN. They were also accessible to children in ways that books were not. Comic Books' emphasis in visual storytelling appealed to children in countries like INDIA, where ILLITERACY RATES REMAINED STUBBORNLY HIGH, as one child remarked, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND EACH AND EVERY WORD IN COMICS-THE PICTURES TELL YOU QUITE A LOT." The commercial success of INDRAJAL COMICS proved beyond doubt that there existed a large enough audience capable of sustaining domestic comic-book production. The popularity of AMERICAN HEROS, such as the PHANTOM and FLASH GORDON, gave BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. the opportunity to use INDRAJAL COMICS as a vehicle to promote indigenous comic-book characters. They struck immediate success with BAHADUR (Meaning "BRAVE"), starring a reformed DACOIT (Meaning "ROBBER") who, together with his girlfriend BELA, led a CITIZENS' SECURITY FORCE to defend their village from the notorious CHAMBAL VALLEY BANDITS. The series created by AABID SURTI and GOVIND BRAHMANIA, was inspired by the crime wave then sweeping CENTRAL INDIA and met with immediate acclaim upon its debut in INDRAJAL COMICS in 1976. The success of THE PHANTOM provided BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. with the commercial means to support locally drawn comics, just as it had done so for FREW PUBLICATIONS in AUSTRALIA in the 1940s.
This is the very first set being registered for INDRAJAL COMICS published in INDIA. These books are EXTREMELY RARE and very hard to collect. They primarily consists of:
1.PHANTOM-THE GHOST WHO WALKS (AMERICA'S FIRST UNOFFICIAL SUPERHERO)
2.MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN.
3.FLASH GORDON
4.BAHADUR-A legendary Indian hero.
5.RIP KIRBY
6. BUZ SAWYER
7. PHIL CORRIGAN
8. GARTH
9. MIKE NOMAD
10. KERRY DRAKE
This SET was created on JANUARY 26th, 2018-REPUBLIC DAY OF INDIA in honor of the COUNTRY OF PUBLICATION OF THESE COMICS.
This SET is HISTORICAL as it added the FIRST INDRAJAL COMICS ISSUES IN THE WORLD TO BE EVER CERTIFIED BY CGC namely INDRAJAL COMICS # 138 and182. Both these books will go down in COMICS HISTORY to be the FIRST EVER to be certified by CGC. I added these books to my collection on JANUARY 26th, 2018 which happens to be the REPUBLIC DAY OF INDIA. REPUBLIC DAY honors the date on which the Constitution of India came into effect replacing the Government of India Act (1935) as the governing document of India. The Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on November 26th,1949, and came into effect on JANUARY 26th, 1950 with a democratic government system, completing the country's transition towards becoming an independent republic. JANUARY 26th was chosen as the Republic day because it was on this day in 1930 when Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress as opposed to the Dominion status offered by British Regime.
INDRAJAL COMICS
Indrajal Comics was a series launched by the publisher of THE TIMES OF INDIA, Bennet, Coleman & Co in March 1964. The first 32 issues contained Lee Falk's The Phantom stories, but thereafter, the title alternated between various King Features characters, including Lee Falk's Mandrake, Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon, Rip Kirby and Phil Corrigan, Roy Crane's Buz Sawyer, Allen Saunders' Mike Nomad, Kerry Drake, and Steve Dowling's Garth. Later it also published BAHADUR, an Indian comic hero created by AABID SURTI in 1976.The cover artwork for the first 50 or so issues of Indrajal Comics was done by B.Govind, with the back cover featuring a pin-up poster. Govind's painted covers are highly regarded amongst Indian Phantom fans, and are on par with those of George Wilson for the Gold Key series and the Avon novels from the USA. The Indrajal Comics were a full-colour production from #8 onwards, with The Phantom's costume being coloured blue for the first 10 issues in the series, but thereafter the color was changed to the more traditional purple. Several of the covers (e.g. #1, #9, #10 and #13) even dared to show The Phantom's eyes. Indrajal Comics commenced with a monthly schedule. The first 10 issues devoted 16 pages to The Phantom, so many of the stories were edited to fit this format. Twelve pages were devoted to general knowledge and other stuff. The next 19 issues were 20-24 pages. Beginning with issue #29, Indrajal standardized on the conventional 32 page format. The series switched to fortnightly publication from #35 on JANUARY 1st 1967 (released on the 1st and 15th of each month). MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN made his first of many appearances in #46 (JULY 15th 1967). Indrajal Comics changed to a weekly schedule from #385 on November 1–7, 1981(The Embers of Fury, Part I).This issue featured "The Phantom" once again.Starting with #789 on 20 Aug 1989(Vol 26 No 33), the series once again returned to a fortnightly schedule with 36 pages each. Starting in 1981, yearly subscriptions could be purchased for rupees 64.Each issue was individually numbered until JANUARY 2nd, 1983 when the editors decided to use a volume and number typical of periodical publications. Hence, #444 was identified as Vol.20 No.1 and so forth.The front cover design was also changed, with the introduction of the distinctive Indrajal Comics banner. A total of 803 Indrajal Comics were published, excluding #123 and #124 which were not printed due to industrial strike action. More than half of these issues contained PHANTOM stories. Starting with #789 on AUGUST 20th, 1989 (Vol 26 No 33),[ the series briefly returned to a fortnightly schedule with 36 pages each, before the publishers decided to cancel the series in their 27th year of production. The last issue was #805, published on April 16th,1990 (Vol 27 No 8:Dara:The Jaws of Treachery).
INDRAJAL COMICS COLLECTORS-INDIA
This set is dedicated to all the COLLECTORS of Indrajal Comics in India and fans across the globe. Many collectors have amazing collections but never brought INDRAJAL COMICS to the CGC and COLLECTORS SOCIETY PLATFORM. This set will give these comics INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION and make them at PAR will any other comic book series published within the UNITED STATES. This set is also dedicated to all the PHANTOM and MANDRAKE FANS across the globe but mostly in INDIA, SWEDEN and AUSTRALIA. This set is also dedicated to the amazing PHANTOM, ENCHANTING DIANA PALMER, MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN, KING LOTHAR, PRINCESS NARDA, CHIEF HOJO, FLASH GORDON, BAHADUR and the BEAUTIFUL BELA. Indrajal comics were among the most awaited events on a weekly basis. The Indrajal comics could be picked up from newsstands or when the paperboy/man delivered a new issue every week. Some got their hands onto these from circulating libraries which were common in all towns and cities, big or small, while many hunted around "RADDI" (old paper) stores for them. How the comics found their way to the RADDI SHOP is not a big mystery considering that these comics were either "deserted" by their readers when they grew up, or sold off by some elder person in the house who thought that the books were not worth their storage space anymore. What they didn't know is how much it must have hurt the original owner of these comics and when they saw the pain, it was usually dismissed as a childhood thing which will go away over time. In some cases the comics have passed hands from one generation to the other, with entire families still hooked onto the comics and yes, fathers who read them to their little kids. Indrajal Comics were among the books in the brown canvas bags that students took to school, and also hidden inside geography books so that parents didn't catch them reading the comics secretly. The readership of Indrajal Comics is limited to those who grew up in the 1980s and sadly, the comics were lost to many who grew up in the 1990s and the 21st century. Many forgot about their precious Indrajal comics as they grew up, but a big smile never fails to light up their face whenever reminded about it. There are those who still have the comics stored away somewhere in the attic while for some, it is nothing but a distant memory. A memory that deserves to be revived! THIS SET WILL REVIVE THE MEMORY OF INDRAJAL COMICS AND EVERY CGC CERTIFIED COMIC WHICH IS ADDED TO THIS SET WILL INCLUDE A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK, THE STORY AND THE FRONT AND BACK PICTURE.
THE TRUE STORY OF A DEDICATED INDIAN COMIC BOOK COLLECTOR
This is a true account of the COMIC BOOKS COLLECTING JOURNEY of a passionate collector of Indrajal Comics in INDIA. This story is described below in his own words and with his permission:
"Today I am sharing with you my story: Born in mid 70's and grew up in 80's and 90's, I started reading Indrajal comics from my age of 7. I used to purchase these from Railway stations and many of them from Raddiwalas at a small amount of 50 Paise to 1 Rupee each comic. I also used to take it to school and used to read them in recess time. A few years later my Mother threw most of the comics in Raddi but I still managed to get them within a year or so. Also my father gifted me No.150 on one of my birthday. I collected them till 1997. Till then I had collected around 350 to 375 comics and packed them in a box and put it on the cabinet in my bedroom (we call it as MALA in Marathi) and got busy in my job and started working as I had to support my family). Those were extremely tough days for me as we had no money left to live and nobody helped me as well. I also lost my father during that time. During this period I completely forgot about Indrajal comics. Time passed but memories remained. The story does not end here. After a huge gap of 18 long years in 2015 I removed that box while cleaning the bedroom cabinet (MALA) and opened the box. I was surprised to see the comics as it is without getting damaged for 18 years and the childhood memories came back. I was in a dilemma whether to sell them or to complete the collection. I had absolutely no idea of price or whatsoever. Initially I sold a few damaged comics at a extremely low price(only a few volumes) when I got the shock of my life when I found that the comics i used to purchase in 50 paise are being sold in thousands and lakhs of rupees. I made up my mind on that day that I will complete my collection no matter what happens and what was not possible in my childhood I did it within 2 years. I reached to a massive number from 350 to 780. Today I need only 23 comics to complete my collection and I am quite confident that I will be able to do it because God has given me the strength to fight back in life and today I have earned everything that I had lost 20 years back. I hope my daughter continues the legacy of keeping them intact at least for another 40 years or so (lets hope so) although she does not have much interest in reading but she has promised me that she will keep them in my memory. "
There are many other collectors in INDIA who have a story exactly similar to the one listed above and it is due to such COLLECTORS that the amazing art of comic book collecting is alive and well in countries like INDIA. I want to thank ALL the INDRAJAL COMIC BOOK COLLECTORS in INDIA for keeping this hobby alive and well and also for safely preserving whatever INDRAJAL COMICS still remain in INDIA.
THE PHANTOM (THE GHOST WHO WALKS; MAN WHO CANNOT DIE; GUARDIAN OF THE EASTERN DARK)
“I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy, greed, cruelty, and injustice, in all their forms! My sons and their sons shall follow me.”--THE PHANTOM'S OATH
The PHANTOM was a mysterious crime-fighter clad in a skin-tight costume, cowl and mask. He used his totemic SKULL RING to brand his enemies with "THE SIGN OF THE SKULL." He was dedicated to the destruction of all forms of PIRACY, GREED and CRUELTY. THE PHANTOM was created by writer LEE FALK and illustrator RAY MOORE. The Phantom comic strip debuted in The New York Journal on February 17, 1936. A full-color version of The Phantom, produced by FALK and MOORE for Sunday newspapers' comic-strip supplements, premiered on MAY 28, 1939. Despite PREDATING the "MAN OF STEEL," THE PHANTOM was soon eclipsed in its AMERICAN HOMELAND by the unprecedented popularity of SUPERMAN and has thus endured a troubled career as a comic-book franchise since the 1930s, and has not appeared in its own mass-market comic magazine on AMERICAN NEWSSTANDS since the late 1970s. While the PHANTOM may be all but forgotten in his AMERICAN HOMELAND he has consistently enjoyed greater success and popular recognition abroad. Nowhere does the PHANTOM enjoy a more ardent following than in AUSTRALIA, SWEDEN, and INDIA, where he occupies unrivaled status as an adopted NATIONAL HERO in each of these countries. A new statue was unveiled at the RAILROAD PARK, next to STOCKHOLM'S CENTRAL STATION on September 5, 2014, but it was unlike any of the monuments one normally sees dotted throughout the SWEDISH capital's parks or thoroughfares. The ceremony was, in a way, a tribute to a SWEDISH HERO, but this was not a statue of some long-dead king, or of a valiant general slain in battle. It was, instead, a seven-meter tall aluminum figure of a man dressed in a CHECKED OVERCOAT, his face concealed by a HAT and DARK GLASSES, running in hot pursuit of some unseen, distant quarry. The work, according to the artist JAN HAFSTROM was titled "WHO IS MR WALKER?" Rendered in the style of comic-strip artist WILSON McCOY, the statue portrayed the PHANTOM'S CIVILIAN ALTER EGO, and paid homage to HAFSTROM'S youthful memories of reading "Fantomen Comics." One need look no further than this brightly colored metallic statue for proof of just how much Swedes regard the PHANTOM as their own "ADOPTED NATIONAL HERO." The PHANTOM was a SUPERHERO without superpowers, a mortal being who was destined to be killed in the line of duty. It was this sense of "NORMALITY" which allowed readers to identify with the PHANTOM in ways they simply could not do with other comic-book superheroes. Readers liked the PHANTOM because he was an uncomplicated, two-fisted action hero. THE AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION (AEC) obtained permission to use the PHANTOM in a series of educational comics intended for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities which were designed to help readers understand how they could enroll to vote and cast ballots in Australian elections. THE FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA commissioned a similar educational comic book, "THE WISDOM OF THE PHANTOM" (1997) to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with information about the court's counseling services. The PHANTOM has appeared in INDIAN CINEMA as evident in "BUNDAL BAAZ (1976)," directed by SHAMMI KAPOOR. The story concerns a young daydreamer, "RAJARAM" played by RAJESH KHANNA, who longs to escape his poor village and pretends to be wealthy so that he can marry his sweetheart, "NISHA" played by SULAKSHANA PANDIT, whose father wants her to marry a famous boxer, "RANJIT" played by GOPAL BEDI. The film's remarkable opening scenes reveal RAJESH KHANNA dressed as the PHANTOM, pursuing a gang of bank robbers lead by Gopal Bedi and chasing their getaway car along a tree-lined boulevard before apprehending them in some nearby backstreets. This "DREAM SEQUENCE" ends with "RAJARAM" suddenly awakening in a student cafeteria, poring over copies of "INDRAJAL COMICS," and awkwardly explaining to his sweetheart "NISHA" why he admires the PHANTOM.
KEY ISSUES in this SET:
1. Indrajal Comics # 138-The Story of the FIRST MEETING of MANDRAKE and LOTHAR.
2. Indrajal Comics # 267-Origin and FIRST appearance of BAHADUR.
3. Indrajal Comics # 317- The wedding of PHANTOM.
