Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Today, as Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day, I'd like to express my gratitude for all the people who contributed in making The Phantom such an icon of popular culture.
My thanks go, not only, to the generations of writers, artists and publishers who have worked on this character for more than seven decades, but to the generations of fans, readers and collectors who have kept the flame burning and have given value and meaning to the efforts of all the creators.
In this occasion, I'd like to share with you a little slide show of Phantom cover images. The artwork comes mostly from Italian artists (Romano Felmang, Germano Ferri, etc.) but I see it as a representation of the passion which is characteristic of the great Phantom family worldwide. THANK YOU!

Johnny Hotwire Returns!

Here's a sneak peek at an illustration from the story I'm currently working on. What do you think?
(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Happy Halloween!

 

May there be more TREATS than TRICKS in your jungle... and remember to stay out of The Deep Woods!

(From a greeting card I received from Friends of the Phantom's co-founder, "Pistol"Pete Klaus)

Antonio Lemos

Here's a beautiful illustration of The Phantom painted by Frew's cover artist Antonio Lemos.
Antonio just e-mailed it to me, along with some images of his other works.
Antonio's  talents as a portrait artist and cartoonist are excellent. However, his control of the acrylic medium, in my opinion, is one of his strongest points.
I hope I'll be able to collaborate with this great artist, in the near future.
For more information on Antonio Lemos, I would suggest reading an interview published (at this link) by the Chronicle Chamber website.

Columbus Day

Today is the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the new world.
While there are many opinions of Columbus in history today, there is still ample reason to recognize his courage, persistence, and unshakable convictions as well as his legacy as an explorer.
In celebrating Columbus Day in America, we honor how incredibly brave it was, for a man of the XV Century, to climb aboard a very small caravel and sail into the great unknown.
Above is the first page of a story on Christopher Columbus I drew back in 1990. The story was supposed to be published two years later, (1992) to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America.

Marvel Super Hero Team-up

Just out from Marvel Comics: Marvel Super Hero Team-up, a new trade-paperback (TPB) which reprints, among others, one of my stories from Black Panther # 25 (published in December 2000) . The story, entitled "Passage" was written by Christopher Priest, inked by Bob Almond, colored by Steve Oliff and edited by Tom Brevoort. Marvel Super Hero Team-up can be purchased for US$ 17.99 on Amazon.com.

Frew 1552

 
I have just received my advance-copy of The Phantom #1552, published by Frew , which features part 1 of 2 of "Hooded Justice".
Above is the cover image which was taken from page 33, panel 3. I regret I wasn't able to provide more "cover worthy" images on the inside pages of this issue, as I did in the past. This was one of those stories where "iconic" images of The Phantom were really few and far between.
I appreciated the nice comments written by Publisher Jim Shepherd in his editorial message. (Thank you, Jim!)  However, I'd like to take this opportunity to straighten up a few biographical details written in the editorial as follows:  I was born in Taranto, which is located in the Apulia (not Sicily) region of Italy. I also grew up and completed my academic studies in Italy (not in the United States) before moving to the U.S.
I hope the readers enjoy this issue as well as the following one, which will conclude, for a while, our expedition in the legendary world of  Robin Hood.
The original art of "Hooded Justice" part 1 is available for sale. For more details, please, visit my Art for Sale page.

The Phantom Miniseries Trailer

RHI Entertainment’s 21st century version of The Phantom is coming to the SyFy Channel as a mini-series, sometime in 2010.
The series will be starring Ryan Carnes, (as The Phantom) as well as Cas Anvar, Isabella Rossellini, Sandrine Holt , Cameron Goodman, Trevor Hayes, Robert Crooks, Ellen David, and will be directed by Paolo Barzman.
Following is the movie's first trailer, which was releases just a few days ago. Feel free to post your comments about this trailer, on this blog, since you won't be able to do so on RHI's YouTube  Channel.

The Phantom's Sketch Card

Later this year, 5Finity Productions is releasing Moonstone Maximum, a sketch card series featuring most of the iconic characters from the Moonstone Books library of titles, including The Phantom, Sherlock Holmes, and Zorro.
Above, is my one-of-a-kind, hand drawn, autographed Phantom card.
My 2.5”x 3.5” card will be one of about twenty Maximum Rare Artist cards, preserved in a special sleeve with a hologram sticker, to be included in the 2,199 individually numbered packs.
The suggested retail price of each pack is $24.95.
The packs will be for sale via the 5Finity and Moonstone websites as well as the various retailers associated with Moonstone and/or its distributors.
Proceeds from this series will go to The March of Dimes Foundation.

Magazine Illustrations

This month's issues of  The New Era and Liahona magazines include two illustrations drawn by myself and colored by Travis Walton.
Both magazines are published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The New Era is a monthly magazine for youth, and is published in English only.
The Liahona is published in 51 different languages from one to twelve times per year, depending on the language. The Liahona consists of articles for children, youth and adults, all of which are published concurrently in the church's Ensign, New Era, and Friend magazines.
Both magazines can be viewed (in PDF format) for free, on-line.
Click here to read The New Era. (In English only)
Click here to read Liahona . (Choose among 17 languages)
Again, my illustrations can be found in the September 2009 issues.