This Sunday (December 20) is "Pistol" Pete Klaus' birthday!
For the few of you who don't know Pete, I need to clarify that he is one of the world's greatest Phantom fans and collectors, as well as the co-founder of the Friends of the Phantom club. (You can read a nice article about Pete Klaus' collection by clicking here)
I have the privilege of having known Pete for a few years, during which he helped me getting better acquainted with the world of The Phantom and with the great family of Phantom Phriends, scattered around the world.
Pete has a positive and upbeat personality which helps him and others to make it through the trials of life, big or small as they might be. Just a few days ago, following a huge rainstorm which hit Maryland, Pete's basement was flooded and he lost about 900 issues of Fantomen (from the 1950s on up) and other Phantom memorabilia. When he told me what happened, over the phone, he didn't express any regrets for the loss; instead, he went on enumerating all the good things he and his family had been blessed with.
I'd like to invite all of you (even if you don't know Pete) to wish him a happy birthday, by adding a comment below this post. (I will then send him an email with a link to this post)
I'm not going to say how old Pete is, but I will give you a hint by dedicating to him the following video (He he he ;-)
Today, (December 19) I also received the following from fellow-artist Eugenio Mattozzi. Enjoy!
(English version, below) Vorrei segnalare ai lettori italiani di questo Blog un bell'articolo pubblicato recentemente sulla rubrica Cartoonist Globale di Luca Boschi. L'articolo discute l'ultimo numero della miniserie Phantom:L'Uomo Mascherato edito dalla Eura e presenta alcuni retroscena sulla produzione originale della Egmont.
A questo articolo, lo stesso Boschi ha fatto seguire un poscritto dedicato ad alcuni miei commenti, che potrete trovare cliccando qui.
To the Italian readers of this blog I'd like to mention an outstanding article, recently published on Cartoonist Globale by Luca Boschi. The article discusses the last issue of the miniseries Phantom:L'Uomo Mascherato published by Eura and presents some behind-the-scenes on the original production by Egmont.
Mr. Boschi has also created a post-script to the same article in which he spotlights some of my comments. The latter can be found by clicking here.
This is the place where you will periodically find a variety of news, artwork previews, and commentary pertaining my work on Lee Falk's "The Phantom." (Currently published by Egmont in Norway and Sweden; Frew in Australia and New Zealand and Hermes Press in the United States and Canada) Other projects will also be spotlighted whenever they become news-worthy. Feel free to subscribe to this blog, write comments and offer suggestions. Come back soon!
I have been a professional illustrator for a quarter of a century.
I have been privileged of working for major comic book publishers (DC, Marvel) as well as many independent ones. (Valiant-Acclaim, Cross Gen, Continuity, Penny-Farthing Press, etc.)
My Current work includes illustrating a monthly feature for THE FRIEND magazine (published by THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS and translated in 36 languages) as well as an all-time comic classic, THE PHANTOM. (Published by EGMONT in Sweden, Norway and Finland, as well as FREW in Australia)
