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| Phantom punishing a young girl old school style |
For Indian readers this is unread in coloured form (for most even in any form) as it was not published in indrajal comics. In fact they never published any of the Moore's strips. It seems a curious case as to why they overlooked some of the best phantom stories while giving space for some non-Falkian stories from franchisees from american publishing houses e.g. charlton etc.
I had actually completed the colouring work on this project a month ago but wanted to post translated version (into hindi) together with this original english version, so was waiting for that. Busy work schedule compelled me to defer the working on hindi version. Finally just posting the english one here. Hope to present the hindi translation soon for the hindi readers.
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| Diana with mother |
Talking about the story, it is one of those early adventure where the story revolve around misunderstandings and feelings of insecurities between young couple in love, i.e., Phantom and Diana. Phantom on his way to meet Diana in Paris is forced to miss his ship in Algiers by some small town thugs. All his attempts to reach Diana in time are proved futile. Madam Lily (Diana's mother) is not particularly happy about her daughter being engaged with a mysterious jungle man whom she doesn't like or believe at all. In her effort to "save" Diana from infatuation towards this strange maskedman, she adopts every method to deter the meeting between the two youngsters.
It's a well knitted plot, embedded with crispy dialogues and dynamic sequences. The writer was in his thirtees at the time of writing this one and the energy of this master creator can be felt coming out and touching the heart of the reader.
With this project I have personally achieved another milestone of bringing to colour the works of all three major Phantom artists. First it was Sy Barry's masterful work in S136, then Wilson McCoy in D060 and in S040 and now Ray Moore himself in this one, D006. Next on agenda is to finish the pending work on Mandrake adventure D017 - The Deep South, which I had taken some time ago and is waiting to be completed. That art is from one more brilliant but underappreciated artist Phil Davis.
I would also like to announce another project. This one is one of its kind, never ever thought by anyone. Won't disclose the details at the moment but it will be here in front of you all very soon, sooner than you expect.
Enjoy friends.
Adventure in Algiers (Coloured)
Thanks for another rare colour strips! Think not only Indrajal fans, but none ever read colour version before.
ReplyDeleteGood strategy, concentrating at missing colour versions as well as different artists.
Thanks TPH for colour strips which I never seen before. You coloured these strips masterly. I know how tough the job is.
ReplyDeleteI also know transliteration is very time taking job for one person. I did one English Indrajal comics into Bengali, You can check it at
http://indrajalbengali.blogspot.com/
I have seen Moor's B/W strips and now compare it with your colouring strips and really i am surprised.
You are really very skilled person.
Thanks again and looking forward to your further announcement.
@ PBC: You are most welcome. You are correct, many sunday strips were published in colour (magazines etc) but it is very rare to find dailies in coloured form.
ReplyDeleteOnly after working so closely on these strips I realised what a brilliant work each of these artist have produced. Many a minute and delicate features go unnoticed in black and white strips, this I have discovered myself.
@ Bengali Indrajal Comics: Thanks dear for kind words. I feel very happy to serve the comics lovers community by providing something new and afresh.
ReplyDeleteThe translation is really time consuming and to put those dialogues in speech balloons is even demanding. But it gives a kind of satisfaction of doing something creative.
I have seen your blog but not registered my visit through a comment so far, for which I am sorry. Your work is simply mind blowing and deserve every appreciation words can deliver. I shouldn't be saying all this here but at your blog. Will be visiting there soon.
The surprise will be out very soon.
once again thanks.
Its always nice to witness release of any colored version of Phantom strips from your creative production house.Moore's strips arises lots of expectations with their colored format because of his mysterious illustration style.Personally i feel that they should be supported by dark colors with light shades to blend to his peculiar style.
ReplyDeleteYeah,rightly said that this story was written when Falk was in his late 20's,hence,naturally romance emanates all over from the story.
It was the first story which marked the appearance of the feature "Those who came late" or "Story of Phantom" for the very first time in any Phantom strip,which became a regular feature of the later strips.
Its not so that Indrajal comics never published any strip comprising of Moore's work,as a matter of fact Indrajal No.19(Moogoo's Dolls,Sunday No.21) was illustrated by both Moore and McCoy.If one closely examine the very first page of this story then its clear that the first page was illustrated by Moore except the last two panels,rest of the story was completed by McCoy.
As you already mentioned,its somewhat strange to note that why IJC preferred lifeless Charlton/King Phantom adaptations over Moore's work.
Waiting eagerly for your announced 'secret' project,and as a reminder,i mailed you long back about a joint proposal regarding coloring/transliteration of Phantom strips,i m still waiting for its reply.
Amazing is the only word to describe the effort. THANKS.
ReplyDeleteYes, I also agree with CW. Indrajal comics published very few Daily and Sunday strips of Moore/McCoy.
ReplyDeleteI remind at least two of them other than #19.
#23 The Scarlet Sorceress(s16) and #73 The Hairy Monsters(D27 Princess Valerie)those are illustrated by both Moore and McCoy.
Both stories are about a little beautiful princess name "Valerie" who is originally first child of Lee Falk.
Hey Mate, you never cease to amaze me.. I have read B&W version online.. this looks stunning.. can't wait to download and read..
ReplyDeleteOutstanding ! Wonderful !! Brilliant !!! You deserve a place in Record Books ! I have recently downloaded all phantom daily and sunday strips (except few missing links) from books comics blog. When cw presented "katha teesre vetaal ki" in his blog by comparing indrajal with daily strip , at that moment I realized how important it is for a IJC fan to get hold of all phantom daily and sunday strips. After that it took nearly a week to download all strips. After having a close look at these B/W strips , I thought how wonderful it would look if all were in full colour ! I tried to colour it but couldn't. Then i was thinking about mail to you, and today i saw your coloured strip in my mail box (a real master act !)I want to colour these strips. I wish to master this art. Please guide me to colour these B/W strips, I will learn it very quickly. ( I too have future plans and that plan is to post one INDRAJAL COMIC (never ever published before by TIMES OF INDIA)in Indrajal Format, Picutre for cover will be taken from strips, logo will be same, and every thing would be in full colour) but to fulfill this dream , I need your help. So you are requested to guide me to revive Indrajal magic once again in indrajal format by posting Phantom Strips in full colour and that too with action packed indrajal cover !!
ReplyDeleteEagerly Awaiting Your response
Regards
Vishal (PRET)
TPH,
ReplyDeleteAnother masterpiece in color, thanks much for sharing, and also for your dedicated work towards completing the same.
I personally feel that Phantom and Diana had more romantical tie-ups in stories where they were not married, are practically in love or engaged... that created lot of opportunities for gathering the attention of Diana by fellow contenders. After the marriage, even though she was seen to have been abducted by many a king, and crooks, that element of romance was not evident. Probably as Falk grew in years, he thought getting Phantom married was the way to go in a more mature way.
I agree with CW, about the older classic strips having a more dark tone of coloring to suit the era of dark creativity which was pretty eminent in Moore/Falk work. But, still it as a matter of fresh breath to see our classic strips in this wonderful contemporary artwork.
Comic World, threw his most surprising fact, like ever, that Moore was indeed featured in IJC. I thought they were never given even a single title so far. But then again, personally I am yet to read all IJC's so the artwork could have missed my eyesight. Thanks for the info mate.
And comic back to TPH, dude, waiting for your surprise announcement.
Dear TPH,
ReplyDeleteTonnes of thanks for this comic.
I must say that you are covering miles and miles in the unexplored territory and I am lucky to be here.
I am sure that you must be having many cards up in your sleeves and I hope that your new project is concerning the Phantom comics only and not some political type of project. I am sure it will be very interesting.
Thanks a lot
Praveen
@CW: Thanks dear. Moore has a very distinctive style which is best suited to the mysterious character of Phantom. In the stories of that particular era (1930s and 40s), a repeatitive theme in both phantom and mandrake stories is misunderstandings between the celebrity couples of Phantom-Diana and Mandrake-Narda. Stories sometimes hints at the real mental condition of the writer at the time of creating a story. It was a young Falk who produced such story lines continuously during that period. This kind of stories are not seen in his later years. Is it because of maturity he gained as a writer or was it due to changing public taste?
ReplyDeleteAs far as Moore in Indrajal is concerned BIC has given two more titles and he is right. I did not notice it earlier. Still in comparison of McCoy, Moore got little favour by TOI bosses, which seems strange.
I'll mail you about your proposal.
Thanks again.
Old Man Mozz: You are most welcome. My pleasure that you liked it.
ReplyDeleteBengali Indrajal Comics: McCoy was published much more than Moore. Many of his stories were published in IJC. They used to put a tag in the beginning of the story which read, "this episode took place long before Phantom married to Diana". But Moore was given less space for god knows why!
ReplyDeleteThanks for info about Moore's strips finding place in Indrajal. This is good info.
Übermann: Always a pleasure to see (or rather imagine) a smile on faces of friends like you even for a few seconds. Most Welcome.
ReplyDeleteVishal: Thanks a lot dear. You are the most energetic/enthusiastic addition to the small Indrajal Lovers Fraternity of ours. I am very happy to find a member like you in the club.
ReplyDeleteTo every Phantom fan, access to original daily and sunday strips is a must. To enjoy these stories to the fullest, strips are the best source. Indrajal made many modifications to original art panels to make them fit into their format.
About colouring a comic book drop me a mail and we'll discuss it.
Thanks and you are most welcome at this place.
Rafiq: Thanks bro. You are absolutely correct about Phantom - Diana relationship. In later period, the initial romantic framework of stories bore a severe dent. Gaining of maturity by the creator may be one of the reason, but I'll partly fix the blame on changing world order(dictators and terrorist emerging as new enemies) and expanding canvas of Phantom stories. With the arrival of Barry at the helm of art department, the character of phantom took many new dimensions.
ReplyDeleteIt is more demanding to colour Moore's strips than those of McCoy and its a challenge to make them appear beautiful. I think it is time for me to learn graphics software in more detail to do full justice to the works of all these brilliant illustrators.
If you notice, during initial few pages, I tried to keep the colours simple and to the standards of old comic books, but then I was missing the charm. So in later half I decided to use a bit more vibrant colours.
About Moore's artwork in IJC, BIC has provided info about more titles. About the surprise, I don't know how much it will stand against the expectations of the readers, but to me personally, it is the most difficult and challenging of all the projects, I have taken so far. Will be making it public very soon.
Thanks again.
praveenThanks Praveen. With the support of friends like you, I hope to continue my journey and producing more classical strips in coloured form.
ReplyDeleteI hope the upcoming event will hold your interest. You are most welcome.
TPH, just managed to open your blog and d/l this comic today.
ReplyDelete( Blogspot is banned in kazakhstan!!).
As always your colouring is superb, and has its own unique style.
Thanks for all your efforts.
@ Jai: Welcome Jai. I had no idea that Blogosphere is under scanner of state agencies in Kazakhstan. It's unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteIf you are interested, can subscribe my posts via email (is it a viable option?) or I can send the download link of any new strip coloured by me through email in future, if you wish.
Thanks for approving my colouring pattern. It's heartwarming.
Thanks TPH for your offer. I have already subscribed to you post by email ( lets see the result, if I will be able to open links).
ReplyDeleteAlso I will be much obliged if d/l links can send to me on my email.
In any case by hook or crook I will keep on visiting your site, for new projects.
@Jai: You are most welcome. I'll feel happy in sending you the links for new downloads.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you had Twitter, cause I'd love to follow the updates on there. Also, I was wondering if you were planning on releasing the other Phantom novels online, or if the 1st and 3rd are all that you'll be uploading?
ReplyDelete@Slushie Man: I am going to open my twitter account in next two-three days. It was on cards for some time. About phantom novels, there are more coming soon online. They require some touch to bring them to printable form. Soon I'll be posting them also.
ReplyDelete@ Slushie Man: My tweets are now available at http://twitter.com/phantom_head.
ReplyDeleteWonderful piece of art! At this rate I would want all newspaper strips colored! At your own pace though! Anyways great work! love this comic
ReplyDeleteThanks Krishna Ji. I am working on three new projects. Hopefully one of them will be ready by the end of first week in next month.
ReplyDeleteIt is always a pleasure seeing you here.