The Phantom Viking | |
---|---|
Character information | |
First appearance | The Champion (26 February 1966) |
In-story information | |
Alter ego | Olaf Larsen |
Species | Human/Norse god |
Place of origin | Earth |
Partnerships | Helen Yates |
Abilities | Flight Superhuman strength Increased durability |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Fleetway Publications |
Schedule | Weekly |
Title(s) | The Champion 26 February to 4 June 1966 Lion 11 June 1966 to 3 August 1968 The Champion Annual 1967 to 1968 Lion Annual 1968 to 1970 |
Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) The Champion Lion . |
Genre | |
Publication date | 26 February 1966 –3 August 1968 |
Creative team | |
Writer(s) | Donne Avenell |
Artist(s) | José Ortiz Nevio Zeccara |
The Phantom Viking is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character's alter-ego was weak-willed school teacher Olaf Larsen, who gained the ability to turn into the Phantom Viking when he dons a Norse helmet. The character first appeared in the debut issue of the short-lived boys' anthology title The Champion on 26 February 1966, and continued in Lion when it was merged with Champion a short while later.
The Champion (a rare case of Fleetway publications reusing the name of a cancelled publication, in this case that of a long-running story paper) was devised as a 'companion paper' to the successful Valiant ; a similar tactic had been used two years previously with Hurricane , which had run for only 63 issues before merging with Tiger . [1] The Champion was partly devised to test the waters for British reader response to modified material from continental titles such as Tintin and Spirou , something which would potentially provide a large well of material at a low price. [2] However, group editor Jack Le Grand still wanted some in-house material included as a fall-back, and Donne Avenell - an experienced writer who had been with Fleetway's predecessor Amalgamated Press since before World War II, having been an early contributor to Radio Fun - came up with the Phantom Viking. [3] Initially the strip was drawn by the Spanish artist José Ortiz, who was becoming a key contributor for Fleetway and other publishers, notably the newspaper strip Caroline Baker, Barrister at Law in the Daily Express . [4] It has been suggested that the character was inspired by the surge in interest of superheroes in American comics in general, and Marvel Comics' Thor in particular. [5] [6] [7] [8]
The Champion was even less successful than Hurricane, only lasting 15 issues - the shortest run of any of the company's weeklies up to that point - before being merged into the established Lion , with Nevio Zeccara taking over on art duties shortly afterwards. The strip would run in the renamed Lion and Champion until 3 August 1968. Due to Fleetway's policy of continuing to issue annuals for cancelled titles (in order to have as many books as possible on shelves for the lucrative Christmas market), parallel to the Lion run further adventures (both in picture strip and text stories) appeared in the two Champion Annuals issued, and then transferred to the Lion Annual until the 1970 edition, despite having finished in the weekly. The character would then make one final outing in the 1973 Jet Annual. [9] [1]
Since 2018 the rights to the Fleetway-originated contents of The Champion and Lion, including the Phantom Viking, have been owned by Rebellion Developments. [10] [11]
Meek Woodburn School teacher Olaf Larsen is tormented by his charges (who call him Loopy Larsen behind his back) and berated by headmaster Mr. Grimsole for his inability to keep order, with only school secretary Helen Yates having any sympathy for him. Moping at an old Viking burial ground, he finds a helmet bearing the inscription "Only Larsen the Liberator and his descendants shall have the power of the helmet... the secret of great strength and flight" - though the powers disappear when the wind blows from the south. Placing it on his head he finds himself transformed into a powerful, long-haired flying Viking. After dealing with some minor criminals and saving an experimental jet from crashing, he soon acquires the name the Phantom Viking but Larsen opts to keep his true identity a secret. As the Phantom Viking, he saved his recalcitrant pupils from a flood and from getting mixed up in a kidnap plot on a skiing trip to Switzerland, while also battling racketeers and greedy officials. His frequent need to slip away to become the Phantom Viking began to affect Larsen's job performance and he considering giving up his double-life, especially as he becomes closer to Helen. However after the pair find themselves in the middle of a ship hijacking; Larsen dons the helmet again and ultimately decides to continue. [12] [13] [14]
The Phantom Viking thwarted diamond thieves, [15] halted a crooked major's attempts to use mind-controlled Commandos as bank robbers, [16] a gang of arsonists, [17] helped friend Pete Brown recover a fleet of sunken Spanish galleons, [18] saved his pupils from kidnapping triplet evil scientists the Grinn Brothers, [19] stopped James Ford from using a gang of pint-sized criminals from robbing the Exum diamond factory in Amsterdam, [20] foiled a network of saboteurs, [21] stopped the mysterious Mr. X from stealing plutonium with an army of stone men, [22] and a battling a huge invading cyborg space-creature. After the Phantom Viking was unable to defeat the latter, Larsen reasoned with the mechanoid himself, using his logic to persuade the alien to withdraw, finally impressing everyone in his mortal guise. [23]
Tiger was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines from 11 September 1954 to 30 March 1985. The title was initially launched in a large tabloid size to mimic newspapers; while it featured some action-adventure stories Tiger contained a large number of sport strips. The most famous of these was "Roy of the Rovers", which debuted in the first issue and was the comic's most popular feature, eventually transferring to its own comic in 1975. Tiger would go on to become one of the company's longest-running titles, notching 1573 issues before being merged with Eagle in 1985. Over the course of its run, Tiger featured columns by numerous famous sports figures, including Ian Botham, Geoff Boycott, Tony Greig, Trevor Francis, and Charlie Nicholas.
Ranger was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 18 September 1965 to 18 June 1966. Intended as an educational publication, the cover described it as "The National Boys' Magazine" and the content mixed comic strips with a much larger quotient of factual articles than most other Fleetway children's titles of the time. Ranger lasted 40 issues before being merged with Fleetway's fellow educational title Look and Learn in 1966.
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Valiant was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines from 4 October 1962 to 16 October 1976. A boys' adventure comic, it debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Hurricane, The Steel Claw and Mytek the Mighty. Valiant lasted for 712 issues before being merged with stablemate Battle Picture Weekly.
Robot Archie is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines. Created by Ted Cowan, the character first appeared in a serial called "The Jungle Robot" in the first issue of Lion on 23 February 1952. While the initial stint only lasted six months, Archie returned 1957 and would become one of the most enduring characters in Lion, running until the comic merged with Valiant in 1974, with the majority of his adventures drawn by Ted Kearon.
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The Champion was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 26 February to 4 June 1966. The series revived the name of the story paper of the same name printed by Fleetway's predecessor, Amalgamated Press; however, while the first version of The Champion had run from 1922 to 1956, the new title lasted little more than three months before being merged with another Fleetway boys' comic, the established Lion.
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Karl the Viking is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. Centred on a Saxon-born Viking warrior in the 11th century, the strip mixed historical adventure with fantasy, and first appeared in the boys' anthology title Lion on 29 October 1960. Drawn by Don Lawrence and written by Ted Cowan, the character's appearances ran for four years.
"Gadgetman and Gimmick-Kid" is a British comic strip published by Fleetway Publications in the boys' comic anthology title Lion between 4 May to 26 October 1968. Written by Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel, it tells the adventures of a pair of American crime-fighting technical geniuses - Gadgetman and his younger sidekick Gimmick Kid - as they battle a variety of outlandish villains.
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Jack o' Justice is a British comic character who has appeared in eponymous strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character is a highwayman adventurer, first appeared in the anthology title Radio Fun on 22 August 1956. The strip began as altered reprints of a Dick Turpin strip from the comic Sun but after being revived in the pages of Valiant became popular enough that new adventures were commissioned. The character was partnered with Moll Moonlight in his adventures - a rare example of a prominent female character in boys' comics of that time. The strip was succeeded in 1966 by Jack Justice, featuring a descendant of the characters.