The Phantom Viking

Last updated

The Phantom Viking
PhantomVikingLion141067.jpg
The Phantom Viking in Lion , 14 October 1967. Art by Nevio Zeccara.
Character information
First appearance The Champion (26 February 1966)
In-story information
Alter egoOlaf Larsen
Species Human/Norse god
Place of origin Earth
PartnershipsHelen Yates
AbilitiesFlight
Superhuman strength
Increased durability
Publication information
Publisher Fleetway Publications
ScheduleWeekly
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
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) The Champion
Lion .
Genre
Publication date26 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.

Contents

Creation

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]

Publishing history

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]

Plot summary

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]

Related Research Articles

<i>Tiger</i> (British comics) British weekly boys comic

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.

<i>Ranger</i> (magazine) British weekly comic, 1965 to 1966

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.

The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the 1960s and 1970s. The character was revived in 2005 for Albion, a six-issue mini-series published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics.

<i>Lion</i> (comics) British weekly comic

Lion was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press from 23 February 1952 to 18 May 1974. A boys' adventure comic, Lion was originally designed to compete with Eagle, the popular weekly comic published by Hulton Press that had introduced Dan Dare. It debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Condor, Robot Archie, Paddy Payne and the Spider. Lion lasted for 1,156 issues before being merged with stablemate Valiant.

<i>Valiant</i> (comics) British weekly comic

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robot Archie</span> British comic book character

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.

The Spider is a British comic book character who began as a supervillain before becoming a superhero. He appeared in Lion between 26 June 1965 and 26 April 1969 and was reprinted in Vulcan. He was created by writer Ted Cowan and artist Reg Bunn. Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel took over the writing of the character with his third adventure, and would write the bulk of his adventures.

<i>War Picture Library</i> British war comic magazine

War Picture Library was a British 64-page "pocket library" war comic magazine title published by Amalgamated Press/Fleetway for 2103 issues. Each issue featured a complete story, beginning on 1 September 1958 with "Fight Back to Dunkirk" and finishing 26 years later on 3 December 1984 with "Wings of the Fleet". The editor was Ted Bensberg. Assistant editors included Geoff Kemp and Brian Smith. Other editorial staff included Pat Brookman, Terence Magee, Clive Ranger, Tony Power and Clive McGee. Art editor was Mike Jones and art assistant was his brother Dave Jones. Other art assistants at various times were Roy McAdorey, Geoff Berwick, Bill Reid and John Fearnley.

TV Century 21, later renamed TV21, TV21 and Tornado, TV21 and Joe 90, and TV21 again, was a weekly British children's comic published by City Magazines during the latter half of the 1960s. Originally produced in partnership with Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Century 21 Productions, it promoted the company's many science-fiction television series. The comic was published in the style of a newspaper of the future, with the front page usually dedicated to fictional news stories set in the worlds of Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons and other stories. The front covers were also in colour, with photographs from one or more of the Anderson series or occasionally of the stars of the back-page feature.

<i>Smash!</i> (comics)

Smash! was a weekly British comic book, published initially by Odhams Press and subsequently by IPC Magazines, from 5 February 1966 to 3 April 1971. After 257 issues it merged into Valiant.

<i>The House of Dolmann</i> British comic book story

"The House of Dolmann" is a British comic strip published by Fleetway Publications and later IPC Magazines in the boys' comic anthology title Valiant between 29 October 1966 to 11 April 1970, with a brief revival from 7 September to 26 October 1974. Written by Tom Tully and primarily illustrated by Eric Bradbury, the strip centred on the exploits of genius inventor Eric Dolmann and his army of crime-fighting robot 'puppets'.

<i>The Champion</i> (comics) British weekly boys comic

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.

<i>Wildcat</i> (British comics) British weekly comic

Wildcat was a fortnightly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 22 October 1988 to 25 March 1989. A science fiction adventure comic, the title only lasted for 12 editions before being merged with another Fleetway title, Eagle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Eterno</span> Comic book character

Adam Eterno is a fictional British comic book superhero who has appeared in comics published by Fleetway Publications and, since 2018, Rebellion Developments. The character was created by Jack Le Grand and Tom Tully, debuting in the first issue of Thunder in October 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl the Viking</span> British comic book story

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.

<i>Gadgetman and Gimmick-Kid</i> British comic book story

"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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel Commando</span> British comic book character

The Steel Commando is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by IPC Magazines. Created by Frank S. Pepper, the character first appeared in the first issue of the short-lived boys' weekly adventure anthology comic Thunder, dated 17 October 1970. After Thunder ended in March 1971 the strip continued in Lion until 1974. The character is a robotic soldier fighting for the British Army in World War II; due to a programming error the mechanical man will only obey the orders of layabout Private Ernest 'Excused Boots' Bates.

<i>The Astounding Jason Hyde</i> British comic book story

"The Astounding Jason Hyde" is a British comic story published in the weekly anthology Valiant from 15 May 1965 to 11 May 1968, published by Fleetway Publications. Uniquely for a story in Valiant, it consisted of illustrated prose episodes rather than comic strips. It tells the adventures of Jason Hyde, a scientist left with x-ray eyes and telepathy after exposure to radiation who subsequently embarks on a crimefighting career.

<i>Jack o Justice</i> British comic book story

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Holland, Steve (2002). The Fleetway Companion. Rotherham: CJ & Publication.
  2. "When British Comics were… European!". 28 September 2019.
  3. "Treasury British Comics Shop".
  4. Masters of Spanish Comic Book Art. Dynamite Entertainment. 5 April 2017. ISBN   9781524101343.
  5. The Ultimate Book of British Comics. Allison & Busby. 2005. ISBN   9780749082116.
  6. Stringer, Lew (28 April 2012). "BLIMEY! The Blog of British Comics: This week in 1968: LION".
  7. "The Phantom Viking".
  8. Stringer, Lew (Summer 1992). "Tales Before Dreddtime". 2000 AD Action Special. Fleetway Publications.
  9. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Encyclopedia_of_Comic_Characters/Ub0bAQAAIAAJ?
  10. McMillan, Graeme (28 September 2018). "'2000 AD' Publisher Acquires TI Media Comic Archive". The Hollywood Reporter .
  11. "Classic British Comics: Who Owns What?". downthetubes.net. 4 October 2018.
  12. Donne Avenell ( w ), José Ortiz  ( a )."The Phantom Viking" The Champion (26 February to 4 June 1966). Fleetway Publications .
  13. Donne Avenell ( w ), José Ortiz  ( a )."The Phantom Viking" Lion (11 June to 10 September 1966). Fleetway Publications .
  14. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking" Lion (17 September to 31 December 1966). Fleetway Publications .
  15. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking" Lion (7 to 21 January 1967). Fleetway Publications .
  16. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking - The ZX Commandos" Lion (28 January to 18 March 1967). Fleetway Publications .
  17. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking - The Fire-Raisers" Lion (25 March to 13 May 1967). Fleetway Publications .
  18. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking" Lion (20 May to 15 July 1967). Fleetway Publications .
  19. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking - The Brothers Grinn" Lion (22 July to 7 October 1967). Fleetway Publications .
  20. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking - The Ford Gang" Lion (14 October to 18 November 1967). Fleetway Publications .
  21. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking - The Wreckers" Lion (25 November 1967 to 20 January 1968). Fleetway Publications .
  22. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking in The Secret of the Stone Men" Lion (27 January to 23 March 1968). Fleetway Publications .
  23. Donne Avenell ( w ),Nevio Zeccara ( a )."The Phantom Viking - The Cyborg" Lion (6 April to 3 August 1968). Fleetway Publications .