Greetings Phello Phantom Phans

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Greetings Phello Phantom Phans; The Phantom is my hero.
Topic Started: Oct 3 2009, 06:12 PM (108 Views)
Ramjet	Oct 3 2009, 06:12 PM Post #1
Thug Posts: 6 Group: Members Member #629 Joined: October 3, 2009	When I was 8 years old I was at the local flea market (Point Lookout, North Stradbroke Island) There was a pile of 30 Phantom comics for 10 dollars. All I had was 5 dollars but my Dad said he would spot me the five but I had to pay him back. I bought the Phantoms and took them home. Numbers in this lot ranged from 124 through to 281. All of them were in good condition. From 1986 onwards I have collected The Phantom. Only Frew Australian editions and only in Good to Very Good condition. Over the years I have met people from all walks of life who love the Phantom. My earliest number is is a Near Mint 77 and I have over 1100 Phantoms in my collection. I have every edition from 700 onwards and others spread from 77 onwards. The Phantom is not just a comic. The Phantom is a way of life. He only uses his fists and guns. He doesn't have any super powers...because he doesn't need them. My interest in the Phantom ranges from the art work, the censorship changes over the editions (RE: The Phantom Goes to War etc etc) the beautiful art work on all the covers, my eternal love for Diana Palmer, my awe at The Phantoms ability to solve problems, the fact that The Phantom is a true gentleman, The Phantoms ability to manage an elite Jungle Patrol and the list goes on. I especially love vintage Phantoms. I became a member of the now defunct Unofficial Phantom Club in 1990 when I became a Patrolman. I would wait eagerly for the Jungle Beat newsletters to arrive and would read them with glee. I met and spoke with the Henderson Brothers who started this club. I now wear a suit and work for a large corporate (who shall remain nameless) and they pay me silly amounts of money to talk corporate babble to people with over inflated senses of self worth smile What this lets me do though is invest time and money in my only hobby...collecting Phantoms. I have a separate bank account tied to paypal and every week I put 75 dollars into it. I trawl ebay late at night looking for fine specimens of The Phantom. Sometimes I get great deals..other times I don't, but when The Phantom arrives in my mail box at work I get a secret thrill and quickly put it unopened in my brief case. When I get home after the kids have gone to bed and my beautiful wife is reading , I go to my little den and carefully open up my package. I look at the The Phantom I have bought, I smell its pages (normally the old ones smell like camphor) feel the texture of the old paper and then read it. After this I get a comic bag and board and seal it all away. I make an entry in an excel spread sheet of number, story, price paid, condition and where I bought it. I then file it away with my other comics. I have a friend who owns a number 1. Believe me..I have seen it. Before I even got to his house to have a viewing I was shaking slightly and my heart rate was up. He pulled it out of a wall safe wearing latex gloves. I held it in my hands. Truly a religious experience. This gentleman is the head of a large stock broking firm. My goal is to have a complete Phantom collection before I die, by my reckoning this will cost between 400k to 600k. I am committed to this and have insurance on my current collection and over time will have the means to obtain this. My wife is understanding. My friends think I am a nutter. But I believe in the Phantom. I believe in what he represents. To be The Phantom is impossible. To be like The Phantom is possible. LONG LIVE THE PHANTOM. Edited by Ramjet, Oct 4 2009, 07:36 AM.
	"There are times when the Phantom leaves his jungle home and travels as an ordinary man."


benno	Oct 3 2009, 07:49 PM Post #2
pɐǝɥ ʎɯ oʇ ƃuıɥsnɹ sı pooןq Posts: 276 Group: Admin Member #600 Joined: March 10, 2009	Hi Ramjet, Welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing your story, it was a great read. I've been collecting the phantom since I was a kid to and believe that the stories have influenced me a lot over the years. I agree with you that the vintage phantoms are the best--brilliant story telling. It's easy to see how the phantom was able to snow ball from an early start. Some of us here got a chance to see a copy of Phantom no#1 a while back at Nigel Johnson’s Collectormania stall at the Sydney supanova convention. Didn't get to touch it though. He only wanted $70,000 for it. Welcome again. Ben



Vivek	Oct 3 2009, 08:36 PM Post #3
Vivek Bhat Posts: 502 Group: Team CC Member #426 Joined: May 10, 2008	That was indeed a great read. And reading about your love for the Phantom from your early years to the way Phantom still remains part of your life today.. brings a smile to a Phan's face . Ramjet.. welcome to CC.
	- Vivek


Paw Broon	Oct 4 2009, 02:16 AM Post #4
Henchman Posts: 65 Group: Members Member #575 Joined: October 22, 2008	Ramjet, well said. What a great description of the thrill and charge comic fans can get from finding a much desired issue - and that smell. You're not alone. A number of my comic collector pals love that smell of old newsprint, and how weird we must seem to folk not in the know when they see supposedly responsible adults sniffing up a load of nostalgia. Now there's something you don't get from glossy paper. Keep up that enthusiasm.



Paul Andreas	Oct 4 2009, 05:59 PM Post #5
Singh Leader Posts: 2,101 Group: Team CC Member #5 Joined: April 4, 2006	I'll join the praising and say thank you for a wonderful first post, Ramjet, and welcome to the forum!



JD	Oct 4 2009, 08:25 PM Post #6
Evil Genius Posts: 4,516 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: April 4, 2006	Ah, yes. I love the smell of comics! Welcome Ramjet (your real name isn't Roger, is it?)



Redbeard	Oct 5 2009, 07:51 PM Post #7
Thug Posts: 25 Group: Members Member #582 Joined: December 9, 2008	Welcome Ramjet, I'll now also come out of the closet about the smell of all Phantom things that are old. Seems there are a few of us around. Not only the comics, but the collectibles that are 40 plus years old and have been someone's for so long, and then you do have the joy of the package when it arrives and the anticipation of carefully opening them to reveal the wonder of yesteryear and the ownership of something you have not had before.



Geaghs	Oct 6 2009, 05:34 PM Post #8
Singh Leader Posts: 1,175 Group: Moderator Member #196 Joined: December 5, 2007	Welcome to the forums Ramjet. I get my comics delivered to my parents place, and my mother automatically knows when I have ordered something old when I come round and open my mail. There is just that distinct smell of old paper. Nothing better to a collector I reckon (other then getting number 1 obviously).
	"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia." - C.M. Schulz "And all my friends are f*** ups, but there fun to have around" - You Sound Like Louis Burdett, The Whitlams


Ticktock	Nov 5 2009, 04:47 AM Post #9
The Ghost Who Trips Occasionally Posts: 42 Group: Members Member #613 Joined: June 21, 2009	Hello Ramjet! What a great tale of collecting and how it affects us. Hope you enjoy it around here. I certainly have. Ticktock
	We will either find a way, or make one. - Hannibal


Xander	Nov 8 2009, 06:06 PM Post #10
Singh Mastermind Posts: 862 Group: Members Member #309 Joined: March 16, 2008	Welcome to the forums Ramjet hope you enjoy your time here.



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