Bastei stories
The German publisher Bastei produced 224 original Phantom stories in the 1970s and 1980s. They are, however, unknown by most Phantom fans, since only a handful of stories have ever been reprinted outside Germany, only one story in English.
Background
Bastei's Phantom comics included stories from all available sources: the newspaper strip (daily and Sunday stories), Team Fantomen stories, Gold Key/King/Charlton stories and Fratelli Spada stories. On top of that, Bastei began to produce original stories.
No credits were given for the Bastei stories, but apparently all of them were written by the productive Peter Mennigen. The artwork was provided by artists working for a Spanish studio or agency, possibly Interpubli which was the agency that Bastei's main Phantom cover artist Rafael López Espí worked for at the time, and for Italian studio Giolitti.
Differences
Bastei's stories are easy to distinguish from other Phantom stories, not only because of the artwork but also because the Phantom is portrayed in a very different way in these stories. Here, the Phantom is a well-known crimefighter who is often contacted by police and government to assist in crime investigations. The Phantom rarely uses the Mr Walker disguise but his costume causes almost no reactions among the people he meet. The mystique of the Phantom is almost non-existant. Since Bastei's stories were published side-by-side with stories by Lee Falk, Team Fantomen etc., it was set up for confusion among the German Phantom readers.
In chronicle stories, Bastei used their own version of the Phantom lineage which differs significantly from that of any other publisher:
- Captain Christopher Walker, born in London in 1478, died 1535
- The 1st Phantom, born in 1515, became the Phantom after a pirate attack in 1535, died in 1571.
- The 2nd Phantom, born in 1549, died in 1610.
- The 3rd Phantom, born in 1579, died in 1639.
- The 4th Phantom, born in 1610, died in 1671.
- The 5th Phantom, born in 1643, died in 1701.
- The 6th Phantom, born in 1673, died in 1731.
- The 7th Phantom, born in 1705, died in 1754.
- The 8th Phantom, born in 1734, died in 1787.
- The 9th Phantom, born in 1758, died in 1821.
- The 10th Phantom, born in 1792, died in 1850.
- The 11th Phantom, born in 1825, died in 1881.
- The 12th Phantom, born in 1854, died in 1913.
- The 13th Phantom, born in 1885, died in 1929.
- The 14th Phantom, born in 1915, died in 1959.
- The 15th Phantom – the current Phantom.
When Chronicle stories from Team Fantomen were published in Bastei's comics, the numbering of the Phantoms were often changed to fit into Bastei's Phantom lineage. However, there are even Bastei stories that show historical Phantoms active in years that are inconsistent with the timeline above.
Bastei's chronicle stories departed in many ways from what had been presented in previous stories, even including the origin of the Phantom. Bastei's version of the Phantom's origin was presented in the story "The Secret of the Skull Cave".
It is also worth noting that in most chronicle stories, the ancestors were accompanied by a horse named Hero and a wolf named Devil, just like the 21st Phantom has. This is something that only appears consistently in Bastei stories and cannot be regarded as a mistake.
List of Bastei stories
The Bastei stories were published in three separate publications: The comic magazine Phantom, the pocket series Phantom and the comic book Phantom Spezial.
Phantom magazine stories
Phantom pocket stories
First series
| # | Original title | Translated title | Writer | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Der Dschungelgeist schlägt zu" | "The Jungle Ghost Strikes" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Der geheimnisvolle Reiter" | "The Mysterious Rider" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Flug in die Hölle" | "Flight to Hell" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Der Feuergeist" | "The Fire Ghost" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Sabotage am Kyoga-See" | "Sabotage at Kyoga Lake" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Das Geheimnis der alten Mine" | "The Mystery of the Old Mine" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Die U-Boot-Banditen" | "The Submarine Bandits" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Wetterleuchten über Bangalla" | "Sheet Lightnings above Bangalla" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Heiße Spur nach Kairo" | "A Hot Lead to Cairo" | Mennigen | ? | |
| 10 | "Verschollen im Großstadt-Dschungel" | "Lost in the Urban Jungle" | Mennigen | ? |
Second series
| # | Original title | Translated title | Writer | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Der Mafiapalast" | "Mafia Palace" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Alarm im Dschungel" | "Alarm in the Jungle" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Der falsche Medizinmann" | "The False Witch Doctor" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Verrat an Bord" | "Betrayal on Board" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Alarm im Dschungel" | "Alarm in the Jungle" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Das Geheimnis der vergessenen Farm" | "The Secret of the Forgotten Farm" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "In der Falle der Spione" | "In the Trap of the Spies" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Die Diamanten-Schmuggler von Bangalla" | "The Diamond Smugglers of Bangalla" | Mennigen | ? | |
| "Die Hyänen der Savanne" | "The Hyenas of the Savannah" | Mennigen | ? | |
| 10 | "Die Lagune der Verräter" | "The Lagoon of the Traitors" | Mennigen | ? |
| 11 | "Die Gefangenen der grünen Hölle" | "The Prisoners of the Green Hell" | Mennigen | ? |
| 12 | "Alarm in der Savanne" | "Alarm in Savanna" | Mennigen | ? |
| 13 | "Gefahr für Bangalla" | "Danger for Bangalla" | Mennigen | ? |
| 14 | "Im Bann des schwarzen Magiers" | "In the Power of the Black Magician" | Mennigen | ? |
| 15 | "Das Geheimnis der Ohura-Sekte" | "The Secret of Ohura-Sect" | Mennigen | ? |
| 16 | "Der Hengst von Bangalla" | "Bangalla Stallion" | Mennigen | ? |
| 17 | "Die Gefangenen der Sklaveninsel" | "The Prisoners of Slave Island" | Mennigen | ? |
| 18 | "Aufstand am Schlangenfluß" | "Revolution on Snake River" | Mennigen | ? |
| 19 | "Der Goldschatz im Sambala" | "The Gold Treasure in Sambala" | Mennigen | ? |
| 20 | "Die Insel des bösen Herrschers" | "The Island of the Evil Ruler" | Mennigen | ? |
| 21 | "Die Bestie der grünen Hölle" | "The Beast of the Green Hell" | Mennigen | ? |
| 22 | "Das Geheimnis der Dschungel-Höhle" | "The Mystery of the Jungle Cave" | Mennigen | ? |
| 23 | "Die Herren der Teufelsmine" | "The Masters of Devil Mine" | Mennigen | ? |
| 24 | "Die Insel der Erpresser" | "The Island of Kidnappers" | Mennigen | ? |
| 25 | "Die Wächter der Sklavenvilla" | "Wardens of the Slave Villa" | Mennigen | ? |
| 26 | "Der Fluch des Zauberpriesters" | "The Curse of the Magic Priest" | Mennigen | ? |
| 27 | "Rebellion der Teufelsinsel" | "Rebellion on Devil's Island" | Mennigen | ? |
| 28 | "Die Zauberwaffe der Wilderer" | "The Poachers Magic Weapon" | Mennigen | ? |
| 29 | "Der Schlangen-Turm" | "The Snake Tower" | Mennigen | ? |
| 30 | "Die Piraten der Teufelslagune" | "The Pirates of the Devil's Lagoon" | Mennigen | ? |
| 31 | "Die Gefangene der grünen Hölle" | "The Prisoner of the Green Hell" | Mennigen | ? |
| 32 | "Die Wächter der Schatzhöhle" | "The Guardians of the Treasure Cave" | Mennigen | ? |
| 33 | "Die Wüstenteufel" | "The Desert Devils" | Mennigen | ? |
| 34 | "Im Banne des Sklavenhändlers" | "In the Spell of the Slave Trader" | Mennigen | ? |
| 35 | "Schüsse in der Fieberhölle" | "Shots in the Fever Hell" | Mennigen | ? |
| 36 | "Im Versteck der Schatzräuber" | "In the Treasure Robbers Hideout" | Mennigen | ? |
| 37 | "Die Bestie des Zauberdschungels" | "The Beasts of the Magic Jungle" | Mennigen | ? |
| 38 | "Die Tochter des Gangsterchefs" | "The Gang Boss's Daughter" | Mennigen | ? |
| 39 | "Die Schreckens-Safari" | "The Terrified Safari" | Mennigen | ? |
| 40 | "Die Haie von New York" | "The New York Sharks" | Mennigen | ? |
| 41 | "Palast der Sklaven" | "The Palace of Slaves" | Mennigen | ? |
| 42 | "Die Söldner des Teufels" | "The Devils Mercenaries" | Mennigen | ? |
| 43 | "Die Dschungel-Dämonen" | "The Jungle Demons" | Mennigen | ? |
| 44 | "Ein Herzensbrecher mit Pistole" | "A Heartbreaker with Pistol" | Mennigen | ? |
| 45 | "Der teuflische Doppelgänger" | "The Evil Double" | Mennigen | ? |
| 46 | "Die Henker des gelben Flusses" | "The Hangman of the Yellow River" | Mennigen | ? |
| 47 | "Die Mulatten-Bande" | "The Halfbreed Gang" | Mennigen | ? |
| 48 | "Spuk auf der Teufelsinsel" | "Haunting on Devil's Island" | Mennigen | ? |
| 49 | "Das Gangster-Schloß" | "The Gangster Palace" | Mennigen | ? |
| 50 | "Die Diamanten-Haie" | "The Diamond Sharks" | Mennigen | ? |
| 51 | "Aufstand hinter Gitter" | "Revolution Behind Bars" | Mennigen | ? |
Phantom Spezial stories
Unpublished stories
| # | Original title | Translated title | Writer | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Die Sklaven" | "The Slaves" | Mennigen | Tafalla |
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