King Features Syndicate
King Features Syndicate, an American print syndication company owned by The Hearst Corporation, produces and distributes "The Phantom" and about 150 other comic strips, as well as newspaper columns, editorial cartoons, puzzles and games to nearly 5000 newspapers around the world. King Features Syndicate is a unit of Hearst Holdings, Inc.
History
William Randolph Hearst's newspapers began syndicating material in 1895 after receiving requests from other newspapers. In 1914, Hearst and his manager Moses Koenigsberg consolidated all of Hearst's syndication enterprises under one banner. Koenigsberg gave it his own name (koenig=king) when he launched King Features Syndicate. Production escalated in 1916 with King Features buying and selling its own staff-created feature material. A trade publication, Circulation, was published by King Features between 1916 and 1933. Syndication peaked in the mid-1930s with 130 syndicates offering 1,600 features to more than 13,700 newspapers.
In 2007, King Features donated its collection of comic strip proof sheets (two sets of over 60 years accumulation) to the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum and the Michigan State University Comic Art Collection while retaining the collection in electronic form for reference purposes.
Animation, comic books and licensing
Many King characters have been adapted to animation, both theatrical and television cartoons. Strips from King Features are often reprinted by comic book publishers. In 1967, King Features made an effort to publish comic books of its own by establishing the publishing company King Comics. This short-lived comic book line showcased King's best-known characters in seven titles: Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Flash Gordon, Jungle Jim, Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom and Popeye. The comics imprint existed for a year-and-a-half, with titles cover-dated from August 1966 to December 1967. When it ended, the books were picked up and continued by Gold Key Comics, Harvey Comics and Charlton Comics.
Online presence and digital comics
Confronted by newspaper cutbacks, King Features has explored new venues, such as digital publishing. In 2006, it launched DailyINK, an online service which billed subscribers $15 annually. Online and via email, the DailyINK service made available more than 90 vintage and current comic strips, puzzles and editorial cartoons. The vintage strips have included, among others, Bringing Up Father, Buz Sawyer, Flash Gordon, The Phantom and Rip Kirby.
In November 2008, King Features introduced Comics Kingdom, a digital platform that newspapers can embed on their sites. Comics Kingdom splits advertising revenue with newspapers carrying the feature; those papers make local sales, while King handles national sales. In December 2013, DailyINK was merged into Comics Kingdom.
During the 2020s, King Features has begun to publish original digital comics at Comics Kingdom, alongside the traditional dailies and Sundays. In 2025 the first Phantom related title premiered: "Phantom 2040: A New Shadow", which continues the concept of the 1990s cartoon "Phantom 2040".