Egmont´s best and most creative Phantom writer Claes Reimerthi passed away
23.7.2021 very soon after he resigned Egmont - but before this happened he still
fullfilled his promise about the amount of manuscripts to do. This final script
was given to me and has been printed and here is the 1st page of the story. What
Phantom works I got before and after that is told after the image of the page.
My last work of Claes script`s first page
BUT WHAT HAPPENED WHEN CLAES WAS GONE
At the time when Claes was leaving Egmont (now Story House Egmont) he
left behind only nine writers to make Pantom manuscripts, and only three
were long time professionals who had made many stories of The Walking
Ghost. Them were from the times of original Fantomen Team, carefully
picked writers from few countries. Other writers nowadays were selected
by editors who took care of the magazine after Ulf Granberg and shortly
before Claes Reimerhi`s resignation there was MIkael Sol in that post.
He had reserved for me the last manuscript which Claes was writing just
the time before he leaving Egmont. But it took some time and Micke de-
cide to sent me another script which was the first work of a new writer.
This happened at the same time when another man was taking the place
of Fantomen editor. So, when I got the script in my Email and had read it
and checked the reference material that came along the script I lost me
interest totally to the manuscript which really looked that it was coming
from a novice writer. And the reference material, which was composed
from pictures and looked useless mess because the story took place in
Africa about 1920 and the reference he had choose were mostly use-
less. For me the period was very familiar from Johnny Weissmul-
ler´s Tarzan movies and I thought that whatsoever I could illustrate
that stupid story where Phantom spent most of the story laying un-
concious in a rotten sarcophagus in ruined village. A teenaged negro
boy took his place as main character of the bloody script emerging at
the end of very dull story as a hero of the story.
After few days when I tried to image what the drawing such of a story
was going to feel I contacted my boss MIcke and told that it was no use
that I took care of the script and he should give it to someone else´s
hands. Micke was just leaving his editorial post and said "OK", and told
that Andreas Ericsson was taking his place and would decide what to do
with the story. So Andreas, who already was handling my Wiggen-se-
rial´s album publication, said that OK, he will give tha story to someone
else and that was it. I sighed from relief...
If you, dear reader of my STORY, are already thoroughly bored
of my careless way to handle my Phantom work and like to go to your
refrigerator to make some sandwiches etc. to read this story till it´s
end, here we go...
OK, almost the same time when I get rid of the first script of Egmont´s
new Phantom-story star Daniel Carlsson, the last script from Claes
was sent to me and I had at last something to do. When I had finished
the last story written by him and he had left Egmont for good, my new
boss Jacob , not knowing what had happened before ,mailed me another
script to take care.
IT WAS WRITTEN BY DANIEL CARLSSON !!!
I could not believe my eyes when I saw it in my Email. What wicked spi-
rits had found me to run me mad... Then I understood that Jacob did know
nothing about what had happened before, and had sent me a new script
from their new writer. Here I sat before my computer staring the screen
helpless for a few seconds and thinking, what to do... It did not felt wise to
refuse so soon second time of a work which was offered to me...
I made a contact with Jacob and complained the abundant faults which
jumped out from the script when I did read it. And the referencies what
Carlsson had put with his script were again useless. In the story there
was only one tribe, but samples he had digged out were at least four
different tribes starting from Zulus till Himba and Wakamba. But in the
story itself had the most stupid fault, because in his imaginary fairy
tale he had added real british regiment to have power in Bengali, the
country where Phantom lives. He called that regiment by real name
13th Light Hussars, but in reality it´s name has in 1809 whic was the
year what Carlsson was choosed 13th Light Dragoons and that regi-
ment was not even close to Africa during that time. It has been in
England many years and 1809 it was shipped to Portugal where Na-
poleon has attacked. There was plenty other faults in manuscript
which both me and Jacob tried to correct. He told me, that when he
had read that poor story first time he had made many corrections
already. We spent over a week trying to better Carlsson´s story,
but in vain. It was impossible to handle his clumsy action parts
etc. For me it took time to collect pictorial material for the story
and there occurred still a new vexation when Jacob got an Email
from King Features Syncate Inc. USA. They had decided to take
care Phantom production´s certain contents that no racism nor
pornographic images are involved. That´s why the artist who
illustarade a story must send them examples of the characters
of the story. So I was forced to do the same.
Here they are which was sent to New York.
The pictures were accepted and the
illustartion could be started, but...
I had got enough about the whole business with this rotten script and
told Jacob that he should give the whole mess to someone else to
work.
He said yes, he understood how I felt because he felt the same.
That´s it. Jacob told that he was expecting a manus from David
Bishop and will give that to me. I was grateful because I had
done a few Phantom stories from his scripts and know
what to expect...
The End of this mess