Sometimes, you have a really, really bad day...

If you think things are going wrong for you, this might help put things in perspective. Click on any panel for a larger, more easily read version.

(This tale of extremely bad luck can be read in its entirely in "The Three Lives of Fantomah: Mystery Woman of the Jungle" from NUELOW Games.)

Fantomah finds her destiny!

In the final book in NUELOW Games' "The Three Lives of Fantomah" series, the Mystery Woman of the Jungle is restored to her rightful place as ruler of the hidden land of Khefra. No longer a magical powerhouse herself, she comes under the watchful eye of the Egyptian gods that bless her lineage. This doesn't mean she's safe... and over the course of seven classic stories illustrated by George Appel, she must fend off challenges from the Evil Spotted Men, corrupt priestesses, darkhearted adventurers, and more!

"The Three Lives of Fantomah: Daughter of the Pharoahs" is now available at all the usual websites that carry NUELOW Games books, but you can click here to get your own copy or see previews of it at DriveThruComics. Here are a few sample splash pages to give you some further previews of the book. (Click on the images to see larger versions.)

 

 

 

In addition to the rarely republished comics, the book contains rules for incorporating the gods of Khefra into just about any variant of the popular d20 System for roleplaying games.

Now available from NUELOW Games -- The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two

Fantomah has been accurately described as the first female superhero in comics. Readers were first introduced to her in Jungle Comics #2 (cover date Feb. 1940), a full two years before the celebrated debut of Wonder Woman. Fantomah soon lost the superhero flavor.

Fantomah, as drawn by Richard Case

When series creator Fletcher Hanks was replaced with a mixed bag of artists and writers who worked under the house-name "W.B. Hovious." From Jungle Comics #16 through #26, Fantomah moved away from the fearsome incarnation of nature's vengeance that she had been under Hanks, and became increasingly a "jungle girl"-type character. She still had magic powers, but they were increasingly de-emphasized as she gained a faithful pet panther, rescued and took charge of a lost boy--and generally came to seem more like a female Tarzan.

Fantomah's "jungle girl" period is the subject of The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two from NUELOW Games. It presents the six best episodes from Jungle Comics #16 - #26, together will all new roleplaying game rules that will let you bring Fantomah-style magic to your OGL Modern d20 games. For a sample of the game content, click here to visit the NUELOW Games Blog.

The majority of the art in The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two is by Richard Case, although some stories were penciled and/or inked by "W.B Hovious." I designed the new game content, as well as wrote a small piece of fiction intended to shed light on why Fantomah is transfirming -- and to set up her final transformation that will occur in Book Three.

I hope you will download a copy of The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book Two. Click here to see previews of the book. If you do, be sure to tell me what you think of it.

And please keep en eye out for Book Three some time after Christmas.

Fantomah: When she kicks ass, she doesn't bother taking names.

NUELOW reveals the lives of Fantomah

Many comics fans will tell you that Wonder Woman was the first female superhero. Others will tell you that it was Phantom Lady. True masters of trivia will tell you it was the Woman in Red.

Truth is, they're all wrong.

The first female superhero, Fantomah, saw print in Feb. 1940, in the pages of Jungle Comics #2.

Created by writer/artist Fletcher Hanks (working as Barclay Flagg), the earliest "Fantomah" stories carried his trademark powerful character type dishing out extreme supernatural justice against evil-doers. Here's a splash panel from one of the early Fantomah stories that tells you everything you need to know about her -- other than her habit of turning villains into strange creatures or dispatching them violently. Oh -- and her own ability to turn into a terrifying skull-faced Furie when angered.

The "first life" of Fantomah

Unlike other Hanks creations, Fantomah continued past his involvement with the strip, evolving as it passed through the hands of other creators (working under the name W.B. Hovious). The surreal, macabre flavor that Hanks brought to most of his work faded quickly from the series, and for a time Fantomah was not very different from jungle girls, such as Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

Fantomah, with Ken and Fury, during her "second life."

Eventually, it was revealed that she was the lost ruler of the City of Khefra, and for the final 20 or so episodes of the series she ruled justly while fighting off challengers to her throne. As she claimed her inheritance, the last vestiges of the powerful magic she had once wielded seemingly faded forever. The series came to a close in Jungle Comics #51.

The undead stalk Fantomah, Daughter of the Pharohs, during her "third life."

NUELOW Games has just released The Three Lives of Fantomah: Book One. It contains four of Fletcher Hanks' best Fantomah stories, as well as one by "W.B. Hovious," all spotlighting Fantomah during her "first life" as a vengeful demi-goddess. The book also contains an all new OGL Modern/d20 System prestige class and related feats that set out to capture the unusual nature of Fantomah's development over the course of her series.

Like most of NUELOW Games' releases, it's co-edited by yours truly, and I am also responsible for the game design. I hope some of you will check it out and let me know what you think.

And, of course, I hope you'll like it well enough to come back for Books Two and Three!