According to the Chronicle Chamber Bret Blevins began drawing The Phantom daily comic strip last week Monday (October 30, 2023) and Francesco Marciuliano says Bret took over for Mike Manley on Judge Parker that Monday. (This is much earlier than I had thought it would happen.)
From the beginning of November, we’ll be treated to several weeks of art by Bret Blevins, with lettering by Scott Cohn. These two talented individuals have again stepped in to maintain the continuity of Daily 264 “The Journey Home”, with their contributions keeping we readers engaged and entertained.
As best as our untrained eyes can tell, it seems that Mike’s last strip was Saturday 28 October, with Bret taking the reins from Monday 30 October. As we trust you can see from the images below, certainly from Wednesday 1 November the style is unmistakably Bret’s.
The Chronicle Chamber notes that The Phantom Sunday artist Jeff Wiegel will soon take over on The Phantom dailies after Bret’s emergency fill-in:
Unfortunately, it seems that Mike’s absence from the strip will be an extended one. We have been made aware that from Monday November 20, the Daily strip will be passed on and entrusted to Jeff Weigel, who is already highly regarded as the artist for the Phantom’s Sunday adventures. Jeff’s creative talent is well-known to phans, and he’s set to guide us through to the finale of Tony DePaul‘s extended ‘Wrack and Ruin’ series.
The Chronicle Chamber credits at least some of the above information to Mike Manley:
It is wonderful to see Mike on the mend via his Facebook page, where he shared the following information with family, friends and phans.
Meanwhile…
Last week Ces let us know via Facebook that Bret has also taken on Judge Parker art duties:
Judge Parker: As we all wish Mike Manley a very speedy recovery (Get well soon, Mike!) I want to thank artist James Bret Blevins for so quickly picking up the ball and running with the strip starting this week. Thank you, Bret!
The Daily Cartoonist joins everyone in wishing Mike a quick recovery and return to the comics page.
Best wishes and a speedy recovery to Mike…!!!