The Phantom Viking
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| The Phantom Viking | |
|---|---|
 The Phantom Viking in Lion, 14 October 1967. Art by Nevio Zeccara. | |
| Character information | |
| First appearance | The Champion (26 February 1966) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Olaf Larsen |
| Species | Human/Norse god |
| Place of origin | Earth |
| Partnerships | Helen Yates |
| Abilities | Flight Superhuman strength Increased durability |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Fleetway Publications |
| Schedule | Weekly |
| Title(s) | The Champion 26 February to 4 June 1966 Lion 11 June 1966 to 3 August 1968 The Champion Annual 1967 to 1968 Lion Annual 1968 to 1970 |
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) The Champion Lion. |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | 26 February 1966 – 3 August 1968 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Donne Avenell |
| Artist(s) | José Ortiz Nevio Zeccara |
The Phantom Viking is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character's alter-ego was weak-willed school teacher Olaf Larsen, who gained the ability to turn into the Phantom Viking when he dons a Norse helmet. The character first appeared in the debut issue of the short-lived boys' anthology title The Champion on 26 February 1966, and continued in Lion when it was merged with Champion a short while later.
The Champion (a rare case of Fleetway publications reusing the name of a cancelled publication, in this case that of a long-running story paper) was devised as a 'companion paper' to the successful Valiant; a similar tactic had been used two years previously with Hurricane, which had run for only 63 issues before merging with Tiger.[1] The Champion was partly devised to test the waters for British reader response to modified material from continental titles such as Tintin and Spirou, something which would potentially provide a large well of material at a low price.[2] However, group editor Jack Le Grand still wanted some in-house material included as a fall-back, and Donne Avenell - an experienced writer who had been with Fleetway's predecessor Amalgamated Press since before World War II, having been an early contributor to Radio Fun - came up with the Phantom Viking.[3] Initially the strip was drawn by the Spanish artist José Ortiz, who was becoming a key contributor for Fleetway and other publishers, notably the newspaper strip Caroline Baker, Barrister at Law in the Daily Express.[4] It has been suggested that the character was inspired by the surge in interest of superheroes in American comics in general, and Marvel Comics' Thor in particular.[5][6][7][8]