#101: Politics and The Phantom

There are times, it is said, when The Phantom should stay out of
politics. Our guest in Episode 101 would vehemently disagree!


Robert Aman may not yet be a big name in Phantom circles,
but the chat we had with him in the podcast may well be one of
the most fascinating in the history of X-Band.


A Senior Lecturer in Education at Linköping University (Sweden),
Robert conducts research into ideology, national identity and the
politics of representation in comics.


His argument about the influence of Swedish national and foreign
policy on The Phantom is compelling, but perhaps not quite as
fascinating as his argument about the influence of the Phantom on
Swedish national and foreign policy!


Robert explains to us how Team Fantomen reimagined The
Phantom to have him become a leading proponent of international
solidarity and social justice.


He has had his Phantom-focused writing published in the Journal
of Graphic Novels and Comics, which you can find here:
https://doi.org/10.1080/21504857.2017.1403334


Excitingly, Robert has also just signed with Palgrave Macmillan
to publish a book on these ideas, with probable release in late
2019 or early 2020.


If this chat intrigues you as much as it did us, you can email
Robert at robert.aman@liu.se to keep the conversation going for
yourself.


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