Gonçalo Júnior is a recognized author in Brazil, having written more than 20 books, including biographies.
He has done his extensive research on the Phantom and Lee Falk for the book, in total he has worked on this book for 20 years. In an interview with the Phantom channel FantasmaBrasil, he told host Glaucio Cardoso, that this book will present Lee Falk as a human rights activist. Below are two interviews with Gonçalo Júnior as he talks about his book - note they are in Portuguese.
Sometimes he has been labeled unfairly as a racist with his depictions of the jungle folk in the Phantom strip and Lothar in Mandrake The Magician.
The book is 14cm x 21cm and will be over 300 pages with many photos never seen before. There is a limit of only 300 copies. The description of the book is:
His story is finally revealed in this exclusive biography for Brazilian fans, written by an author who is a super fan of the masked hero who spent decades reading his stories and searching for details about his life!! You will meet an unimaginable Lee Falk, who: 1) He fought against racism! 2) He was a spy during the Second World War! 3) Denounced the fake Hitler biography! 4) Proved the existence of concentration camps! 5) Revolutionized American theater by placing black actors as protagonists! 6) He fought for the civil rights of black people and against the Vietnam War in the 1960s! 7) He was in Brazil and his trip is extensively documented in the book, with never-before-seen images! 8) He wrote his characters' stories for more than 60 years!
At the stage of writing the book is 60% funded (dated 29 March 2024). Unfortunately, the crowd fundraiser does not ship the book but we would suggest contacting a Brazilian Phantom phan and ask them to pledge for your behalf.
If you would like to look into more of the discussion of the Phantom and if he is racist, we would recommend our article which was written by Joe Douglas.
The first YouTube video has the option for English subtitled so you can follow along. The interview is by FantasmaBrazil.
The second YouTube video is by Obra Nerd. Note: it doesn't have English subtitled.
Attached are some interior shots of the book.
Thank you to Celso Nunes for his help and information on this article. If there is anyone who reads the Fantasma comics and understands Portuguese, please contact us as we would love some to join the team who can review Phantom comics and books that come from Brazil.
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