On this page I state the reasons for which I constructed and still maintain The 21st Phantom's Deep Woods and the objectives that I hope to achieve with the help of this site. It should, however, be noted that the objectives have, in time, either changed or extended from what they originally set out to be.

Initially, I had started working on this site solely as an exercise to practice my webpage-designing skills. I had only recently learnt a little HTML and was seeking challenges which would goad me on to learn more. But gradually, I became more serious about the purpose of the site. I started focusing on implementing ways to bring about interaction between Phans from different places. I had always felt a certain dearth of Phantom Phans or at least, of their "presence" on the World Wide Web. I had found some good Phantom sites but none had the scope of much participation (no offence to the webmasters of those sites whose content, I feel, is par excellence). By the way, please keep in mind that I am talking about the time of the inception of my site's idea, that is, around the early months of 1999.

Today, the scene has changed with Phantom message boards, chat rooms and mailing lists coming up, which is a healthy sign of the Phantom's popularity. Hence, the objective of this site was then changed from simply providing message boards and chat rooms to involving more creative and constructive participation from Phans. To achieve this purpose, I opened some sections where Phans (and even non-Phans who are interested) could provide important contributions to enrich this site's content.

For instance, there is a section called 'Your fan-fic', where Phans can work jointly to produce a literary work of fiction involving our favourite hero. Each Phan would get a chance to carry on the tale by adding a piece of his or her own imagination, making the piece of prose worth reading not just because of the story but also because of the fact that different individual minds have worked on it, adding a part of themselves to the tale.

Visitors also have the chance to use their imagination to think up 'New Jungle Sayings'. I am hoping that those new jungle sayings would make interesting reading.

Phans can also contribute information to this site. I am especially looking for quotations of Lee Falk's. I feel that each citation of his words can help us know a little bit more about the man who gave to the world -- The Phantom. May his soul rest in peace.

The objective has now extended to provide Phans with as much information as possible about the Phantom in the Indian context. This includes topics of interest like Indian Phantom comics, Phantom news and Phantom facts relevant to India, etc.

Another objective of this site is to continue to provide Phans with the opportunity to read Phantom (& Mandrake) stories online. This is achieved by the very popular Daily Comic Strip section, which offers the following comic strips: The Phantom (both the daily and Sunday strips), Mandrake The Magician and Spiderman (who has, by the way, nothing to do with the Phantom or Lee Falk). I hope these strips will allow Phans, especially those who do not have easy access to Phantom comics, to enjoy Phantom stories daily. This is rather relevant in the Indian scene as Phantom comics have become somewhat of a rarity in India.

I'd like to conclude by asking every Phan -- by asking you -- to always keep the Phantom walking. This is possible only when we continue growing as a community -- a Phantom community.