Dai Darell

Diane Elizabeth Karlstrom, pen name Dai Darell (October 5, 1952 – July 8, 2024) was a Swedish-American comic writer and young adult novelist.

Darell was born in Rockford, Illinois, and grew up both in the United States and in Sweden. As a teenager, she was an avid reader of the Swedish comic book Fantomen, dedicated to the comic strip "The Phantom". After writing to the editors, she was encouraged to submit a script. Her first published Phantom story was published in 1983 and she became the first female Fantomen writer. It was then she adopted the pen name Dai Darell. She would write for The Phantom until 1986, contributing 16 stories.

In 1984, she met Swedish comic writer Claes Reimerthi at the Seriefrämjandet, the Swedish Comics Society and encouraged him to begin writing Phantom stories. Reimerthi would go on to make a significant impact on The Phantom.

From 1983 to 1986 Darell wrote the series "Gauntlet of Fate", originally a British comic. She would contribute to a number of comic and magazine publications, including Starlet, Min Häst, "Tom & Jerry", Wendy, "Pellefant" as well as several Disney comics.

In 1997, Darell connected with Swedish writer Carola Haglund [sv] with whom she would have a longtime writing collaboration. Together they would write a number of series set in pre-Viking Scandinavia, as well as a series for young girls interested in horses, "Stall Silverlyckan".

In 2003, Darell moved to Canada with her husband Michael Karlstrom. There, she continued to write young adult novels under various names, including Diane Karlstrom, Saga Borg and Teo Troy. Many of her young adult novels and series featured equestrian themes.

In 2019, Darell returned to write two stories for The Phantom alongside Magnus Carling. Her last two stories for The Phantom appeared in 2019.

Darell died on July 7, 2024, in Canada.