Fantomen Nr.9/2005
by Paul Ryan & Tom Smith
|
- Diana's Crisis Pt.2: Diana Disappears
- Script: Claes Reimerthi
- Art: Paul Ryan & Bob McLeod
- First published in Fantomen Nr.9/2005 by Egmont, Scandinavia. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Ulf Granberg.
- Message from the Publisher:
In this issue, we commence what will be a four-part adventure about the mysterious disappearance of Diana. This first episode has been written by Claes Reimerthi and illustrated by Paul Ryan and Bob McLeod but future episodes will be the work of other creators.
The sudden vanishing or kidnapping of Diana is a tried and trusted Phantom story theme! Lee Falk first used the plot way back in 1937 in The Diamond Hunters and cleverly reversed the theme the following year in Prisoner of the Himalayas when The Phantom himself "kidnaps" Diana. From that time on, Diana led something of a stressful existence, almost continually being kidnapped, held for ransom - or simply disappearing. The first "disappearance" occurred in the 1940-41 story, Diana Aviatrix Lost, when her aircraft crashes in what is described as "a remote Central American jungle area".
This new treatment of a much used (and loved) Phantom story plot is far more mysterious, because Diana disappears literally under The Phantom's nose! The story of course, is a continuation of The Mysterious Wreck which appeared in our last issue. At the conclusion of that adventure, you will remember Diana telling The Phantom that she was going to a nearby bank and would return to the jetty where their boat was tied up. The Phantom thinks nothing of her visit to the bank but allows himself the thought that "Diana has been acting strangely lately ..." When she fails to return at the appointed time, The Phantom and Devil go looking for Diana and naturally enough, begin their search at the bank. The real drama commences from that point.
Writer Reimerthi has cleverly injected a number of baffling sub-plots which brings out the detective in The Ghost Who Walks! This series will continue at intervals through the remainder of 2005. Keep each instalment handy, because it will be necessary to refer to previous episodes to keep pace with The Phantom's search!
In our next two issues, we will take you into the deep jungle in Korzan - King of the Jungle and into North America in Land of the Totems. The Korzan story is not a spoof of the world-famous Edgar Rice -Burroughs character Tarzan! Far from it in fact. Writer Sverre Årnes and artist César Spadari have actually worked up their story around a television adventure serial starring a character called "Korzan" and some dramas which occur when an episode is shot in a jungle setting not far from the Deep Woods.
[Comment from Guran: Collectors of the English Phantom comics published in 1992-93 by Wolf Publishing will remember this story as it was published in issue #4 with the title Tights, Camera - Action]
Land of the Totems, beautifully illustrated by Felmang, sees The Phantom involved in some heavy skullduggery by a bunch of roughneck miners and this leads to him taking the side of a tribe of North American Indians. Hence the story title. Indian totem poles and the culture and ancient beliefs of the Indians, play a major role in this story. Just as happened in a number of old Lee Falk stories developed around Walker's Table in New Mexico. Lee was passionate about the rights of the American Indians!
These two stories will be on sale 27 May and 10 June respectively. We will produce another 100-page special featuring three new stories, one of which will be the new American daily, The U-Boat Mystery mainly illustrated by Paul Ryan, who is now well known to Frew readers as an American artist who has drawn full-length Phantom comic books originally published in Scandinavia.
|
