Fantomen Nr.3/1997
by Rolf Gohs
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- Land of the Totems
- Script: Tony De Paul
- Art: Felmang, Morrik & Ferri
- First published in Fantomen Nr.3/1997 by Egmont, Scandinavia. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Ulf Granberg.
- Message from the Publisher:
In this edition we present Land of the Totems, a story originally published in Scandinavia in 1997, but released for the first time in Australia and New Zealand. America's Tony De Paul wrote the script and the artwork was rendered by Italy's Felmang with help from Morrik and Ferri. Because the story is set in Alaska which is part of North America, De Paul was a good choice as storyteller!
Great cover art by Antonio Lemos, who has perfectly captured the basic theme of the story and the geographical setting.
There are many sub-plots, but essentially, the story revolves around a big mining company encroaching upon sacred sites cherished by the local Indians. The Indians are hopelessly outnumbered by the armed guards employed by the company, which De Paul depicts as a ruthless, moneygrubbing organisation. Similar problems are now widespread throughout the world including Australia - so the scenario will be familiar to all readers. As will the appearance of Diana in the role of a mediator faced with the task of either solving all the problems, or at least working up a satisfactory compromise. Land of the Totems is an engrossing yarn. Diana for a long time doesn't realise The Phantom is working behind the scenes! Look for the scene when The Phantom eavesdrops on a conversation between Diana and her mediator partner to ensure he has all the necessary facts at his disposal before he swings into action! There are villains and doublecrossers, sabotage - and a hair-raising rescue carried out by The Ghost Who Walks. The climax of the story is equally fascinating. Another chapter is added to the absorbing history of The Phantom line!
In our next issue (Frew #1418 on sale 24 June), we will bring you a 100 page special. The lead story will be another new Scandinavian-created adventure entitled The Skull Murders and one of the support features will be another new stories called The U-Boat Mystery. Another support story will be a Lee Falk classic with art by the great Sy Barry, so a wonderful feast of comics writing and imagery awaits you!
The Skull Murders was written by Donne Avenell and illustrated by Carlos Cruz and was first published in 1993. It has never previously been published in Australia or New Zealand. The U-Boat Mystery, written by Tony De Paul, is the most recent daily newspaper adventure which was commenced by George Olesen (pencils) and Keith Williams (inks). However, the versatile Paul Ryan took over as sole artist after the story had been running for only a month and for that reason alone, the story will be of intense interest to serious collectors. In recent times, changes to the art team during the run of a daily or Sunday story have been rare events. Paul effortlessly slipped into the artistic role, but you will notice a distinct and interesting change in the illustration style from 31 January onwards. For the record, George Olesen and Keith Williams worked on the strip from 3 January through 29 January 2005.
To follow the 100-page special, we will bring you three new Phantom adventures! The themes include a cloak and dagger historical thriller, a gripping modern adventure set in a spooky museum and another modern story featuring The Phantom battling it out with big business and tough unionists.
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