Fantomen Nr.17/2005
by Rolf Gohs
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- Son of the Pirate Queen Pt.2: The Royal Target
- Script: David Bishop
- Art: Joan Boix
- First published in Fantomen Nr.17/2005 by Egmont, Scandinavia. Original cover shown on the left, thanks to Ulf Granberg.
- Message from the Publisher:
In this edition we return to the Son of the Pirate Queen Part 2, The Royal Target! In a story written by David Bishop and illustrated by Joan Boix, the adventure takes you to London in the year 1889. The Thuggees are hot on the trail of the fabled sapphire, the "Star of India", worn by Queen Victoria of England. The Phantom is heavily involved and so too is Chris, The Phantom's crippled half-brother, who is, of course, the son of the Pirate Queen. Involved a little too closely, as you are about to discover, is Chris' adoring companion (and former pirate) Anna.
In case you have never heard of the 563.35 carat Star of India, accept that it really existed! It was mined in Sri Lanka and at 112.67g was roughly the size of a golf ball and unusual in that it had stars on both sides of the stone. It was greyish blue, almost flawless and probably the largest such gem in the world.
Writer David Bishop has used some licence regarding Queen Victoria, the Star of India and the Thuggees, but it is of little importance. Queen Victoria was indeed the Empress of India, back in that era when the British Empire controlled a huge part of the world!
The Star of India (the sapphire) is now kept in the American Museum of Natural History in New York after being donated in 1900 by the American financier J P Morgan. Let's not get into any arguments about the manner in which the gem is stolen in this Phantom adventure! David Bishop has come up with a great plot scenario which adds a great deal to the story.
Believe it or not, the Star of India actually was once stolen, along with other gems including the Eagle Diamond and the de Long Ruby, in a daring robbery which took place on October 29, 1964! Thieves, led by notorious cat burglar and one-time surfing champion Jack "Murph the Surf" Murphy, entered the American Museum of Natural History at night and pulled off the robbery with remarkable ease - the famous sapphire was the only gem protected by an alarm and the battery for the alarm was dead! The thieves simply scooped up the gems they considered the most valuable and climbed out of a side window they had unlocked earlier in the day. Murphy and his accomplices were arrested within two days and The Star of India, which incredibly was uninsured, was recovered in a locker in a Miami bus station.
Part three of this adventure will be our next Frew issue (#1427) which will be on sale on 30 September.
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