Race Against Death (Team Fantomen story)

Race against Death
Produced for:	Fantomen 5/1986
# of pgs:	32
Writer:	Ulf Granberg
Artist:	Hans Lindahl
Original colorist:	N/A
Producer:	Semic Press

"Race against Death" is a 1986 Team Fantomen story, written by Ulf Granberg, with art by Hans Lindahl.

Plot synopsis

After a celebration in its village, all of the Llongo are infected by the fatal jungle fever and the only known cure is made from a rare flower that only grows in the Kaluga pass.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• The 21st Phantom
• Devil
• Hero
• Llionto of Llongo
• Lamanda Luaga
• Old man Mozz
• Guran
• Dr Axel (mentioned)
• Wambatta of Wambesi
• The Beanstalk

One-time characters

• Mama Llumba (mentioned)
• Dr. Claude Eustace Winterbottom
• Obangi chief
• The Kaluga pass hermit

Locations

• Bengali
  • Llongo village
  • Morristown
  • Deep Woods
    • The Waterfall
      • The Skull Cave
        • The Skull Throne
  • Dr. Axel's Jungle Hospital
  • Eden (mentioned)
  • Kaluga pass

Tribes

• Llongo
• Bandar
• Tirangi
• The Little People
• Wambesi
• The Stork People
• Obangi

Objects

• The Good Luck Charm of the Llongo

Old Jungle Sayings

• "When the Phantom talks, one listens!"

Behind the scenes

• Doctor Winterbottom's book "Tropical Medicine" mentions researchers Sprucehill and Bernie Wrightson ("What a man"). Most of the text is untranslated Swedish in the Australian reprint. It mentions made-up body parts such as "the liver particle accelerator".
• Moz is called Moy in the Australian reprint.
• According to an editorial text in Fantomen 7/1989, the story was plotted by Ulf Granberg and Hans Lindahl by using a tape recorder. They abandoned attempts of trying to create the dialogue the same way, as they could not keep from laughing at how silly it sounded.

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• "Race against Death", The Phantom #901 (1988)

Denmark

• "Kapløb med døden", Fantomet #278 (1987)

Finland

• "Kilpajuoksu kuoleman kanssa", Mustanaamio 18/1986
• "Kilpajuoksu kuoleman kanssa", Mustanaamio (2012)

Norway

• "Kappløp med døden", Fantomet 16/1986
• "Kappløp med døden", Fantomets Krønike 6/1995
• "Kappløp med døden", Fantomets Krønike 2/2006

Sweden

• "Kapplöpning med döden", Fantomen 5/1986
• "Kapplöpning med döden", De bästa äventyren #2 (2004)

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Best Story Winners
Finland
1985: "The Prisoner at Capitolium" | 1986: "The Moor of Death"
Norway
1979: "The Heirs" | 1983: "Tale of Rex" | 1984: "Hero" | 1985: "Pirates of the Yellow Snake" | 1986: "The Beanstalk" & "Race Against Death" (tie) | 1987: "Devil's Adventure" | 1988: "Eden" | 1989: "The Last Unicorn" | 1990: "The Last Emperor" | 1991: "Death of a Patrolman, Part 2: Tracking the Killers" | 1992: "The Wolf is Coming" | 1993: "Aron" | 1994: "The Commander is Dead" | 1995: "The Demon's Image" | 1996: "Johnny Hotwire" | 1997: "The Ghost Who Died Twice" | 1998: "The Last Phantom, Part 1: The Eighth Circle" | 1999: "Devil's Story" | 2000: "The Phantom vs Singh 2050" | 2001: "The Invisible Phantom" | 2002: "In A Strange Land, Part 2" | 2003: "My Darling Pirate" | 2004: "Son of the Pirate Queen" | 2005: "The King of Norway" | 2006: "The Singh Brotherhood" | 2007: "Dogai - The Road to Power" & "The Commander is Dead" (best reprint) | 2008: "The Devil of Ravenscar" & "Kingdom of the Amazons" (best reprint) | 2009: "Duel at Deadman's Gulch" | 2010: "The Cabin Boy and the Princess" | 2011: "The Gulf of Aden Pirates" | 2012: "The Pirates' Prisoner" | 2013: "The Slave Ship Zong" | 2014: "Death of a Pirate Queen" | 2015: "A Plague in Venice" | 2016: "John X" & "Patrolman X" | 2017: "The Karabasan League"
Sweden
1978: "The Avenger from the Sea" & "Phantom Wedding" (tie) | 1979: "Devil's Story" | 1980: "The Treasure from Rhodes" | 1981: "The Legend of the Swords, Part 1: Excalibur" | 1982: "The Stone Carving People" | 1983: "The Water of Life" | 1984: "The First Phantom" | 1985: "The Beanstalk" | 1986: "The Battle on Malta" & "Devil's Story" (best reprint) | 1987: "The King is Dead" | 1988: "Eden" | 1989: "The Last Unicorn" | 1990: "The Cathedral Mystery" | 1991: "Devil's Story" | 1992: "Hoogan's Revenge" | 1993: "The Test" | 1994: "The Commander is Dead" | 1995: "The Set Up, Part 1" & Part 2 | 1996: "The Last Viking" | 1997: "The Ghost Who Died Twice" | 1998: "Return of the Zombies" | 1999: "Devil's Story" | 2000: "The Phantom vs Singh 2050" | 2001: "The Prodigal Son" | 2002: "The Long Bow of Little John" | 2003: "My Darling Pirate" | 2004: "Son of the Pirate Queen" | 2005: "The Battle on Malta" | 2006: "The Singh Brotherhood" | 2007: "The Phantom Crusader, Part 1" & "The Commander is Dead" (best reprint) | 2008: "The Castaways" & "Kingdom of the Amazons" (best reprint)" | 2009: "The  Phantom Gladiator, Part 1" | 2010: "The Cabin Boy and the Princess" & "The Dragon Throne" (tie) | 2011: "The Sons of Captain Walker" | 2012: "The Pirates' Prisoner" | 2013: "Year 1349" | 2014: "Death of a Pirate Queen" | 2015: "A Plague in Venice" | 2016: "Nat Turner's Spirit, Part 6: The King of Louisiana" | 2017: "Farewell to the Deep Woods" | 2018: "The Ghost at Gallows' Inn" | 2019: "The Devil in Stockholm" | 2020: "A Reckoning with the Nomad" | 2021: "Devil's Story" | 2022: "Saga of the Vultures Chapter One: The Haunted Castle" | 2023: "Ku Klux Klan"