The Art Collector

The Art Collector

Produced for:	Fantomen 23/1978
# of pgs:	32
Writer:	Donne Avenell
Artist:	Jaime Vallvé
Original colorist:	N/A
Producer:	Semic Press

"The Art Collector" is a 1978 Team Fantomen story, written by Donne Avenell, with art by Jaime Vallvé.

Plot synopsis

A crate of books is transported from Morristown to the Skull Cave. The Phantom intends to use the books to research information about the historical artifacts in the treasure room. In one of the crates the Phantom finds a copy of a current newspaper with the story that the millionaire Jason Parnassus has discovered Cleopatra's tomb and the mummified remains of the asp (snake) that killed her. The Phantom is mystified since he already has this asp in his treasure room. To Guran he tells the story of how the 9th Phantom discovered the tomb and the asp in 1720.

The Phantom travels to Giza in Egypt to be present at the press conference when Parnassus shows the tomb. The Phantom claims to be a representative of the Egyptian government. Parnassus orders his henchmen to kill him. Instead he is locked up in a tomb in the pyramid. With luck, the Phantom discovers a way to the outside.

He learns that Parnassus is visiting London where he chairs a meeting at the Savoy Hotel. When the meeting has ended, the Phantom finds a photo of the Eros statue at Picadilly Circus in London. Arriving there in the middle of the night, the Phantom witnesses how the statue is replaced with a copy using a helicopter. He gets onboard Parnassus yacht and hides in the boat when it goes from London to Parnassus private villa in the Gulf of Naples, Italy.

In the private villa the Phantom discovers how Parnassus has a collection of priceless art objects that he has stolen from around the world and replaced with copies. In the end Parnassus is arrested and sentenced to prison while the objects of art are returned to their owners.

Appearances

Recurring characters

One-time characters

Egyptian helper
Yacht Captain
Yacht Chef

Real-life characters

Cleopatra (mentioned)
Tiberius (flashback)

Locations

Bengali
- Deep Woods
  - The Skull Cave
    - The Major Treasure Room
    - The Chronicle Room
- Morristown
Egypt
- Valley of the Kings
  - Cleopatra's Tomb
- Giza
  - Great Pyramids of Giza
- Cairo
England
- London
  - Savoy Hotel
    - Thames Room
  - Piccadilly Circus
    - Eros Statue
  - Tower Bridge
Italy
- Gulf of Naples
  - Jason Parnassus's Island
    - Tiberius's Villa
    - Terrace
    - Underground Workshop
    - Art Gallery
- Venice (mentioned)
Denmark (mentioned)
- Copenhagen (mentioned)
  - Harbour (mentioned)
France (implied)
- Paris (mentioned)
  - The Louvre (mentioned)