The Iceman

The Iceman
Start date:	November 30, 2014
End date:	June 7, 2015
# of strips:	28
Writer:	Tony DePaul
Artist:	Terry Beatty
Original colorist:	Terry Beatty
Preceded by:	"The Ghost Story"
Followed by:	"The Battlements of the Nomad"

"The Iceman" is the 181st Phantom Sunday story. The story was written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Terry Beatty.

Plot Summary

The Phantom, Kit and Heloise have watched a documentary about volcanoes on Iceland. The Phantom explains that they need to go there to complete a task that the 14th Phantom began in 1830 and which the 15th and the 16th Phantoms both failed to complete.

En route to Iceland, the Phantom tells them the story: during the 10th century, a viking expedition reached Bangalla. Over 800 years later, during the 19th century, a farmer found a buried viking treasure on his farmland. An Icelander with a murderous past, known as the Iceman, claimed to represent the original viking owners and killed the discoverer in order to claim it for himself. The 14th Phantom went after him (in 1830) which resulted in a showdown in a deep system of caverns in a volcano in Iceland, where the 14th Phantom was shot in the arm but managed to get out (unlike the Iceman) and have his arm treated at the ship. He returned home and the next year he died in the line of duty in Bangalla. His son and grandson made their own unsuccessful attempts to find the treasure by using a map that he had drawn out of memory.

Now, in the present-day, there is a great risk that the cavern gets destroyed in a volcanic eruption and therefore they are traveling there. The one thing that they have that the 15th and the 16th Phantoms lacked was Devil, who has a very good sense of smell. Thanks to Devil, they finds the remains of the Iceman and then the buried treasure.

The Phantom returns the treasure to the descendants of the original finder.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• The 21st Phantom
• The 14th Phantom
• The 15th Phantom (mentioned)
• The 16th Phantom (mentioned)
• Kit and Heloise
• Devil

One-time characters

• The Iceman

Locations

• Bangalla
  • Deep Woods
    • The Skull Cave
• Iceland

Old jungle sayings

• "Phantom moves faster than lightning."

Behind the scenes

• Brandon McKinney was an uncredited penciling assistant on this story.

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Australia

• The Sunday Times November 30, 2014 – June 7, 2015
• "The Iceman", The Phantom #1744 (2015)

India

• Sudha Weekly‎ January 8, 2015 – July 23, 2015
• The Asian Age July 5, 2015 – February 14, 2016
• Deccan Chronicle July 5, 2015 – February 14, 2016
• "The Iceman", The Phantom #10 (2021)

Jamaica

• Jamaica Star November 27, 2014 – June 4, 2015

Kenya

• Sunday Nation November 30, 2014 – June 7, 2015

Mexico

• "¡El hombre de hielo", El Informador July 24, 2016 – February 5, 2017

Norway

• "Islands gjemte skatt", Fantomet 3/2016 (colored by Reprostugan)

The Philippines

• The Philippine Star November 30, 2014 – June 7, 2015

Sweden

• "Berättelsen om ismannen", Smålänningen November 6, 2015 – June 3, 2016
• "Islands gömda skatt", Fantomen 6-7/2016 (colored by Reprostugan)

USA

• Daytona Beach News-Journal November 30, 2014 – June 7, 2015
• Reading Eagle November 30, 2014 – June 7, 2015