The Mysterious Girl

The Mysterious Girl
Start date:	May 8th, 1939
End date:	September 2nd, 1939
# of strips:	102 (17 weeks)
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Ray Moore
Original colorist:	N/A
Preceded by:	"The Slave Traders"
Followed by:	"The Golden Circle"

"The Mysterious Girl" is the 10th Phantom daily story. The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Ray Moore.

Plot synopsis

The Phantom visits the city of Alexandria while Diana Palmer recovers; While there, he runs across a woman who has no idea what city she is even in. Intrigued he follows the girl and saves her from an attempted mugging. Though she is distrustful of him at first, she reveals that she has no memory whatsoever, at which point a man by the name of Count Pharos arrives, claiming to be her guardian. Neither she, nor the Phantom, trust Count Pharos but she is taken by him anyway and the Phantom, still suspicious, follows. After a series of chases and altercations from ship to automobile, the Phantom eventually trails Pharos back to his estate, where the girl is guarded by a large woman named Hannah. While investigating the estate, the Phantom finds a young man who reveals himself to be Marshall, Baron of Dufresne and owner of the estate, captured by Count Pharos. The two uncover a plot by Pharos to make it appear that Marshall had committed suicide and left his estate to Pharos, Marshall then reveals the girl's identity is that of Merle, his fiancée, and that he had been told she died in a car accident weeks ago. The Phantom then attempts to rescue Merle, where he faces off with Hannah and easily overpowers her, something Hannah says no man has been able to do; The attempt ultimately fails, however, as Marshall and the Phantom are captured by Pharos' thugs and locked in boat house to drown. Marshall and the Phantom are saved by Hannah, however, as she has become taken by the Phantom's strength. Rebuffing her advances, the Phantom and Marshall catch up with Pharos and Merle, where the Phantom trounces the Count, and Marshall and Merle reunite, Merle regaining her lost memory upon seeing her fiancée.

Merle reveals that she believed she had gotten into an accident and some men had convinced her she killed the other driver and then she had to hide with them; The shock from the accident caused her to lose her memory and wander off. Pharos reveals it was his plan to convince her she had killed someone, fake her death, and Marshall's suicide as a result, and he and his thugs are taken to jail.

Appearances

Recurring characters

• The 21st Phantom
• Devil

One-time characters

• Count Pharos
• Joie
• Red
• Hannah
• Marshall, the 8th Baron of Dufresne
• Merle

Locations

• Egypt
  • Alexandria

Trivia

• This is the third time the number cabin in which the Phantom is traveling is mentioned, and just as the two previous times he is seen in Cabin 14.

Related stories

Remade as

• "The Girl Without Memory" by Hartler and Özcan Eralp

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Argentina

• Tit-Bits #1673 – #1691 (1941)

Australia

• "A Lapse of Memory", The Phantom #4 – #5 (1940)
• "Kidnapped in Egypt", The Phantom #17 and "Trapped Under The Sea", #18 (1949-1950)
• The Phantom #150 (1959)
• The Phantom #254 (1964)
• The Phantom #393 (1969)
• The Phantom #550 (1975)
• The Phantom #734 (1981)
• The Phantom #936 (1989)
• The Phantom #1249 (2000)
• "Kidnapped in Egypt" and , "Trapped Under The Sea", The Phantom #17 and #18 replica, included with The Phantom #1498 and #1529 (2008-2009)
• The Phantom #1825 (2019)

Brazil

• A Gazeta ?, 1939 – ? (1939)
• "A Desmemoriada de Alexandria", O Globo Juvenil #299 – #347 (1939)
• "A Desmemoriada de Alexandria", Álbum O Globo Juvenil (1941)
• "Aventura em Alexandria", Almanaque Fantasma Magazine 1955
• "A Desmemoriada", Fantasma #63 (1962)
• "A Desmemoriada de Alexandria", Almanaque do Fantasma (1977)
• "Na Mira do Conde Pharos!", Crônicas do Fantasma #6 (2021)
• "A Garota Misteriosa", O Fantasma Omnibus: O Circulo Dourado e Outras Histórias (2023)

Canada

• La Patrie May 29, 1939 – September 2, 1939 - without the first three weeks
• "La jeune fille" L'Action catholique June 9, 1939 – October 11, 1939 (the last strip was printed twice, on October 10 and 11, 1939)

Finland

• "Kreivi Pharos", Mustanaamio 12/1983
• "Nainen vailla menneisyyttä", Ilta-Sanomat March 23 – April 22, 2016

France

• Aventures 35-52/1939
• "L'ermite des sables", Le Fantôme du Bengale #4 and "La mystèrieuse inconnue", #5 (1949)
• "L'inconnue mystérieuse", Le Fantôme Spécial #56 and "Le prisonnier de Pharaos", #57 (1968)

Italy

• "L'incognita misteriosa", Collana Albi grandi avventure #48, "I prigionieri del conte", #49, and "Il romanzo di Merle", #50 (1947; redrawn by Roberto Lemmi)
• "L'incognita misteriosa", L'Uomo Mascherato Super Albo #7 (1962; redrawn)
• "L'incognita misteriosa", L'Uomo Mascherato Super Albo #63 (1963)
• "La donna smemorata", Il Giustiziere in Calzamaglia (1975)
• "L'incognita misteriosa", Phantom #10 (1992)
• "L'incognita misteriosa", Phantom #146
• "La donna smemorata", The Phantom #2 (2015)

New Zealand

• The Phantom #80 – #82

Norway

• "Grev Pharos", Fantomet 12/1983
• "Grev Pharos", Klassikerserien Ray Moore (1936-1939) (2004)

The Philippines

• The Tribune August ?, 1939 – January ?, 1940

Spain

• "Por los tejados de Alejandría", El Hombre Enmascarado #21 and "El misterio de la joven desmemoriada", #22 (cca 1941)
• "Por los tejados de Alejandría", El Hombre Enmascarado #021 and "El misterio de la joven desmemoriada", #022 (1960)
• "Por los tejados de Alejandria", El Hombre Enmascarado #9, "El caso de la joven amnesica", #10, and "El circulo de oro", #11 (1971)
• "La joven sin memoria", El Hombre Enmascarado #44 – #45 (1977)
• "El caso de la joven amnesica", El Hombre Enmascarado #43 – #44 (1990)
• "La Chica Misteriosa", The Phantom - El Hombre Enmascarado #9 (2020)

Sweden

• "Greve Pharos", Fantomen 3/1983
• "Greve Pharos", Lee Falk - mannen som skapade Fantomen (1999)

USA

• Chester Times May 8, 1938 – September 2, 1939
• The Monessen Daily Independent May 8, 1938 – September 2, 1939
• The Nassau Daily Review-Star May 8, 1938 – September 2, 1939
• The Rome Daily Sentinel May 8, 1938 – September 2, 1939
• Comics Revue #238 – #254 (2005-2006)
• The Complete Newspaper Dailies: Vol. Three 1939–1940 (2011)

Yugoslavia

• "Fantomove pustolovine u Egiptu" and "Fantom u borbi s otmičarima", Hrvatski dnevnik November 18, 1939 – March 20, 1940
• Mika Miš #454 – #494 (1940-1941)