On the Trail of an Assassin
| On the Trail of an Assassin | |
| |
| Start date: | October 2th, 2005 |
|---|---|
| End date: | March 26th, 2006 |
| # of strips: | 26 |
| Writer: | Tony DePaul |
| Artist: | Graham Nolan |
| Original colorist: | Graham Nolan |
| Preceded by: | "The Prince Rex Conspiracy" |
| Followed by: | "The Fire Peak Tribe" |
"On the Trail of an Assassin" is the 163rd Phantom Sunday story. The story was written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Graham Nolan.
Plot synopsis
The Phantom is summoned by President Luaga, who has received reports of a planned assassination. The assassin has been identified as Brakkos from Rhodia, but his target is unknown. All that is known is that the target is in New York, and that the assassination is intended to slow down the peace process in the region around Rhodia.
Arresting Brakkos would only mean that another assassin is assigned to kill the unknown target. The Phantom travels to New York to follow Brakkos and find out who the target is. While in New York, he spends time with his wife Diana who also is also there due to her work for the United Nations.
As the Phantom tracks down Brakkos, he realizes that Diana is the target. He rushes back to her and finds her just as Brakkos, sitting on a rooftop, is prepared to take his shot. The Phantom gets in the way and opens fire on Brakkos, but the long range make the bullets from his pistols no more than a distraction. It is however enough to startle Brakkos, who slips and falls to his death.
Notes
- "Falk was here" is seen as graffitti on a wall in New York on November 27, 2005.
- Dr. Rex Morgan and his wife June from the comic strip "Rex Morgan, M.D." (also strip that also was drawn by Graham Nolan at the time) make a cameo appearance in this story on January 8, 2006.
Behind the Scenes
Several panels of this story have been used as inspiration by Rolf Gohs when creating covers for Fantomen. These covers include Fantomen 4/2007 cover, Fantomen 5/2007 cover, and Fantomen 26/2007 cover.
In Sweden and Norway, where the Team Fantomen were in the middle of a different background plot in the Phantom universe, the Singh pirate Sandal Singh was president instead of Lamanda Luaga, who was instead working as a doctor in the poor part of Morristown (Mawitaan) known as Bengete. In order for this to work, parts of the story had to be redrawn for the Scandinavian Phantom comic books to show Sandal Singh as the president. The new art for this was supplied by Henrik Jonsson.
Appearances
Recurring characters
One-time characters
Reprints
This story has been published in the following publications:
Australia
- "On the Trail of an Assassin", The Phantom #1445 (2006)
Finland
- Seura 13-40/2007
India
- "On the Trail of an Assassin", The Phantom #8 (2021)
Kenya
- Sunday Nation October 2, 2005 – March 26, 2006
Norway
- "I snikemorderens spor", Fantomet 17-18/2014 (with additional art by Henrik Jonsson)
Sweden
- "I lönnmördarens spår", Fantomen 14-15/2014 (with additional art by Henrik Jonsson)
Turkey
- "Suikastçinin Peşinde", Kızılmaske #37 (2017)
USA
- Daytona Beach News-Journal October 2, 2005 – March 26, 2006