The 12 Tasks

The 12 Tasks
Start date:	December 29th, 1946
End date:	June 29th 1947
# of strips:	27
Writer:	Lee Falk
Artist:	Ray Moore & Wilson McCoy
Original colorist:	KFS staff
Preceded by:	"The Scarlet Sorceress"
Followed by:	"The Dragon God"

"The 12 tasks" is the 17th Phantom Sunday story. It was originally published in American newspapers from December 29th, 1946, to June 29th, 1947.

The story was written by Lee Falk and drawn by Ray Moore and Wilson McCoy. Due to the fact that McCoy initially started to draw the story and then Moore continued, Diana looks totally different at the beginning, compared to how she looks later on.

Plot Summary

Diana seeks a dressing room after a trip to the beach and is accidentally directed to a beauty contest in which the winner will marry Prince Pepe of Ptjar. Diana is declared winner as soon as she enters the stage but refuses to marry Prince Pepe and is therefore later abducted in order to be married by force.

The Phantom pursues Diana and is challenged by Prince Pepe to perform 12 Tasks, as the famous Hercules had to do, in order to relieve Diana of marriage. He gets tougher and tougher tasks every time.

The 1st task is to arrest the giant Broko who is a bandit roaming the mountains, which the Phantom succeeds with. The following tasks are such things as to empty a flood of piranhas, winning a 2 kilometer sprinting race against an antelope, catching a giant condor, defeating a group of gorillas that are living in the forest and terrorizing the population, empty the Bay of Sharks of sharks, preventing good soil to be washed out into the the red river, defeat the malaria infested valley, climbing the Glass Mountain (with the path populated by wolves and bears) and return in one day (previous record being four days), and swimming through the Channel of the Dead.

The 11th task is to stop all crime for one day which the Phantom succeeds with only since the ruler is hated and everyone therefore helps. When it comes to the last task, the ruler cannot come up with any more task, so he asks the people if they can give the Phantom a task. The people ask to get rid of the ruler, the Phantom then grabs the microphone and says that it is up to them to hold free elections and get democracy.

At the end Diana is set free and she and the Phantom can leave. Diana remarks: "I know that you could do anything, but honestly, there were times when I doubted." The Phantom replies "Between us, I did too".

Appearances

Recurring characters

• The current Phantom
• Diana Palmer
• Devil
• Hero

One-time characters

• Prince Pepe
• Broko

Locations

• Bengali
  • Deep Woods
• Ptjar

Tribes

Organizations

Vehicles

Reprints

This story has been published in the following publications:

Argentina

• "Las doce tareas", El Fantasma #90 (1966)

Australia

• Super Yank Comics #2 – #5 (1951)
• Giantsize Phantom #7 (1958)
• The Phantom #235 (1963)
• The Phantom #366 (1968)
• The Phantom #967 (1990)
• The Phantom #1405 (2005)
• The Phantom #1684 (2014)

Brazil

• "Mistério no Oriente", Gibi #1269 – #1365 (1947-1948)
• "As Doze Tarefas", Fantasma #59 (1961)

Canada

• La Patrie December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• Le Soleil January 5, 1947 – June 29, 1947 - without the first week

Denmark

• "Fantomets heltedåd", Serie-pocket #12 (1975)

Finland

• "Apinain voittaja", Mustanaamio 12/1968, "Uivat pedot", 2/1969, "Lasivuori", 3/1969, "Broko -kaikkien kauhu!", 4/1969, "Kolme koetta", 6/1969 and "Pepen kukistuminen" 7/1969 (incomplete story)
• "12 urotyötä", Sarjakirja #18 (1975)
• "Mustanaamion kaksitoista urotekoa", Mustanaamio 20 – 23/2004
• Mustanaamio 1968 – 1969 (2012-2013; incomplete story)

France

• "Les douze épreuves", Le Fantôme du Bengale #12 (1950)
• "Les 12 taches", Le Fantôme #436 – #439 (1973)
• "Les 12 taches", L'âge d'or – Le Fantôme #4 (1980)

India

• "King Pepe's Bride", Indrajal Comics #21

Italy

• "Le 12 impresse dell'Uomo Mascherato", Mistero #29, "Broke, il terrore della montagna", #30 and "Il fiume della morte", #31 (1947; with additional art by Guido Fantoni)
• "Il gigante della montagna", Albi nuove avventure #17, "Un'impressa titanica", #18, "La montagna di vetro", #19, and "Il crimine impossibile ", #20 (1948)
• "Le 12 imprese", L'Uomo Mascherato #36 (1960)
• "Le dodici imprese", Serie Cronologica #50 – #53 (1973)
• "Le dodici imprese", L'epoca d'oro di Phantom #4

Mexico

• El Informador June 8 (?), 1947 – December 28, 1947 - without the first week (?)

New Zealand

• The Boys' Comic Paper #46 – #52 (1949)
• The Phantom #183 – #185
• The Phantom #425 – #427

Norway

• Various titles, Fantomet 2 – 4, 6 – 8/1969
• "De tolv bragdene", Serie-pocket #3 (1975)
• "De tolv bragdene", Serie-pocket #222 (1997)
• "De tolv bragdene", Fantomet 20 – 23/2004
• "De tre prøvene"/"Pepes fall"/"Jungelmatchen", Fantomet Kronologisk 10 (2019; second part of story)

Spain

• "Las 12 pruebas" El Hombre Enmascarado #103 (1948)

Sweden

• "Fantomens 12 storverk", Vecko-Revyn 37/1949 – 11/1950
• "Fantomens tolv stordåd", Fantomen Christmas Album 1953
• "Fantomens tolv stordåd", Fantomen 37/1958 – 3/1959
• "De åtta hindren", Fantomen 13/1962 (supplement)
• "Fantomens tolv stordåd", Serie-pocket #27 (1975)
• "Fantomens tolv stordåd", Fantomen Christmas Album 2003 - facsimile reprint of 1953 Christmas Album
• "Fantomens tolv stordåd", Fantomen 20 – 23/2004
• "Fantomens tolv stordåd", Fantomen - Den inbundna årgången 1958, Del 4 – 1959, Del 1 (2009-2010)

Turkey

• 1001 Özel #8 (1950; traced)

USA

• Charleston Daily Mail December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• Cumberland Sunday Times December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• The Milwaukee Sentinel December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• La Opinión December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• San Antonio Light December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• San Francisco Examiner December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• St. Petersburg Times December 29, 1946 – June 29, 1947
• The Phantom Sundays #1 (1989)
• The Complete Sundays: Volume Three 1945–1949 (2016)

West Germany

• "Der König der Affen", Phantom #24 (1968; 5 panels used for a short story)
• "Die menschenfressenden Fische", Phantom #26 (1969; 8 panels used for a short story)

Yugoslavia

• "Мис Бенгалија" (romanized as "Mis Bengalija"), Politikin Zabavnik #1669 (1983)