The Orient Express, Part 2
| The Orient Express, Part 2 | |
| Produced for: | Fantomen 26/1980 |
|---|---|
| # of pgs: | 32 |
| Writer: | Norman Worker |
| Artist: | Jaime Vallvé |
| Original colorist: | N/A |
| Producer: | Semic Press |
"The Orient Express, Part 2" is a 1980 Team Fantomen story, written by Norman Worker, with art by Jaime Vallvé.
Plot summary
The 17th Phantom is travelling on the Orient Express from Paris to Constantinople to protect the Osman princess Soraya. One of the passengers on train is the orthodox cardinal Gregorio. He is in fact a senior member of the criminal gang The Vultures. Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to kidnap the princess but now the cardinal himself will lead the next attempt.
With the train having run out of coal and water in the Hungarian countryside, the passengers leave the train to collect firewood. The princess goes off on her own for cross-country skiing. In a small Hungarian village she is once again saved by the Phantom from an attempt to kidnap her.
After leaving Bucarest the train is stopped by an avalanche in the mountainous area of Transsylvania. Cardinal Gregorio suggest that the passengers spend the night in a nearby castle owned by a friend of his, countess Dragular. The countess is also a member of The Vultures and after having arrived in the castle both the princess and the Phantom is locked up in the basement. The Phantom manage to free the both of them and return to the train in an automobile.
The train continues to Varna at the Black Sea where the passengers will go the rest of the way by ship to Constantinople. The ship is attacked by pirates but the Phantom defeat them and blow up the pirate ship. The princess has grown quite attached to the Phantom and offers her hand in marriage. The Phantom says thank you but no thank you.
Some time later the Phantom go to Morristown to meet the British ambassador to receive a model train as a gift from queen Victoria.
Appearances
Recurring characters
One-time characters
- Princess Soraya
- Captain Omar Hassan
- Cardinal Gregorio
- Chief Laroche
- Countess Dragular
Locations
- Hungary
- Romania
- Bucarest
- Varna
- Osman Empire
- Constantinople
Organizations
Vehicles
- The Orient Express
Trivia
Heading south, it makes no geographical sense for the train to go to Transsylvania in the south of Hungary after having arrived in Bucarest, the capital of Romania.
Related stories
Preceded by
- "The Orient Express, Part 1" by Norman Worker and Jaime Vallvé
Referenced in
- "Cloak of Darkness" by Claes Reimerthi and Heiner Bade
Reprints
This story has been published in the following publications:
Brazil
- "Expresso Oriente, parte 2", Fantasma #343 (1984)
Denmark
- "Orient Expressen", Fantomet #177 (1981)
Finland
- "Idän pikajuna", Mustanaamio 7/1981
Norway
- "Orientekspressen, del 2", Fantomet 8/1981
- "Orientekspressen, del 2", Fantomets Krønike 2/1992
- "Orientekspressen, del 2", Fantomet Gullalderen #11 (2013)
Spain
- "La condesa Dragular", El Hombre Enmascarado #48 (1981)
Sweden
- "Orientexpressen del 2", Fantomen 26/1980
- "Orientexpressen del 2", Fantomen Krönika 6/1999
- "Orientexpressen del 2", Fantomen 10-11/2018
West Germany
- "Das Verschwörerschloß", Phantom #218 (1982)