By Paul Jonassen
Finally, Return of the Commander, part 2 was published over
here in Fantomet issue 7/2007 (you Aussies, quite unfairly, get
the goodies long before us!).
Well anyway, am I allowed to claim that these two stories were a
lot better than Egmont’s entire 2006 output COMBINED? Yes, I
dare say it. 2006 was an incredibly disappointing year for the
Scandinavian publisher, with only 18 of 26 issues containing new
stories. More so, too few of these new stories were honestly any
good, with the Phantom being way too busy with fighting digital
dinosaurs and searching for stones providing eternal life to
David Bowie-look-a-likes to notice the very obvious displeasure
among his online Phans. Where was the continuation of the
evolvement we had so brilliantly seen started in 2005? Why did the stories about Bengalla’s current political climate simply stop coming? What happened to
the country after President Lamanda Luaga dramatically resigned from his task in the
Redeemer-trilogy? What about the Singh Brotherhood?
The wait is finally over in this two-part story, written by Claes Reimerthi and beautifully
drawn by Joan Boix, and boy, it doesn’t disappoint.
First off, I’ll start with saying what a great idea it was to kill off Dogai Singh and replace him
with his smarter, more sly and modern daughter Sandal Singh. What a great character. In
this story, she fools the Phantom so much that the man obviously has no idea what is going
on. The way she use him as something of an unknowing errand-boy, without him ever really
realizing it, makes you wonder what importance her taking over of the brotherhood will have
on future stories. In fact, she makes the Phantom look a little out of his time, as she tricks
him again and again. She is even arrogant to keep the Phantom alive for the second time,
when it would have been very easy to simply shoot him.
Will this force the Phantom to change himself? After all, he’s always been a bit naïve, always
believing the best about others (which probably explains why he’s been knocked out fifty
million times), and with Singh finally evolving to become something more dangerous and
modern than the nasty old-fashioned pirates with scimitars and parrots on their shoulders,
it’s easy to imagine old Walker having to change some of his working methods, if not even
his ethics. What about his code against killing? I personally think that one should not be
broken, but God, it would be interesting to see him finally ponder his methods and his place
in the world, as Bengalla becomes an increasingly dangerous place to be.
Obviously, this is also the time for the Guardian of the Eastern
Dark (man, I love that nickname) to go back to the shadows
again… a more mysterious Phantom; akin to the one in
Falk/Moore’s stories is something I always wanted to see.
These days it is, as a fellow Phan pointed out at a Norwegian
message board, seemingly very easy to get in touch with the
Phantom, where anyone seems to be able to pretty much
come and go as they want in the Skull Cave (this was in fact
how Sandal and the Phantom first encountered back in 2004).
Should the Phantom become more reclusive, more like, well, a
true ghost who walks? Some of the recent stories have lacked
mystery; with the Phantom pretty much wandering around like
a normal man even while wearing the costume. The Man Who
Cannot Die should be something awe-inspiring, with an image that would make bad guys wet themselves even before the fighting starts.
Claes Reimerthi has not been this good since his 2005 masterpiece The Redeemer.
Comparing this story with his recent seemingly uninspired one about the Loch Ness
monster, it is clear that the man should be given a lot more freedom to develop the
character and his world further. It is remarkable to see how much his inspiration can
obviously change from one story to another, all due to the subject he’s tackling. It’s obvious
that Claes is extremely enthusiastic about the possibilities for the Phantom’s future, and his
joy of writing really shows on paper. The plot is here far more intelligent than anything we
saw in 2006, with twists and turns on every page. It’s also a bit darker than the average
story, with assassinations, complots, and the foundation of Singh Corp. (which is surely to
give the man in tights a big headache) promising a bleak future for the Phantom. And a
bleak future for him should surely mean a very interesting future for his readers.
My only gripe is that the continuation of the events of 2005 is coming very late… What was
the point in waiting to 2007? But heck, my enthusiasm for the comic is HUGE again, and I
cannot wait to see what more Claes has in store for us. With the cliffhanger in part two (the
coolest in Phantom history?), I doubt I will be disappointed.
5/5
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