Talk about packing in everything plus the kitchen sink! The Storm has so much going on in its 31 pages that it’s amazing it all fits together so nicely. Still, fitting together nicely is what this story does and it does it brilliantly.
Set against the backdrop of a gigantic weather storm the Phantom must face poachers, pirates, rescues a small village of children, perform a surgical operation and, along with his band of followers, survive the biggest storm to hit Bengalla in over 100 years! Not only that, a whole host of Phantom supporting cast members also make an appearance.
A story that has so much going on could easily have ended up a complete mess but writer Norman Worker fits everything together beautifully and the story flows without a single bump in the road. The dialogue is smart and interesting – no Frew translation problems here – and Georges Bess’ art compliments Worker’s script wonderfully. I really enjoy Bess’ work; his simplistic, illustrative style really gives a classic feel to the stories.
The Storm is a prime example of a Phantom story done well and is easily one of the better issues from Frew for 2007.
4/5
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