Issue 1578 - Fortnightly, 2010

• "The Governor and Scarface" - story by Claus Reimerthi and art by Kari Leppanen.

There are plenty of villains in this new story, but the character you will remember most vividly is the bloodthirsty pirate, Scarface.

He is most aptly named! I just hope the first sight of his mutilated face (obviously from a sword slash) doesn’t bring on any nightmares!

The Governor and Scarface plot is the perfect vehicle for The Phantom, who detests crooked politicians almost as much as he hates pirates!

And….think about it a moment….this story might be set back in the days of sailing clippers, deck cannons and old-fashioned weapons, but the story is as true to modern times as it is to the days of colonisation!

Sadly, in the year 2010, corruption at every level of corporate life and within Government, still thrives throughout the world and piracy is still rife!

I know you will enjoy the tensions and the excitement of The Governor and Scarface.

The story was actually entitled The Unholy Alliance when it was originally published in Scandinavia, but because that title was a little too vague, the decision was taken to give it a more obvious name—one which more closely linked the two main villains.

Claes Reimerthi’s script is ultra-right and deliberately abbreviated to ease the tension towards a quite unexpected climax.

The art by Kari Leppanen is, as we have come to always expect, superb in every detail, but especially in his seascapes.

Kari has an amazing affinity with ships,  the power of the ocean and the special way clouds form over open stretches of the seas.

I think you will find something strangely appealing about Scarface Logan!

He is so hideous and so cruel, that many readers will almost certainly end up with a feeling that he would be a perfect character to return and seek his revenge on The Phantom.

Judging by the way The Governor and Scarface ends, that might well be completely out of the question!

But who knows? Villains just as evil as Scarface have avoided the ultimate penalty and returned to wreak havoc in many previous Phantom adventures!