Issue 1625 - Fortnightly, 2012

• "The Jungle Vampire" - story by Tony DePaul and art by Felmang Ferri.

Lee Falk occasionally injected vaguely similar plots ranging from aliens from outer space to strange sea creatures and at least once, a Roman gladiator, but such stories were quite rare.

Tony DePaul has come up with a semi-fantasy story far removed from the norm and veteran art and layout masters Felmang and Ferri have worked wonders to create images which are believable.

Which is no mean feat!

How often have we seen a Roman soldier dressed in centuries-old tunic and armour and carrying a short sword, wandering the steamy Deep Woods?

On the subject of images, check out Antonio Lemos’ cover artwork wrapping this issue! Beautiful work!

Now, before the expected deluge of correspondence about the 21st Phantom’s apparent lack of knowledge of his own jungle home, let me stress there have been more than a few previous occasions when discoveries have been made in the cave system!

To many long-term Phantom enthusiasts, it may seem highly unlikely  The Phantom  is not completely familiar with every nook and cranny of the Skull Cave, but if you can gloss over that improbable scenario, The Jungle Vampire is highly entertaining—and extremely mysterious.

Dwell too long on story technicalities and you might miss what develops into a thought-provoking adventure!

Try not to peek at the climax of the story!

Suffice to say there will be more to come in the not too distant future!