Writer – Mark Verheiden
Artist – Luke McDonnell
Colours – Anthony Tollin
Letters – Bob Pinaha

Despite the number of years that pass, the threat of famine always remains in certain parts of Africa and some are willing to take advantage of that fact to make a profit. One of those men is named Lancombe and he not only steals food meant for those in the greatest of need, he sells it to those who would cause continued harm. A nun who works with the poor and the starving on a daily basis has had enough and she means to get the latest shipment back but that is easier said than done as there is a literal army between her and the food and she is stopped before she has barely begun. Thankfully word reaches The Phantom and it is perfect timing as Diana is headed back to America for a bit and it leaves him with something to do, not that he would not have helped anyway. What he has heard disgusts him and more than that, it angers him and The Phantom means to make Lancombe pay for his misdeeds though there are a few obstacles in his path. Mark Verheiden writes a fantastic bit of fiction once more, one tinged with reality for there are countries and places around the world where hunger is a real thing, where people actually starve. It continues to this day, thirty-plus years after this story was written. Corruption exists, greed and gluttony and war and all the evils portrayed in this tale continue to be very real things and it makes one sad to think about it. On the other side of that coin, love and charity and selflessness do so as well, though they seem in short supply sometimes and that too is reflected in this story that Verheiden tells so well. Joining him once more is Luke McDonnell and the man continues to impress with his pencils, being able to express both the tragedy of the situation and the heroism of The Phantom at the same time, a balance not too many could adequately make. As a whole, the series has not been the most lighthearted of reads but each tale that spills forth resonates with the reader and they are not easy to forget, sometimes playing upon the mind for days before reading the next one. As one might guess, the story has a happy ending, in one respect at least but hunger and starvation is a long-term problem that The Phantom cannot solve all by himself though he can lend a hand.

4 out of 5