Writer – Peter David
Artist – Sal Velluto
Colours – Eugenio Mattozzi
Letters – Kenneth Bruzenak

When last seen, The Phantom had been captured by Oshara, Queen of Ophir and that is where the book picks up as Peter David and Sal Velluto continue their tale. Waking up and finding himself bound, The Phantom can do little except question his captor as to where he is and the current state of affairs and just as she is about to have her way with him, her husband, the king, walks in looking to put an end to the captive. Of course, this does not happen and soon enough, The Ghost Who Walks is free. Elsewhere, Devil has picked up his master’s scent and that is enough to convince Diana Palmer that he is alive despite Jimmy Wells and the Baroness testifying the opposite. There is no way that The Phantom survived his plane crash and they mean to continue on with the original mission no matter what Devil thinks he might smell. David and Velluto present a fun tale that finally takes readers into fabled Ophir, the City of Gold. It has been teased since the first issue but it has taken five to get here and things are finally cooking in a good way. There is a bit of action to be had courtesy of The Phantom who once free, is looking to stay that way and towards the end of the final act, gets a little help from Diana, Devil and surprisingly, The Baroness. As for Jimmy, he is preoccupied elsewhere but does manage to make an appearance during the conclusion where he is faced with the very real possibility that Oshara’s son is his own. Despite the action present, there is a lot of melodrama with all of the personal relationships intertwining be they friend or foe and coming to Ophir has definitely made things a little more complicated, at least for some. As for the hero of this title, he is looking to rescue the man they came to find, leave the city unmolested and turn The Baroness into the authorities. He may have second thoughts about the last though. as she does end up saving his life, not that he is not grateful. How things play out after this issue obviously remains to be seen as it could go in any number of directions and with David at the helm, he usually has something up his sleeve. Velluto does a fantastic job with the artwork once again and each page looks great with the action really coming alive. With one issue left to go, the entire team finds themselves in a bit of trouble which is exactly where readers would have them be.

3.5 out of 5