A Detente with Crime
From PhantomWiki
| A Detente with Crime | |
| Start date: | August 15, 2011 |
|---|---|
| End date: | December 10, 2011 |
| # of strips: | 102 (17 weeks) |
| Writer: | Tony DePaul |
| Artist: | Paul Ryan |
| Preceded by: | "The College Kid" |
| Followed by: | "The Den of Tigers" |
"A Detente with Crime" is the 233rd Phantom daily story. The story was written by Tony DePaul and drawn by Paul Ryan.
Contents |
Plot Summary
The Phantom goes to Mexico to visit an old friend who he once helped in a fistfight. The friend, Ernesto, is a police officer who, it turns out, makes deals with the criminals by beating them in a wrestling sport (called something with libre); if he wins a game, then the criminals would not do something they planned, but if he loses, the police will look the other way when the criminals do it. Since both parties are masked during the fight sporting stage names, the deals are unknown to the public. The Phanom witnesses how he wins a fight against the criminal he always facing. The criminal turns out to be his friend Victor and the fight was about letting the chinese do heavy drugs in his city.
When the fight was lost, the chinese kidnaps Ernesto's and Victor's sons to force them into compliance.
Having told the Phantom and Ernesto everything he knows, Victor parts with them and the finds a plane and starts a journey to China. Victor is, however, forced to attack Ernesto and does so in the air. Victor and Ernesto are in two different planes, the Phantom with Ernesto, and Victor trying to shoot Ernesto and the Phantom down, eventually Ernesto is shot and their plane crashes, but not before they both managed to bail out and land safely in the desert.
Later, in a hospital, the Phantom tells Ernesto to rest while he will go to China. Ernesto then goes on to fake amnesia.
Appearances
Recurring characters
One-time characters
- Víctor Batalla (also as "Bucanero Infernal")
- Police Chief Ernesto Salinas (also as "Guerrero Latino")
- Emiliano (Ernesto's son)
- Vicente (Víctor's son)
- Elena (Ernesto's wife)
Organisations
- Ten Tigers Gang
Related stories
Referenced in
- "The Den of Tigers" by Tony DePaul and Paul Ryan
Reprints
This story has been published in the following publications:
Australia
- "A Detente with Crime", The Phantom #1627 (2012)
Colombia
- El Colombiano September 10, 2011 – January 6, 2012
India
- Hitavada October 14, 2011 – February 6, 2012
Jamaica
- The Daily Gleaner August 15, 2011 – December 10, 2011
Norway
- Bergensavisen February 24, 2012 – ?, 2012 - the first strip missing
USA
- Reading Eagle August 15, 2011 – December 10, 2011
- San Francisco Chronicle August 15, 2011 – December 10, 2011
- Seattle Post Intelligencer August 15, 2011 – December 10, 2011
