The Scorpia Menace

The Story of the Phantom #3

by Lee Falk, Basil Copper

Number 3 in the Phantom series, from Lee Falk's original story, adapted by Basil Copper.

Scorpia is a world-wide crime ring and they trap diana Palmer, the Phantom's girlfriend. Now the Phantom has to save her.

Genres: Fiction, Pulp, Superheroes, Novels, Fantasy, Comics

158 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1972

About the author

Lee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross (April 28, 1911 - March 13, 1999), was an American writer, theater director and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strips The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. At the height of their popularity, these strips attracted over 100 million readers every day. Falk also wrote short stories, and he contributed to a series of pulp novels about The Phantom

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in Avon's series of Phantom prose novels, based on Lee Falk's legendary comic strip. It was written by Basil Copper, best known for his continuation of August Derleth's character Solar Pons. It's not the best of the series, but a fun read. Diana Palmer, Kit's girl friend and wife-to-be, runs afoul of a worldwide criminal syndicate known as Scorpia and must be rescued. There's more romance than one was used to finding on the comics pages, and Diana is portrayed as an intelligent and competent young woman. It's a fun, fast-paced adventure.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This is more of a mystery or detective story than an adventure novel, but it's still an interesting read. Set before they are married, Diana is kidnapped and the Phantom must rescue her from the island stronghold of the criminal organization, Scorpia! The story was a bit James Bond-ish and I found myself thinking of SPECTRE more than once. I'm assuming Scorpia predates SPECTRE by quite a bit, however.

The story focused as much, if not more, on Diana than the Phantom, and really, for this type of novel there wasn't a whole lot of action, but it was still a good read.

[Michael Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sunday comics of old. Classic comic books. The old tales of the 20's and 30's. Tarzan, John Carter, Flash Gordon and the Phantom. What are now called stupid and outdated tales were the cornerstone of many young peoples reading just 50 or 60 years ago. TV and B&W movies on the late show brought many of the heroes to life. Falk had several good characters but my favorite was the Phantom. In the what we would now call an 'alternate' setting, the Phantom lived in an African kingdom of great size and mystery. From there he fought pirates and other evils. And he was over 400 years old. The Ghost Who Walks was feared and respected by many as a force for justice. This series is a collection of Falk's tales and some adaptations that tell tales of heroics and honor. Great fun and light reading.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t my favorite of the series. I felt that the first half of the book dragged but the pace picked up in the second half.

[Bud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Phantom story. It brought two people back together, and kept me reading. I enjoyed how it all went.

[Terry Mulcahy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A swashbuckling tale, of modern-day descendants of a four-centuries-old pirate ring. They aren't at sea anymore, seizing ships, but their organization is now known to The Ghost Who Walks. A convincing story, well told, although a bit dated in style.

[Thomas Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun!!

A very fun pulpy read. Fans of the Phantom won't be disappointed. This was a very quick and enjoyable read with some Phantom history and a good amount of action.

[Adam Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge fan of pulps and a casual fan of the Phantom I was excited to learn of the existence of these books. There are 15 of them in total I think and all adapt Lee Falk's original Phantom stories, which started in 1936. Lee Falk wrote the first novel, but his name appears on the cover for all of them. Lee Falk did not write this particular one.

The story is basic pulp fare. It's predictable and fairly tame, and if you can forgive the tautological discrepancies it's also competently written. The story centres on Diana Palmer, the Phantom's sweetheart, and her accidental stumbling onto a cliché worldwide crime syndicate who want to silence her. It's very much like SMERSH from the Bond books, only a few decades before Fleming wrote them. Interestingly the Phantom does not appear, aside from the opening chapter, until halfway through the book. Until then it could be just any other crime pulp. It's one of those books which would be looked over by readers of serious crime pulp, which would be a shame. I would like to see one of the Phantom books, this one in particular reprinted in the Hard Case Crime library, which would likely extend its readership.

I almost gave this book three stars, then thought about what the book offers, and what it provides. It offers mindless pulpy fun with a man wearing a ridiculous costume running around the jungle, and that is precisely what it provides. If you're looking for the emotional depth of Shakespeare, look elsewhere. If you're a fan of Doc Savage, Tarzan or just comic strips in general (or even comic books, since there's a strong link between the two), go for this.

Two more plus points: the books can be read in any order and still be understood; and it is never mentioned in any of the ones I've so far read (the first 4) that the Phantom wears purple. Lee Falk wrote the black and white strip and maintained the Phantom wore black. It was only when it became coloured that suddenly he wore purple. Falk does not mention the colour of the suit in his novel, stating only the Phantom wears a black mask (which is separate), and it's nice to see the other authors respect the material enough to follow suit.

Also, the covers are a treat, because I do like a good pulpy cover.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diana Palmer’s research into an ancient pirate band gets her embroiled in their modern day operations. Only the Ghost Who Walks can save the day. A gripping read.

[Ronald · Rating 2 out of 5]

read during summer 1974

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's probably best to call this Science fiction, although the Phantom is one of those pulp heroes like The Shadow and The Spider. Just not nearly as interesting. This book probably should get 2 and a half stars. It's poorly written but has some charm.

[Ann Owen-jones]

Good