The Phantom Annual #1

Issue Details

Synopsis

Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 1:The story takes place in October, 1667 during the days of the 3rd Phantom. A legend tells of a Chinese emperor who had a great dragon trapped inside a jade statue. The statue was split into five pieces. When combined, the statue could unleash an awesome power. At his deathbed, the emperor gave one piece each to his five sons, and as centuries passed the fie pieces were scattered all over the world. The 3rd Phantom has learned that one of the pieces is in the hands of the Singh Brotherhood. As he climbs onto their ship, the Phantom is surprised by the Singh leader Katar Singh and his men. After a violent fight, where the Phantom sets the ship on fire, he can return to the Skull Cave with the head of the dragon statue.  Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 2: The story takes place in May, 1782 during the days of the 11th Phantom. During the American Revolutionary War, the British navy keeps prisoners on board the HMS Jersey. Arune Singh of the Singh Brotherhood is in alliance with the ship's Captain Corcoran, and discovers that one of the prisoners is a Chieftain from Bangalla in posession of a part of the Jade Dragon. The 11th Phantom enters the ship, disguised as a British soldier. He rescues the imprisoned Bangalla Chieftain along with the rest of the prisoners, who fight the British soldiers for their freedom. After swimming ashore, the Chieftain dies. He had been sent out by the 10th Phantom to search for pieces of the jade dragon, and when he was imprisoned he swallowed the fragment he found to keep it safe.  Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 3: The story takes place in the days of the 16th Phantom. After a long trip from Nogales through the Chihuahua deserts, a band of four men arrive in San Bernardo. The band's leader is a skull-marked man, Ghutar Singh of the Singh Brotherhood. The band soon realises that the Phantom has followed them to San Bernardo, and take the village priest as hostage. After a shoot-out, the Phantom has disarmed the band. The Singh were after a jug in the village church, containing a piece of the jade dragon first mentioned in "Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 1". The piece had been there for centuries, since the days of the Mixtecs. As the Phantom leaves, the Singh believe that they will escape the Federales easily. But when the Phantom informs them that a boy from the village they have beaten is in fact Victorio, son of an Apache chief, they realise that their fate is sealed.  Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 4: The story takes place in November, 1933 during the days of the 19th Phantom. The monks of a Tibetan monastery see an airplane fly over them, burning and struggling to stay in the air. The Phantom is on board the plane after tracking members of the Singh Brotherhood to an airfield in Nepal and sneaking on board. After being discovered, a fight has damaged the plane and the Phantom is barely clinging on to the wings of the plane. The Phantom and some of the Singh jump out of the plane and survive the crash. The Singh try to make the Lama of the monastery reveal where the piece of the Jade dragon (see "Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 1") is hidden, but he only reveals an old riddle. The Phantom enters, takes care of the Singh villain and solves the riddle to find the piece of the Jade dragon.  Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 5: The story takes place in present day, during the days of the 21st Phantom. After his ancestors have gathered four pieces of the Jade dragon (see "Five Days of the Dragon Chapter 1"), the Phantom has been contacted by the antiquities dealer Jin Zhongyi who claims to have the fifth piece. The Phantom sneaks on board her ship, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, the day before their meeting is supposed to take place. After showing the four pieces, the Phantom is surprised by Temur Singh, the leader of the Singh Brotherhood. Temur assembles the Jade dragon; a storm is unleashed and reveals a mystical dragon. In the chaos that follows, the Phantom manages to break free and take back the Jade dragon, but he is shot by Temur Singh and falls over board. Temur Singh is washed ashore in Alexandria and believes he has killed the Phantom. However, the Phantom is back in the Skull Cave resting after being shot in the shoulder and with the five pieces of the Jade dragon in safety.