The Phantom - The Goggle-Eyed Pirates!

The tenth entry in Avon's "The Story of the Phantom" novel series is The Goggle-Eyed Pirates by Ron Goulart as Frank S. Shawn from the original 1960's comic strip story by Lee Falk and Wilson McCoy. The story was also adapted to comic book form by Bill Lignante in the fourth issue of Gold Key's The Phantom series. George Wilson supplies a fetching cover for this one, with the Phantom clutching a machine gun. 

The story is straight forward enough affair. Diana Palmer is aboard a luxury ship which is attacked by strangely garbed pirates wearing goggles and robes with other devices to make them seem taller. These items are tossed into the sea after the robberies and the pirates resume their roles as actual passengers of the ship. This is suspected almost immediately and even before the ship actually docks the Phantom gets aboard to check on Diana and begin his investigation. 

The pirates prove to be a devious lot and the Phantom is challenged in bringing them to justice. This is a solid adventure all the way through, albeit a brief one. Goulart is always able to keep a brisk pace in his stories and this yarn switches back and forth between three protagonists -- two Insurance Agents, Diana Palmer and the Phantom. The insurance agents named Bockman and Lumbard are well crafted enough for the purposes of the story. My only quibble with the tale is a moment when Lumbard performs a stunt which seemed a tad too dangerous to survive. 

There are no heavy themes in The Goggle-Eyed Pirates, unless it is a cautionary tale for rich folks to leave their valuables at home or in the bank when they are on a cruise. We meet a few folks who are part of the scheme unknowingly or only in tangential ways and that showcases how quickly anyone can be snared into a bit of larceny. 

Something that always comes across to me vividly in Goulart's stories is how potent a puncher the Phantom is. He drops villains with a hefty one-two or sometimes even just a powerful single blow. The reader can feel those punches. I'm always fascinated about the Phantom seems to bring out the best in the talents who work on his stories. 

Next time the Phantom takes on The Swamp Rats. 

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