The Pirate Queen's final voyage

Thirteen years ago I invented a character called Kate Somerset, a former pirate who was the abbess for a closed order of nuns. She had a bruising encounter with the Phantom, a costumed hero who's been featured in newspaper adventures strips and comics since the 1930s.

Kate's appearance in Fantomen 26/2001 [published by Egmont Sweden] was only ever intended as a one-off, but artist Cesar Spadari really brought the character to life and reader response was strong. Fantomen's then-editor Ulf Granberg suggested a prequel, exploring Kate's past life as a pirate.

This set in motion a long run of occasional stories featuring the Pirate Queen and her many encounters with different generations of the Phantom. But Kate's story will come to an end in Fantomen 13/2014, drawn once again by Cesar Spadari.

Today's blip captures a preview for that tear-stained finale to the Kate Somerset saga. Of all the projects I have written, this one seems to have endured - not bad for a supporting character in a one-off story written way back in 2001!