Aerial Anti-Mafia Mission
Encyclopedia
Aerial Anti-Mafia Mission (Mission Aérienne Anti Mafia) is the name of the twelfth story arc in the Buck Danny
comic book
series by Jean-Michel Charlier
and Victor Hubinon
.
. The three novels were named The Valley of Green Death (La Vallée de la Mort Verte), published in 1972; Sharks in the China Sea (Requins en Mer de Chine), published in 1975; and Ghost Queen published in 1978. When the entire series was streamlined into albums integrating the different story arcs into a single book, the three novels were combined into "Aerial Anti-Mafia Mission."
. As soon as the weather clears, Danny and Tumbler take off to lead the search and rescue party; but just as they locate Sonny, they are shot down by unidentified aircraft and barely survive the crash. They then follow the direction the bandits came from, both to identify their attackers and to find supplies and a means of escape.
Eventually, they discover the bandits' home base; a large opium
plantation, complete with an airstrip for crop dusters and the fighters that attacked them. After nightfall, they try to sneak into the base and steal one of the crop dusters, but Buck and Tumb are spotted and captured. They are brought in and meet their adversaries; General Shim, the dictator of North Sarawak, and Rocky Voltero, the middleman for a powerful Mafia
family that is covertly financing Shim's regime in exchange for the opium.
Buck and Tumb are imprisoned, but before their fate can be determined, Sonny breaks them out. The three of them steal a crop duster and escape, neutralizing three of Shim's jets before getting away. Enraged, he orders the rest of his fighters after the Americans, but the arrival of Navy F-4
s on the scene deters them from engaging. The three pilots make it back to their carrier (U.S.S. Ranger), and relate the situation to the admiral, but he warns them that the U.S. may be unable to take action.
Outraged by the unauthorized raid, the Pentagon orders the Ranger to cease all operations against North Sarawak and return to Pearl Harbor
. The carrier battle group pretends to comply, but changes course in the middle of the night, returns to Borneo and anchors itself in a deserted fjord
, unknown to both Shim and the U.S. Their plan is to wait for the Mafia's cargo ship to come retrieve the harvest, then intercept it on the high seas and bring its owners to justice.
Back at the Mafia base, Tumb is tortured until he agrees to declare before the world media that there was never any opium in North Sarawak. Before the press release can be made, however, he escapes in Shim's personal helicopter, bringing Voltero with him as a hostage. Contacing the Ranger by code, he is directed back to the carrier and returns safe and sound; but unknown to him, Shim's men had placed a transmitter on the helicopter, which allows them to follow him and discover the Rangers position.
The frogmen are discovered before they can reach the Ranger, but their torpedo still detonates, causing a landslide that traps the ship inside the fjord. The Admiral estimates that it will take thirty-six hours to clear the passageway again. When the news reaches Shim's headquarters, he immediately orders the Ghost Queen to sail, and his last two fighters to attack the Ranger. However, both of these attacks fail; Shim's Drakens are intercepted by the carrier's Crusader
patrol, and the Ghost Queen crew discover their ship has been disabled by one of the Rangers SEAL
teams.
At the suggestion of Lady X, the opium is transferred onto one of her submarines, while her pirate associates hijack an oil tanker and plan to sail it to the Ranger, detonate it, and destroy everything within miles. The pirates blow up the tanker just as the carrier breaks free of the fjord, setting the oil-caked surface of the water ablaze for miles around. The ship is forced to sail through the inferno; ten minutes later, it emerges still in one piece, but with all of its aircraft non-operational, except the helicopter Danny was using to guide the ship. Danny leaves the scene to hunt Lady X's sub, locates it and destroys it.
After this, the Ranger finally reestablishes contact with the Pentagon. Shim's death and the evidence of the drug shipments will smooth over everything in international circles, but the Admiral risks being discharged and losing his pension on charges of mutiny
. Danny promises that the entire crew will support him, if necessary by appealing to public opinion and invoking the thousands of lives saved by the destruction of the opium.
among baby boomer
s, and the older generation's concern for their children's future. This is one of several story arcs in which Charlier and Hubinon explored domestic social issues; the previous "Blue Angels" story arc had already touched on racism and segregation, while the next one, "Nuclear Alert
", followed the rise of international terrorism during the seventies and eighties. The explanation for this is the unpopularity of U.S. foreign policy at the time (this trilogy was released at the height of the Vietnam War
), which forced the authors to concentrate on less military themes. Still, many elements of the story were inspired by current events; Shim and Khum Lan were partly based on Burmese warlord Khun Sa
and Bolivian drug lord Roberto Suárez Goméz
, while the tactics his men use in transporting the opium are similar to those used by Viet Minh
supply lines during the First Indochina War
.
The third novel, "Ghost Queen," is finally reveals the background and beginnings of Lady X, Buck Danny's longstanding nemesis, in the world of international crime. She was a spy in the Second World War, and developed a friendship with an Imperial Japanese admiral who alone possessed a map of his country's secret weapons caches in the Pacific. After she stole the map from him, the admiral committed hara kiri, leaving Lady X the sole possessor of a formidable weapons arsenal. She then formed an alliance with Khum Lan, pirate lord of the South China Seas, to mount the criminal and mercenary organization that Danny had already encountered in several previous novels.
This was the last story arc illustrated by Victor Hubinon
, who died in 1979, four years after the end of this novel. The editor's notes on the first page of "Ghost Queen" are a semi-eulogy dedicated to him and reporting his life through the eyes of his closest friend, Charlier. The latter reminisces on their experiences together both in the comic book world and as amateur pilots. He also describes how several hundred pilots, including Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier
and the members of the Patrouille de France
, offered their condolences and publicly attributed their passion for piloting to the reading of Buck Danny's adventures during their childhood. Charlier says this is probably the only honor that Victor Hubinon would have been truly proud of, and eulogizes with a quote from Georges Clemenceau
; "Graveyards are full of irreplaceable people."
Buck Danny
Buck Danny is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings and the descriptions of air force procedures as part of the storyline. In...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series by Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine Pilote.-Biography:...
and Victor Hubinon
Victor Hubinon
Victor Hubinon was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Buck Danny and Redbeard.-Biography:...
.
Publication history
This story arc was originally a trilogy of novels published in the seventies in the weekly Franco-Belgian magazine SpirouSpirou
Spirou may refer to:In comics:* Spirou , the eponymous main character of the comics series Spirou et Fantasio and Le Petit Spirou* Spirou , originally Le Journal de Spirou, Belgian weekly serial comics magazine...
. The three novels were named The Valley of Green Death (La Vallée de la Mort Verte), published in 1972; Sharks in the China Sea (Requins en Mer de Chine), published in 1975; and Ghost Queen published in 1978. When the entire series was streamlined into albums integrating the different story arcs into a single book, the three novels were combined into "Aerial Anti-Mafia Mission."
The Valley of Green Death
Out of fuel during a brutal storm, Sonny Tuckson is forced to eject in extremely adverse conditions over the island of BorneoBorneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. As soon as the weather clears, Danny and Tumbler take off to lead the search and rescue party; but just as they locate Sonny, they are shot down by unidentified aircraft and barely survive the crash. They then follow the direction the bandits came from, both to identify their attackers and to find supplies and a means of escape.
Eventually, they discover the bandits' home base; a large opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
plantation, complete with an airstrip for crop dusters and the fighters that attacked them. After nightfall, they try to sneak into the base and steal one of the crop dusters, but Buck and Tumb are spotted and captured. They are brought in and meet their adversaries; General Shim, the dictator of North Sarawak, and Rocky Voltero, the middleman for a powerful Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
family that is covertly financing Shim's regime in exchange for the opium.
Buck and Tumb are imprisoned, but before their fate can be determined, Sonny breaks them out. The three of them steal a crop duster and escape, neutralizing three of Shim's jets before getting away. Enraged, he orders the rest of his fighters after the Americans, but the arrival of Navy F-4
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the United States Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. It first entered service in 1960 with the U.S. Navy. Proving highly adaptable,...
s on the scene deters them from engaging. The three pilots make it back to their carrier (U.S.S. Ranger), and relate the situation to the admiral, but he warns them that the U.S. may be unable to take action.
Sharks in the China Sea
The novel begins with a briefing in the op-center. As the admiral feared, the United States cannot intervene without proof of Shim's activities. Buck, Tumb and Sonny volunteer to fly back over the plantation to obtain it, and succeed, but Tumbler is shot down; worse, the pictures reveal that the opium poppies will be harvested before the Pentagon can make a decision. Taking the law completely into his own hands, the Admiral orders the plantation destroyed, but the poppies are gone by the time the Rangers fighters are on the scene.Outraged by the unauthorized raid, the Pentagon orders the Ranger to cease all operations against North Sarawak and return to Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
. The carrier battle group pretends to comply, but changes course in the middle of the night, returns to Borneo and anchors itself in a deserted fjord
Fjord
Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...
, unknown to both Shim and the U.S. Their plan is to wait for the Mafia's cargo ship to come retrieve the harvest, then intercept it on the high seas and bring its owners to justice.
Back at the Mafia base, Tumb is tortured until he agrees to declare before the world media that there was never any opium in North Sarawak. Before the press release can be made, however, he escapes in Shim's personal helicopter, bringing Voltero with him as a hostage. Contacing the Ranger by code, he is directed back to the carrier and returns safe and sound; but unknown to him, Shim's men had placed a transmitter on the helicopter, which allows them to follow him and discover the Rangers position.
Ghost Queen
The discovery of the Ranger has placed Shim and his Mafia allies in an awkward position. They are not willing to call attention to Sarawak again until the cargo ship Ghost Queen, carrying the opium, is safely away. Instead, they ask for the help of Khum Lan, a local pirate lord; he agrees and sends Shim his lieutenant, who is revealed to be none other than Lady X, Buck Danny's old nemesis. She explains her plan to attack the Ranger with frogmen, neutralizing it so the Ghost Queen can execute a clean getaway; Shim will then be able to reveal the Ranger and rally public opinion in his favor.The frogmen are discovered before they can reach the Ranger, but their torpedo still detonates, causing a landslide that traps the ship inside the fjord. The Admiral estimates that it will take thirty-six hours to clear the passageway again. When the news reaches Shim's headquarters, he immediately orders the Ghost Queen to sail, and his last two fighters to attack the Ranger. However, both of these attacks fail; Shim's Drakens are intercepted by the carrier's Crusader
F-8 Crusader
The Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...
patrol, and the Ghost Queen crew discover their ship has been disabled by one of the Rangers SEAL
Seal
Seal commonly refers to:* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals many of which are commonly called seals* Seal , a device which helps prevent leakage, contain pressure, or exclude contamination where two systems join...
teams.
At the suggestion of Lady X, the opium is transferred onto one of her submarines, while her pirate associates hijack an oil tanker and plan to sail it to the Ranger, detonate it, and destroy everything within miles. The pirates blow up the tanker just as the carrier breaks free of the fjord, setting the oil-caked surface of the water ablaze for miles around. The ship is forced to sail through the inferno; ten minutes later, it emerges still in one piece, but with all of its aircraft non-operational, except the helicopter Danny was using to guide the ship. Danny leaves the scene to hunt Lady X's sub, locates it and destroys it.
After this, the Ranger finally reestablishes contact with the Pentagon. Shim's death and the evidence of the drug shipments will smooth over everything in international circles, but the Admiral risks being discharged and losing his pension on charges of mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
. Danny promises that the entire crew will support him, if necessary by appealing to public opinion and invoking the thousands of lives saved by the destruction of the opium.
Behind the scenes
This novel centers on the abrupt increase in drug useRecreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...
among baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
s, and the older generation's concern for their children's future. This is one of several story arcs in which Charlier and Hubinon explored domestic social issues; the previous "Blue Angels" story arc had already touched on racism and segregation, while the next one, "Nuclear Alert
Nuclear Alert (Buck Danny)
Nuclear Alert is the thirteenth story arc in Buck Danny, a Franco-Belgian comic book series by Jean-Michel Charlier and Francis Bergèse.- Publication history :...
", followed the rise of international terrorism during the seventies and eighties. The explanation for this is the unpopularity of U.S. foreign policy at the time (this trilogy was released at the height of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
), which forced the authors to concentrate on less military themes. Still, many elements of the story were inspired by current events; Shim and Khum Lan were partly based on Burmese warlord Khun Sa
Khun Sa
Khun Sa , also known as Chang Chi-fu was a Burmese warlord. He was born in Loi Maw of Mongyai. He was also dubbed the "Opium King" due to his opium trading in the so-called Golden Triangle. He was also the leader of the Shan United Army and the Mong Tai Army.- Biography :Khun Sa was born to a...
and Bolivian drug lord Roberto Suárez Goméz
Roberto Suárez Goméz
Roberto Suárez Goméz, nicknamed "king of cocaine" was a Bolivian drug trafficker who played a major role in the expansion of cocaine trafficking in Bolivia....
, while the tactics his men use in transporting the opium are similar to those used by Viet Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
supply lines during the First Indochina War
First Indochina War
The First Indochina War was fought in French Indochina from December 19, 1946, until August 1, 1954, between the French Union's French Far East...
.
The third novel, "Ghost Queen," is finally reveals the background and beginnings of Lady X, Buck Danny's longstanding nemesis, in the world of international crime. She was a spy in the Second World War, and developed a friendship with an Imperial Japanese admiral who alone possessed a map of his country's secret weapons caches in the Pacific. After she stole the map from him, the admiral committed hara kiri, leaving Lady X the sole possessor of a formidable weapons arsenal. She then formed an alliance with Khum Lan, pirate lord of the South China Seas, to mount the criminal and mercenary organization that Danny had already encountered in several previous novels.
This was the last story arc illustrated by Victor Hubinon
Victor Hubinon
Victor Hubinon was a Belgian comic-book artist, best known for the series Buck Danny and Redbeard.-Biography:...
, who died in 1979, four years after the end of this novel. The editor's notes on the first page of "Ghost Queen" are a semi-eulogy dedicated to him and reporting his life through the eyes of his closest friend, Charlier. The latter reminisces on their experiences together both in the comic book world and as amateur pilots. He also describes how several hundred pilots, including Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier
Claude Nicollier
Claude Nicollier is the first astronaut from Switzerland, and has flown on four Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight was in 1992, and his final spaceflight was in 1999. He took part in two servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope...
and the members of the Patrouille de France
Patrouille de France
The Patrouille Acrobatique de France , also known as the Patrouille de France or PAF, is the precision aerobatic demonstration team of the French Air Force. Originating in 1931, it is one of the world's oldest and most skilled demonstration teams...
, offered their condolences and publicly attributed their passion for piloting to the reading of Buck Danny's adventures during their childhood. Charlier says this is probably the only honor that Victor Hubinon would have been truly proud of, and eulogizes with a quote from Georges Clemenceau
Georges Clemenceau
Georges Benjamin Clemenceau was a French statesman, physician and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of France from 1906 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1920. For nearly the final year of World War I he led France, and was one of the major voices behind the Treaty of Versailles at the...
; "Graveyards are full of irreplaceable people."
Characters
- Buck Danny: the lead character of the series. In this story arc, he is the Commander, Air Group of the U.S.S. Ranger.
- Jerry "Tumb" Tumbler: one of Danny's second-in-commands and closest friends, along with Sonny.
- Sonny Tuckson: completes the trio, another pilot extremely close to Danny.
- Admiral (unnamed): the senior officer in charge of the Ranger carrier battle groupCarrier battle groupA carrier battle group consists of an aircraft carrier and its escorts, together composing the group. The first naval task forces built around carriers appeared just prior to and during World War II. The Imperial Japanese Navy was the first to assemble a large number of carriers into a single...
, who risks his career and his pension to stop Voltero and Shim's drug operation. His motivations are very personal; his son was killed by an overdose of heroin when college friends persuaded him to try drugs. - Lady X: Buck Danny's nemesis since the mid-1950s, this time working as the right hand of pirate lord Khum Lan.
- Rocky Voltero: the middleman for an American Mafia family. He has a very "business, not personal" attitude about his job; when Danny expresses his contempt for a man who would work against his own country, he simply responds, "In business, I don't know any flag."
- Costello: Voltero's second in command, who takes over from him when Voltero is captured by the Americans.
- General Shim: dictator of the Sultanate of North SarawakSarawakSarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
. He has good ties with local pirates, and thanks to his support by the Mafia, has become the most powerful ruler in Borneo. - Khum Lan: pirate lord of the South China Seas. He is never shown in person, but is revealed to be the most powerful force in the local underworld.
Aircraft shown in this novel
- F-8 CrusaderF-8 CrusaderThe Vought F-8 Crusader was a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft built by Vought for the United States Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps, replacing the Vought F7U Cutlass...
. - A-7 Corsair.
- Saab 35 Draken.
- Sikorsky H-34.
- Lockheed YO-3A.
- E-2C Hawkeye.