The Enigma of Franka 3/4

This series of articles arose from a thorough affection for the comic strip Franka of Henk Kuijpers. When you like something very much, then you look at it more precisely. And then sometimes a peculiarity strikes you. In this issue:

The Return of the Noorderzon/The Revenge of the Freighter

Also in this case the anomaly is hidden in the beginning of the story. Here we could say that the ship itself is the "baton-from-the-past". Now, let's have a look at how it all begins. Franka and her colleagues of the Crime Museum are in Oceanaqua to celebrate the revolution. But then:

What is the reason for the presence and the activities of the spy in Oceanaqua? Why is this agent of Lina Marcopolis berthed in the harbour of San Poseidon tapping the presidents (Argos Attak) telephone (2.4.2 and 3)? Why is this Nero Lenoir so keen on the people of the Crime Museum? At that moment there is no link whatsoever to the ship called Noorderzon. The explanation given in part 2 (Revenge) in 33.4.3 is very poor. Franka explains us: "The ship returned and now Lina wants to kill everybody who has something to do with it."

Nero Lenoir does an poor attempt to enlighten us on 19.4.2 and 3 (again of part 1) that "since 3 years he's been paid for all the information concerning wrecks and lost ships", but -for pete's sake- why? The ship was scutlled, wasn't it? Nobody had any reason to doubt about the location of the ship: the bottom of the sea! But even if it was usefull to look for wrecks, then why the interest in the president of Oceanaqua and the people of the Crime Museum? Surely, they had nothing to do with his mission (yet)? So it is totally illogical that "a bell rings" in 22.4.6 with Nero. So, we have to conclude that there is definitely something wrong with the start of the story and the reason for the story to start.

Incidentally, there still is a small remark left: what's this all about a "medio-1" in 23.2.1? Probably the name of the airplane must be something like "meteo-1". Earlier in the story this seems to be the name of the seaplanes of Oceanaqua's meteorological service.

© Martin Hooymans / Henk Kuijpers
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