My Big Break| or |How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Interview the Regent
Well, things had moved a little faster than he'd expected, but here he was. Jet-setting across the Atlantic and into the heart of old-world Europe to interview the new face in charge of Latveria, Kristoff Vernard. Phil understood all too well that he wasn't getting this assignment because he'd earned it or because he was the best guy qualified for it.

He was getting this assignment because he was the only reporter at the Bugle still young and crazy enough to go into the capital city of the nation with the highest number of death rays per capita in the world and interview the possibly crazy guy that the probably crazier guy just put in almost-charge.

But hey, at least the flight attendants (or was he supposed to call them stewardesses now?) on the way over were cute, and friendly. Apparently being a journalist on foreign assignment ranked somewhere better than 'photography student', but was an expected far cry from the automatic appeal of 'fireman' or 'chocolate factory owner'.


A bus ride to JFK, the red-eye to Heathrow and then to Symkaria, a cab ride to the Latverian border, and he arrived at the checkpoint. Several vigorous searches of himself and his equipment that absolutely would not make it into print later, he stepped across. A carriage, an honest-to-goodness horse-drawn carriage, was waiting to take him to Doomstadt.

"Uh... hey there. Phil Urich, reporter for the Daily Bugle, out of New York City. Here to interview Regent Vernard."