Episode 53 of The Trigan Empire
The Mind Controller
aka The Convicts
The Black Tower
Torga’s Mind Controller (The Collection)
De geheimzinnige stem (Dutch title)
The Mysterious Voice (Dutch title, translated)
Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Don Lawrence
The Mind Controller was originally published in 9 instalments in issues 709 (16 August 1975) to 717 (11 October 1975) of Look and Learn magazine.
It is reprinted in Volume 11 of The Trigan Empire—The Collection (the Don Lawrence Collection).
It is reprinted in Volume 5 of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire (Rebellion).
Plot summary
The Rann of Loth is on a state visit to Trigan City. At night, his jewels are stolen from the embassy, causing a major diplomatic crisis. The police receive an anonymous message claiming that Janno stole the jewels. Janno is arrested and the jewels are recovered. He is sentenced to ten lunar years of imprisonment on the Isle of Despair, a prison from which there is no escape.
After Janno’s sentencing, Roffa walks away in a daze of confusion. Pondering what motivated Janno, he gets hit by a hover auto on the street. An ambulance quickly arrives and he receives a blood transfusion.
In prison, Janno hears a mysterious voice in his inner ear giving him instructions. Roffa hears this voice as well and is arrested while attempting to pass state secrets to the Catons. He also is taken to the Isle of Despair. Trigo and Peric wonder what is wrong with them. The mysterious voice instructs Janno to reach Roffa as quickly as possible. Janno escapes from his cell by knocking out the guard and then frees Roffa from his cell. Janno received instructions for finding the cell keys from the mysterious voice.
Keren and Peric, reviewing the investigations into Janno and Roffa, discover that Janno also had a car accident and underwent a blood transfusion. Both were treated by the same doctor, Torga. Janno and Roffa are ordered to free the criminal Raspardi, who is imprisoned in the Black Tower. They succeed in freeing him and climb onto the top of the Black Tower, where they hide. The police search Torga’s rooms and find documents that enable Peric to figure out what happened. Torga designed a radio receiver so small that it fits into the bloodstream. The receiver becomes lodged in the inner ear. Using hypnotic powers and a secret wavelength, Torga can issue orders.
Torga flies a heli-craft to the Isle of Despair and orders Janno to disable the anti-aircraft defenses. Janno succeeds, and Torga picks up Raspardi, Janno, and Roffa. He then instructs Janno and Roffa to fly away in the heli-craft and crash it, killing themselves, but Peric intervenes and gives different orders through the secret wavelength, causing Torga and Raspardi themselves to be fired upon. Torga had freed Raspardi for the hidden loot. They are apprehended. Janno and Roffa are acquitted by the judge. Peric cannot remove the tiny receivers from Janno’s and Roffa’s ears but promises to keep the wavelength secret.
Links
711
https://www.catawiki.com/en/l/1404209
712
https://www.2dgalleries.com/art/trigie-het-geheim-van-de-duivelsrots-172694
Plot summary (Dutch)
Downloads
British Comics Compilations [PDF]