Episode 68 of The Trigan Empire
The Curse of Zonn
aka The Thing from the Sea
De legende van Zonn (Dutch title)
The Legend of Zonn (Dutch title, translated)
Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Gerry Wood
The Curse of Zonn was originally published in 6 instalments in issues 820 (1 October 1977) to 825 (5 November 1977) of Look and Learn magazine.
To date it has not been reprinted in English.
Plot summary
A gang of criminals targets wealthy coastal and river towns with a giant submersible vacuum cleaner with a pincer. The thing from the sea strikes first at the seacoast town of Zootha, where Janno and Peric just so happen to be taking a vacation. The Zootha skyline is dominated by Mount Rathos, a dormant volcano.
Peric recounts the legend of Zonn: there used to be an idol of Zonn that was worshipped. The authorities wanted to stop the idolatry and sent in the city guards, but the soldier who attempted to seize the idol was struck down by lightning. And then . . . Mt. Rathos erupted. The town of Zootha was destroyed and thousands perished.
Recently, the remains of the Temple of Zonn have been excavated and the current inhabitants of Zootha perform a re-enactment for the tourists. But during the performance, the volcano starts to smoke again. Panic breaks out and people flee. Peric and Janno think it’s all rather strange and drive up towards the summit of the volcano. They witness a monstrous machine emerge from the sea, destroy parts of the city, and then break open the bank and loot the safe.
Jewelers are also looted. Janno and Peric are knocked unconscious in a surprise attack by the criminals. When they recover consciousness, they are in Janno’s auto which is balanced precariously on a protruding rocky outcrop. They manage to save themselves and return to Trigan City.
Peric anticipates that the criminal gang will strike next at the town of Zorgos, situated below a water dam. Two lunar months later, the criminals capture the dam at Zorgos. They open the floodgates a little and announce that the dam is about to burst. Panic breaks out again and people flee. Then the strange machine appears again and makes its way to the bank. Janno, who was on the lookout, is sucked up by the machine’s vacuum cleaner appendage. The machine breaks open the bank, but soldiers of the Trigan army lie in wait. They fight the machine with tanks, but to no avail. Meanwhile, inside the machine, Janno lunges for the controls, giving the Trigan forces the opportunity to tip over the machine. They enter and overpower the criminals.
Links
820 (1 October 1977)
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_WoodTrig1-10-77a.html
821 (8 October 1977)
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_WoodTrig8-10-77a.html
822 (15 October 1977)
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_WoodTrig15-10-77a.html
823 (22 October 1977)
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_WoodTrig22-10-77a.html
824 (29 October 1977)
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_WoodTrig29-10-77a.html
825 (5 November 1977
https://bookpalace.com/acatalog/info_WoodTrig5-11-77a.html
Comicweb (Dutch)
Downloads
MediaFire via British Comics Compilations