Zaal
| Zaal | |
| |
| First appearance: | "Guardian of the Eastern Dark" |
|---|---|
| Created by: | Lee Falk & Sy Barry |
Zaal is a deity that was worshipped by people of The Eastern Dark.
History
According to the Newspaper strip
After having been forced from the seas by the 6th and the 7th Phantom, the pirates of Dakk turned to worship of their pagan god Zaal The Dakk Pirates A giant bronze idol of Zaal was worshipped with human sacrifice. The Zaal worshippers took people from their jungle who were thrown into the flames of the Zaal idol. The 9th Phantom ended the Zaal worship by quenching the flames and knocking down the idol. Guardian of the Eastern Dark The Zaal cult did not completely die however. The worshippers now called Zaal "The sleeping god" and used the fallen idol as a base for a drug trade. This was ended by the 21st Phantom. Guardian of the Eastern Dark
According to Team Fantomen
A few years after the 9th Phantom had ended the Zaal cult, a mysterious man Alib showed up and plotted together with the Zaal priests to kill the Phantom. Alib kidnapped Kit and left traces that pointed towards Zaal. The 9th Phantom evaded their attempts to kill him and it turned out that Alib never intended to kill him, furious the priests ordered him to be killed, but Alib just walked into burning fire and escaped. Soon, the Zaal priests and the citizens of Zaal busy with putting out the fire that they had started in order to kill the Phantom. Count of the Darkness
According to Moonstone
What appeared to be Zaal worshippers once again raided the jungle and captured people, including the Phantom, that were taken to the place of the fallen idol. Return of the Eastern Dark Pt 1 The purpose was not to actually sacrifice people to Zaal, but to harvest their organs to sell on the black market. They used the fallen Zaal idol as a base for their operations. Return of the Eastern Dark Pt 2
Appearances
This list of appearances is considered to be complete, with reservations for the possibility of mistakes.
Newspaper stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Guardian of the Eastern Dark" | Falk | Barry | |
| "Kit and the Little People" | Falk | Barry | mentioned only |
| "The Eastern Dark" | Falk | Barry | mentioned only |
| "The Eastern Dark at Janorra" | Falk | Barry | mentioned only |
| "Raiders of the Eastern Dark" | Falk | Olesen, Williams | mentioned only, as Baal |
| "The Dakk Pirates" | Falk | Olesen, Williams | mentioned only, as Moog |
Team Fantomen stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Mystery of the Golden Rune, Part 3: Count of the Darkness" | Worker | Felmang | Dated around 1722 in the city of Zaal, the Zaal idol is only seen lying on the side. |
Moonstone stories
| Title | Writer | Artist | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Return of The Eastern Dark Part 1" | Bullock | Szilagyi | |
| "Return of The Eastern Dark Part 2" | Bullock | Szilagyi |