Zigomar vs. The Phantom
From PhantomWiki
"Zigomar" was an Yugoslavian comic based on "The Phantom".
Contents |
History
Zigomar is a fictional comic book character, whose adventures were published by magazine called "Mikijevo carstvo" (i.e. "Mickey's Kingdom") in the late 30's, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. When the owner Milutin S. Ignjačević started the magazine, most of the popular comic strips like "The Phantom", "Flash Gordon", and Disney characters, were already published by the other child magazines such as "Mika Miš" (i.e. "Mickey Mouse") and "Politikin Zabavnik" (Politika's funny papers – an imprint of a daily newspaper "Politika"). So, trying to bring something new to the readers, "Mikijevo carstvo" started a new comic called "Zigomar", a character resembling American comic heroes of that time.
The artist of this new comic was Nikola Navojev (his pen-name was Nick Woodly), young Russian refugee, who came to Yugoslavia after the communist revolution in his native country. The writer was Branko Vidić. Zigomar was a young, wealthy new-yorker, who secretly fought crime, wearing a mask, a caped costume and a ring with letter "Z" sign on it, wich stayed on the faces of the evil-doers when he punched them, just like the Phantom's ring did. He also had a kid sidekick, a chinese boy named Chi-Yang. Nobody knew his secret identity, apart from Chi-Yang and of course, the readers.
Plot summary
In the story "Zigomar protiv Fantoma" ("Zigomar vs. The Phantom") our hero is going to India, to find his girlfriend Laura Morgan, a rich American girl who was abducted to become a wife of an evil maharadja. In the Himalayan mountains he meets the Phantom, who journeys to the port (probably Bombay) to meet Diana Palmer, a girl for whom he cherished "a most esteemed feelings" (of course, they were still not married). They continue the journey together, becoming friends. Meanwhile, Chi-Yang and the Devil also became great pals and saved their "masters" from the evil baron. In the meantime Diana was abducted by the same gang of slavers, while she was searching for the Phantom.
In the next story "Nevesta bogova" ("The Bride of the Gods"), Zigomar and Phantom found a letter from Diana (hidden in the rocks), asking for help. They continue the search, but evil female gangster Lola North, who is secretly in love with Zigomar, sends them the opposite way. They eventually get caught by religious sect, whose members want to get a revenge from the Phantom. An old Yogi hypnotised the Phantom and Zigomar, commanding them to hate each other. In an old Indian temple these two fight to the death, with hungry crocodilles waiting to eat the loser. However, Zigomar manages to escape and later frees the Phantom from the sect, thinking that "the revenge would not be fullfilled properly if Phantom doesn't die by my own hand". In the end, they part ways, leaving the "final battle" for the next time.
Sadly, we never got to read if the hypnotic curse was lifted. The artist Nikola Navojev died from tuberculosis in 1940, at the age of 27. The last Zigomar story was drawn by Dušan Bogdanović. In 1941, the war in Yugoslavia started and Zigomar's adventures never continued after that, but last part of that story drawn by Dušan Bogdanović, never finished in Mikijevo carstvo, is reprinted in comic book by Serbian publisher Stella in 2008.
Stories
| # | Title | Issues |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Zigomar" | Mikijevo carstvo #29 – #58? |
| 2 | "Zigomar protiv Fantoma" | Mikijevo carstvo #59 – #74? |
| 3 | "Nevesta bogova" | Mikijevo carstvo #75 – ? |
| 4 | "Bič pravde" | Mikijevo carstvo #? |
| 5 | "Misterije Egipta" | Mikijevo carstvo #? |
| 6 | "Leteći Zigomar" | Mikijevo carstvo #? and Leteći Zigomar #2 |
Reprints
Italy
- Zigomar contro il Fantasma, parte prima
- Zigomar contro il Fantasma, parte seconda
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
- "Zigomar protiv Fantoma", Mikijevo carstvo #59 – #74?
- "Nevesta bogova", Mikijevo carstvo #75 – ?
- Plavi Zabavnik #42 – #43
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- "Zigomar protiv Fantoma", Pegaz #4-5
- Politikin Zabavnik #1935 – #1936
