The amulet from which the terrible witch Dharma derives all her power has been stolen, and to retrieve it, the cruel priestess of the god Jagannath is willing to cross the ocean and venture into the Darkwood forest, where the talisman is believed to be hidden. A deadly challenge for Zagor, who can count on some formidable allies: the British Major Kellog, the adventurer Mac Quade, and Ramath the fakir.
Mac Quade reveals to Zagor the reasons that forced Ramath to leave India aboard Captain Fishleg’s ship, pursued by Dharma. The fearsome witch, accompanied by Rajah Kubal Singh and his Thugs, has crossed the ocean in search of him in the forests of Darkwood, where Mac Quade and former Major Kellog have assembled a group of militiamen to protect the wounded fakir. The battle seems hopeless, and the outcome could be dramatic for our friends, if Zagor didn’t join the small band of heroes.
The amulet of the god Jagannath, which Ramath stole from Dharma, has the power to reincarnate Kalkin, the final Avatar of the Hindu religion, the one who will bring our era to an end. This is the goal of Dharma and Rajah Kubal Singh, her ally, and Zagor, having fallen into the clutches of the sinister sorceress, seems unable to stop them or to save his own life.
Continuity Note: The Fate of Shu-Tze
Writer Moreno Burattini addressed a potential continuity issue regarding the ending of this story, where Ramath states that the jade amulet will be entrusted to Shu-Tze, his Tibetan master. This raised eyebrows, as Shu-Tze was seemingly declared dead in the earlier adventure Yeti!
Burattini explained:
“While it’s true that we all make mistakes and I certainly make my fair share in this case, I was well aware of the events in Yeti! when I chose to mention Shu-Tze. Yes, he was said to be dead there… but not with certainty.
In Yeti! we never actually see Shu-Tze die. Ramath only has a dream, which he interprets as a message from the afterlife, but even he isn’t fully convinced (see Zenith #323, page 64). There’s no direct evidence of his death only an assumption.
I deliberately avoided having Ramath state outright that Shu-Tze is alive. In L’Amuleto di Giada, Ramath says he will travel to Tibet to entrust the amulet to someone capable of guarding it. Since Zagor is familiar with Shu-Tze, Ramath mentions him by name, but does not say: “he’s alive, and I’ll find him.”
It’s entirely plausible that Ramath could return to Tibet and discover that Shu-Tze has died, either of old age or after escaping Krimhar. In that case, Ramath would hand over the amulet to a successor, someone from Shu-Tze’s same school.
Explaining all this directly to Zagor and the readers would have been heavy-handed. So instead, I chose to simply reference Shu-Tze a master of great wisdom and keeper of ancient secrets like the “Seven Powers.” The implication is that he might still be alive, and even if not, Tibet remains the only place in the world where the amulet could truly be safeguarded.
Declaring Shu-Tze definitively dead would have robbed the ending of its emotional weight. The reference to him offers a sense of closure and reassurance, without the need for lengthy exposition or contradictions.
And let’s be honest, what is certain in comics, anyway? Characters like Hellingen have come back from the dead more times than we can count.
So imagine a follow-up scene where Zagor remarks, “I thought Shu-Tze had died…” and Ramath replies, “That’s not certain,” perhaps hinting that he’s done some investigating. If Ramath believes Shu-Tze is alive, then perhaps… he is.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll find out in a future adventure.”
