Number 1692: Mooning the Phantom...the Lunar Cult

This adventure of the Phantom, written by Lee Falk and drawn by Wilson McCoy, is taken from scans of an early Indrajal Comic: #6, from 1964. Indrajal was a line of comics, now defunct, published by the Times of India. I have mentioned before that I have never seen an actual Indrajal issue, just what is posted online. So I thank those fans who have made them available.

I believe “The Lunar Cult” is adapted from a story called “The Thuggees,” which appeared in newspapers from August 22, 1949 to February 25, 1950. As Thuggees were an Indian murder cult there was probably some sensitivity toward the original title. There is internal evidence in some speech balloons that something (presumably “Thuggee”) has been whited out and replaced by the world “Lunar.”

The Phantom’s territory was a mix of India and Africa. There is more on that subject in a link below the 16-page story. For more about Thuggee go here.

UPDATE: On February 5 our friend J D LaRue furnished us with information that the story is not from the Thuggee continuity, but instead from “The Crescent Cult,” published as Sunday strips from April 10, 1955 to August 7, 1955. Thanks, J D, for the information. As J D pointed out, there are many Muslims in India, so the change from Crescent to Lunar was done in response to cultural and religious sensitivies.