Rahan. Episode Ninety-Six. By Roger Lecureux. The Laughter of Tanaka. A Puke (TM) Comic.

Index:
https://rumble.com/v3486cm-rahan-index-of-episodes-by-roger-lecureux..html

Source of Rahan Comics:
Philippe Ropers.
https://vk.com/topic-203785966_47424128

Rahan.
The son of the Ferocious Ages.

Episode Ninety-Six.

By Roger Lecureux, drawn by Andre Cheret.

The Laughter of Tanaka.

Ever since the sky had cleared, the strange laughter that had so intrigued Rahan had not ceased.
And the son of Crao finally discovered the man who, alone, without reason, laughed under the moon.
Ha-ha-ha-ha!
This hunter is very young, but wisdom has already left his spirit!

He let himself fall near the laughing man on the thick carpet of leaves.
Perhaps you will make Rahan share in your joy, friend!
Oh!

Argh!
The leaves hid a pool of soft mud, where he immediately became stuck!
And there was no point of support to hold on to!

The adolescent had seen it, but was still laughing, laughing incessantly.
Ha-ha-ha-ha!
Rahan will never extricate himself from the “Eating Mud” alone!

Page Two.

Help Rahan, brother! Throw him a vine! Quickly! Quickly!
Despite his desperate efforts, the son of Crao was inexorably sinking.

But a cloud suddenly obscured the moon and the laughter suddenly stopped.
The "Laugher," down there, was cutting a vine.
Quickly, quickly.

Hum.
It was about time!
Rahan would not have liked this way of reaching the “Territory of Shadows”! Thank you brother! Thankyou!

Who are you? Where are yours?
Why laugh like that, in the middle of the night, alone in the middle of the jungle?
The teenager remained sitting and did not say a word!

By daybreak, the son of Crao had learned nothing from him.
Rahan understands that reason has abandoned you!
But he will help you find your clan! Come follow Rahan!

Docilely the teenager followed. But he soon froze, pointing out traces with fear.
La!
Page Three.

These are only the traces of a large "For Hands".
He is not the one we have to fear. But these!

Two leopards were diving from the foliage!
Rahan's claw is as formidable as yours, "Spotted Skins"!

Ra-ha-ha!
The first beast was struck down before it could even touch its prey!

As the second struck down his companion, who remained unresponsive, the son of Crao jumped to the rescue.

The ivory blade plunged into the side of the leopard, right up to the heart!

You saved Rahan from the “Devouring Mud” and he saved you from the “Spotted Skin”!
Rahan is happy to have paid his debt!
That is something you should not have done, “Hair of Fire”!

Page Four.

This night again, your laughter disturbed the sleep of ours, Tanaka!
The clan has decided to put an end to it!
There is only one way to silence it.
The beast that eats your brain.

You spared us the sadness we have of having to kill "Tanaka" ourselves!

The hunter threw his javelin towards Tanaka who remained prostrate, resigned to his fate!
This one!

No!
Catching a javelin in full flight required amazing reflexes!
Only the son of Crao was capable of such a feat!

It is not Tanaka's fault that a beast is eating his brain!
Since when has Tanaka been like this?
Rahan wants to know!

Page Five.

Rahan's exploit impressed the hunters.
It all started a long, long time ago, the day Tanaka and his father, Gahor, went hunting together.

As night fell, Tanaka and Gahor became lost in the forest.
What exactly happened that night? We never knew!

We found Tanaka, dazed, near his father's corpse!
The traces proved that Gahor had been suffocated by a "Four Hands."

But Tanaka could not confirm this. He had lost the use of speech. His thoughts had fled him.
The “Beast-that-gnaws” had entered his brain!

And since then, every night, Tanaka has lurked in ambush on the outskirts of the village, to laugh under the moon!
He laughs like this until dawn, stealing the clan's sleep!

The sorcerer's drugs have not succeeded in chasing away the beast that is eating away at his brain!
That is why Tanaka must join the "Shadow Kingdom"!

Page Six.

Rahan will not let you steal Tanaka's life!
In that case, “Hair of Fire”, you will die with him!

The whole clan appeared, rushing towards the teenager and the son of Crao.
Tanaka is just a sick and defenseless young hunter, and you do not know anything about Rahan!
You have no right to kill them!

“Fire Hair” might be right! We will not take their lives ourselves.
The beasts will take care of it! Tie them to these trees!

Tanaka was already tied up but Rahan was still resisting!
But he had to give in under the number.
Such a hunter deserves to take his weapon to the kingdom of shadows.
You will leave him his knife!

The clan was long gone. Tanaka seemed immersed in a dream.
React, Tanaka! Try to break your bonds! Listen.
It looks like a "Four Hands" is approaching!!

The son of Crao tensed all his muscles and suddenly, as the moon appeared, the strange laughter, the endless laughter broke out.
Ha-ha-ha-ha!
Page Seven.

The vine gave way at the very moment a terrifying gorilla appeared!
Greek! Ra-ha-ha!

Rahan did not even have time to draw his weapon. The wild melee began before Tanaka's eyes.
Ha-ha-ha!

Whose inextinguishable laughter covered the grunts of the monster and the panting of the man.

In a prodigious effort Rahan had just knocked down the gorilla and gained the upper hand.
Ra-ha-ha!

It was then that the laughter suddenly stopped. Tanaka spoke!

It is like the night my father faced the "Four Hands"!
Father, he too had gained the upper hand!

And I, Tanaka, laughed, happy and proud to see father master this brute!

Page Eight.

And when the moon hid, I still laughed, certain that father would triumph!
Ha-ha-ha!

But when the moon came back, the "Four Hands" had disappeared!
Father was lying dead!
Dead!

Father was dead, killed while I was laughing! I had done nothing to help him!
Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!

Tanaka was prostrate again, but the son of Crao had heard everything.
Tanaka believes he is guilty of his father's death!
It is this tragic memory that haunts his mind!

Tearing himself away from the gorilla, Rahan rushed towards the young hunter.
You could not have known, in the darkness, that the "Four Hands" was suffocating Gahor!

He cut the bonds of Tanaka, who remained dazed.
Your spirit will only find peace when you have avenged your father!
Take this knife and avenge him!

Page Nine.

The adolescent, hesitant, grabbed the weapon. His long laugh rose as the gorilla charged him!

It was the shock.
Defend yourself, Tanaka! Defend yourself!

The son of Crao had taken a huge risk, because if Tanaka allowed the knife to be taken away he would have to face the monster, with his bare hands.

Laughter and grunts merged.
Ra-ha-ha-Argh!
As the confused adversaries became entangled.

The adolescent was suffocating under the weight of the gorilla which was crushing his chest.
Oh! He is lost!

But the monster suddenly arched its back, and put its hand to its side from which a stream of blood gushed. He collapsed with a final gasp.

The moon was still shining, but Tanaka was no longer laughing. His gaze, which went from the knife to the gorilla, from the gorilla to the knife, became more lucid.

Page Ten.

It was another Tanaka who returned his weapon to Rahan. The Tanaka from before!
Brother, you chased away the horrible memory that haunted you!
You yourself triumphed over the beast-that-destroyed your brain!

Their appearance in the village the next day caused astonishment and anger.
But Rahan explained.
Because he had laughed. By believing in his father's victory, Tanaka considered himself to blame for his death!

The “Remorse” had turned his brain upside down and every night, perhaps to “punish” himself, he relived the drama!

But Tanaka avenged Gahor and he is Cured!
The “Beast” that was eating away at his brain is Dead! Rahan assures you!

Never again, in fact did Tanaka's laughter resound under the moon.
The obsession that had disturbed his mind for so long was definitively vanquished!

Goodbye “Hair of Fire!” Goodbye Tanaka! Goodbye Brothers!
It was because one morning.

Long after leaving this clan, Rahan still thought about the curious diseases that could strike his kind.
Because in these fierce times, “Those-who-walk-upright” could sometimes lose and regain their reason!