Trigan Empire

"The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire", later called simply "The Trigan Empire" is a science fiction comic book series written mainly by Mike Butterworth and most notably drawn by Don Lawrence.

Background

It initially ran from 1965 to 1982, dealing with the long-past events of an empire on the distant planet of Elekton. Heavily influenced by mythological tale, a number of the societies seemed to be based on ancient cultures that had existed in history. Chief among these was the Trigan Empire, apparently modelled on the Roman empire. This similarity even extended to Trigan City, the capital being built on five hills, in a similar fashion to the seven hills of Rome. The Trigans flew atmosphere craft. These vessels were like spaceships, but restricted to the atmosphere of the planet of Elekton. The Trigans' clothing was similar to that of the Romans, with many of the populace dressed in Toga-like garments, or in the case of the soldiery, in Roman-style armour.

A similar likeness could be drawn with Hericon, the chief rival in power to the Trigans, whose appearance seemed to mirror that of elements of the Byzantine empire, and the Persian Empire.

The series was a strange blend of low and high tech. The Trigans began as a nomadic tribe called the Vorgs, with no technology. Initially under the leadership of three brothers, Trigo, Brag and Klud, Trigo persuades his more conservative brothers that in the face of changing events, namely the ambitions of the Lokan Empire that they must settle. The fledgling Trigan nation is established under the leadership of Trigo, with the trappings of a Romanesque civilization with swords, lances and Roman-style clothing, but with high tech ray guns, atmosphere crafts and high-tech navy. In a later story, they create a rocketship in months to fly to one of Elekton's moons. Several of the other civilizations show a blend of low tech and high tech.

Publication History

The strip first appeared in the first issue of the British magazine "Ranger" in September 1965 and then in the British "Look and Learn" magazine from issue 232, June 1966 when the two titles merged 40 issues later. Both titles were weekly educational magazines designed for young people; although mainly filled with articles on life, history, science and technology, both contained a small comic strip section in each issue. It should be noted that in the 1960s, many British children were not allowed by their parents to buy comics as such, but were allowed 'educational magazines'. As a result these titles were often the only contact with comic strips that they had.

The series ran in "Look and Learn" until the title ceased publication with issue 1049, April 1982, an extraordinary run of 854 issues between the two magazines.

There were a number of early reprints. In the United Kingdom, Hamlyn Publishing printed one book called simply, "The Trigan Empire", this was printed in the United States by Chartwell Publishing. This edition featured early stories. A later book was printed by Hawk Publishing in 1989 as "Tales of the Trigan Empire" in hardback form. Both the Hamlyn and Hawk books have parts cut from some of the original stories, most notably in the Hawk book there are sometimes entire pages that have been taken out.

In recent years, the parts of the Trigan Empire that were drawn by Don Lawrence have been reprinted by the Don Lawrence Collection in luxury hardback limited editions. These editions have the stories as originally printed without any of the missing frames that were present in some of the other reprints, namely the Hawk publications book. They are not direct copies of the "Look and Learn" prints, but in many cases taken from the original artwork and using revised fonts to make it clearer to read.

Main Characters

Trigo - Trigo is the founder of the Empire. With his two brothers Brag and Klud, he was the leader of a tribe of Vorgs. At this time the Lokan Empire was instituting a military buildup with an intent to take over the entire planet. Trigo had a vision of a nation where the Vorg tribesmen could give up their nomadic existence and band together in civilization. He knew that the Lokans were intent on conquest and felt that if the Vorgs were not united they would become extinct. When his initial plans to build a city on the plains of Vorg fail, there is a fateful meeting with refugees from the nation of Tharv which has been attacked by Loka. Among these refugees is the architect Peric who agrees to help Trigo with his plans as long as his people are allowed to stay there. Although Brag was willing to give up his claims of leadership to his people to allow Trigo to become sole ruler, his brother Klud had no such plan and tried to assassinate Trigo. In the years to come, Trigo will institute a treaty with Hericon, the other great power on the planet of Elekton, be crowned first Emperor of the Trigan Empire, and face many other threats to himself and his empire.

Brag - Trigo's brother. While some consider him slow and perhaps a bit stupid, Brag is well-meaning and ever faithful to his brother. Despite living in relative luxury with all the benefits of more advanced technology there are times that Brag wishes he was back to his life as a simple Vorg huntsman. He keeps himself in good physical shape despite growing older.

Janno - Janno is the son of Brag and nephew to Emperor Trigo. A courageous individual, he has a natural aptitude as an atmosphere craft pilot. He is friends with Keren, the son of Chief Imbala of Daveli and Roffa from the City State of Ellul.

Peric - Chief archicect of the destroyed nation of Tharv, Peric with his daughter and other Tharvish refugees made their way into the desert of Vorg after the destruction of the main city of Tharv by Lokan forces. Peric is of advanced years but remains fairly healthy. He is regarded as the greatest living architect on Elekton and an accomplished engineer and scientist. He is often behind many of the great accomplishments of the Empire.

Writers

* Mike Butterworth
* Ken Roscoe

Artists

* Don Lawrence
* Oliver Frey
* Gerry Wood
* Philip Corke
* Ramon Sola
* Ron Embleton

Tales

"Note that although there were never any official titles for the stories, these are the names being used in the reprints from the Don Lawrence collection."

Tales written by Mike Butterworth

* Victory for the Trigans
* Crash In The Jungle
* Elekton In Danger
* Invaders from Gallas
* The Land of No Return
* The Lokan Conspiracy
* War With Hericon
* Revolution in Zabriz
* The Lokan Invasion
* The Revenge of Darak
* The Three Aliens
* The Reign of Thara
* Voyage to the Moon Bolus
* The Three Princes
* Poison From Outer Space
* The Lost City
* The Terror of Mount Spyx
* False Accusation
* The Deadly Formula
* The Tyrant
* The Red Death
* The Puppet Emperor
* Trigo's Five Tasks
* The Menace From The Sea
* The Giant Rallus
* The City of the Jewels
* The Imposter
* The Duplication Machine
* The Masked Raiders
* The Prisoner of Zerss
* The Miniature Killers of Zelph
* The Hypnotist
* The Wish Fulfiller
* The Fiendish Experiment
* The Curse of King Yutta
* The Lost Years
* Journey to Orcadia
* The Secret of Castle Doum
* The House of the Five Moons
* A National Emergency
* The Palace of Peril
* Evil from Outer Space
* The Curse of the Sun Worshippers
* The Zootha Vorgs
* The Sea Creatures
* The Youth Serum
* The Assassin
* The Deadly Seeds
* Emperor Z
* The Heat Controller
* The Time Traveller
* The Rocketeer
* The Convicts
* The Gambler
* The Ultimate Collection
* The Dryaks
* The Nobes
* Atomic Fallout
* Vengeance!
* The Zallus
* The Street Sweeper
* The Time Machine
* The Frozen People
* Abdication
* Dr. Mazaratto's Elixir
* The Digger
* The Stolen Plans
* The Curse of Zonn

Tales written by Ken Roscoe

* The Killer
* The Rival
* The Trigonium Thieves
* Chase For A Traitor
* The Voyage of the Perici
* The Flowers of Forgetfulness
* Rebellion in Daveli
* A Tragic Misunderstanding
* The Zabriz Conspiracy
* Trigan's Deadly Peril
* The Skorpiads
* The Zolt Exodus
* Terror Of The Skorpiads
* Search Mission
* Alien Mission
* Mercy Mission

Other tales

* The Wise Man of Vorg
* The Brief Reign of Sennos the First
* They Came From out of the Night
* Battle for Survival

Trigan Empire Books (English)

* "The Look and Learn Book of the Trigan Empire" (1973)
* "The Trigan Empire (1978)"
* "Tales from the Trigan Empire (1989)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Prisoner of Zerss (2004)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Sun Worshippers (2005)"
* "The Trigan Empire: House of the Five Moons (2005)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Curse of King Yutta (2005)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Three Princes (2006)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Rallu Invasion (2006)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Reign of Thara (2006)"
* "The Trigan Empire: Revolution in Zabriz (2007)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Puppet Emperor (2007)"
* "The Trigan Empire: The Red Death (2008)"

ee also

*Storm (Don Lawrence)

External links

*http://www.triganempire.co.uk
*http://www.donlawrence.co.uk