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Trigan Empire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire, later called simply The Trigan Empire was a science
fiction comic
book series written mainly by Mike
Butterworth and most notably drawn by Don
Lawrence.
Background
 It 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 mix
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 are the same mix of
low tech and high tech.
Publication History
 The strip first appeared in
the British magazine Ranger and later in the British Look
and Learn magazine for teenagers. 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.
There never were fixed titles
established for the stories, and therefore the same story can be reprinted in
different books under different names.
Within the last couple of
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 will 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 new fonts
for the text 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.
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.
Writers
Artists
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)
See also
External links
Retrieved
from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigan_Empire"
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