The Trigan Empire - Classic or FUCKING CLASSIC

it had the BEST alien octopi of ANYTHING EVAH!!

Asterix was much better because there was a sense of grass roots resistance to an imperialist power. There was Schweikian cunning and Brechtian wit.

As for that Tintin, he was a little clipe, a stool pigeon, racist and Nazi...

Does anyone else remember the very first instalment, which was set in what was then the present day and showed a spaceship from Elekton (“there was a dead hand at the astro-helm”) crashing on Earth – somewhere like a swamp in Florida – with a boy on a fishing expedition yelling “Gosh Dad look!”? On board were the corpses of the last of the Trigans and a multi-volume history of their empire written (naturally enough) in an alien language. A young and very British-looking scholar – spectacles, corduroys – acquired the books and spent his life poring over them before exclaiming in old age, and I think this is verbatim, “Got it! Now to translate the books.” This was the third of three frames in which he appeared; the intervening one showed him in early middle age, refusing to go out for a walk with his wife and children, so absorbed was he by the Trigan puzzle. This was my first glimpse of the scholarly life.

The second episode, and those which followed, were supposed to be the contents of ‘The First Book of Trigan’. Eventually the First Book ended and the Second began, but I think I’m right in saying that this framework was then forgotten and the Second Book rolled on endlessly.

Initially there were three brothers, Trigo (handsome and compelling, he “slept the light sleep of the seasoned warrior”, which made him harder to assassinate), Brag (presentable henchman) and Klud. Klud was the baddie, with a goatee to prove it. All were “barbarians” and, I think, nomads, dressed in animal skins. Peric and his daughter were fugitives from a classical-type civilisation and when Peric got together with Trigo an empire was the inevitable result. At first Peric was an architect (“Creator of the unsupported arch!” Trigo exclaimed when they first met, to which Peric’s response was “By all the stars! You are a well-informed barbarian!”) and I was puzzled when he developed into an all-purpose fount of wisdom.

Roman-style costumes co-existed with “atmosphere craft” of sleek but unlikely design: many were crescent-shaped and seemed to fly sideways.

The artwork was seriously beautiful (“too good” for a children’s comic strip, my mother protested): sumptuous full colour, impeccable draughtsmanship, lots of noble blond warriors; in fact it would be interesting to see it again and try to spot a homoerotic subtext. In Ranger days it was unsigned, but later the name “Don Lawrence” did sometimes appear. (Denis Gifford in one of his books said of one particular comic that its artists ranged “from Don Lawrence (excellent) to myself (otherwise).”*) I have a feeling that during its decline it was drawn by (perhaps among others) Frank Bellamy, no slouch himself but not in the same league.

I was too young to absorb from it anything I can now recognise as a political message, but I remember it with affection and certainly preferred it to the other main strip in Ranger and then Look and Learn, “Jason January: Space Cadet”.

* Can’t swear to this; the phrase may have been “whether excellent (Don Lawrence) or otherwise (myself).”

A surprisingly anti-imperialist message from a comic so frequently tagged as ultra-rightist.

The possibility of a homo-erotic subtext is interesting. I think the women were all pretty hot too, but in a classy kind of way. also, I think the artist did some comics for jazzmags at some stage in his career (don't ask how I know that).

Just to comment about a few details in your other replies, the strip was indeed called The Rise and Fall of Trigan Empire at first and, of course, it did start it's life in another comic, Ranger. Ranger was, to my mind at least, a far superior read, but then I a bit young for Look and Learn at first. By 1973 it was called simply The Trigan Empire and the 1973 annual of the strip was called, "The Look and Learn Book of the Trigan Empire". How many episodes this book covered I am not sure.

Someone mentioned the "dead hand on the astro-helm!" How unforgetable the words and pictures are, even over 30 years later! The excitement I gained from opening a fresh, crisp, copy of Look and Learn and turning to the latest adventure of the brothers, Trigo, Klud and Brag, just can't be explained.

The full text of the first page of the adventure read, "Through the ice-cold vastness of outer space hurtled a cosmo-craft - huge, unearthly and out of control... ...out of control as it had been for eight billion miles, yawning wildly... ...out of control for the most final of all reasons - THERE WAS A DEAD HAND ON THE ASTRO-HELM! The craft was manned by a crew that had been frozen to death. The heating equipment of the ship had been destroyed and the unimaginable cold of outer space had done the rest. The result was instant death for the men who were the last of the Trigans, all that were left of a once- mighty civilisation, pride of the planet Elekton."

Now, by a strange coincidence, I have a copy of the afore-mentioned annual from 1973 and, since I am short on storage space, I might be tempted to sell it if anyone cares to email me with a sensible offer. It is in very good condition, though minus dust cover. I also have a complete bound set of Look and Learn (Issue 1 Jan 20th, 1962 - issue 104 Jan 11th, 1964) which I might similarly be persuaded to part with for an equally sensible offer. These are pre Trigan Empire though, but someone might be interested.

Regards,

Brian Robertson.

As an old comics pro and critic, this is the kind of artwork I like least, gorgeous looking individual images, but limp and lifeless read as a comic. The Hal Foster school.

Top stuff I think,

Stephen

Ron Embleton, who did some of the art work, though I'm not sure if he was the artist when I was reading it, illustrated several books about real Romans.

Not in Breaking Free he wasn't.

Rebellion have finally got hold of the rights and are putting out an affordable version.

I suspect I'll have to pick it up for the non-Don Lawrence stuff.