Trigan Empire

The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire, later called simply The Trigan Empire, is a science fiction comic series written mainly by Mike Butterworth and drawn by Don Lawrence, among others. It told the story of an alien culture in a manner that contained an educational blend of science and details of Earth-like ancient civilizations.

The series 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 tales, 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 Ancient Greece and 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. 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 Greek or 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 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, they must settle. The fledgling Trigan nation is established via a merger of the nomadic Vorgs and the technically advanced people of Tharv (who arrived as refugees to the Plains of Vorg after they were defeated by the Lokans) 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, aircraft and a high-tech navy. In a later story, the Trigans create a rocketship in months to fly to one of Elekton’s moons. Several of the other civilizations show a similar blend of both low and high tech.

The first strip told of a spaceship crashing into a swamp on Earth, the crew frozen to death, with many written volumes inside in an unknown language. Studies of the crew reveal them to be humanoid, but around 12 feet tall. After many years, the spaceship is turned into the central attraction of an amusement park. Eventually, at a very advanced age, a scientist—Peter Richard Haddon—who has studied the books from the spaceship as a young man manages to translate the volumes, and begins to relate the tales.

Writers

Mike Butterworth
Ken Roscoe

Artists

Don Lawrence (1965-1973, 1975-1976)
Ron Embleton (1969, 1975)
Miguel Quesada (1972, 1974), for long wrongly credited to Ramon Sola
Philip Corke (1974-1975)
Oliver Frey (1976-1977)
Gerry Wood (1977-1982)

V01

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V02

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V03

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V04

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V05

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V06

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