The Trigan Empire

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His numerous credits include screenwriter for The Viking Raid VR Experience for The Ridley Scott Creative Group / Viking Planet and articles for The Times, The Telegraph, NME, Shortlist, The Guardian, Private Eye and more. The early stories, featuring Storm, an astronaut from earth who is dragged into the great red spot in Jupiter’s atmosphere and sent forward in time to a post-apocalyptic earth known as the Deep World, ruled by barbaric kingdoms and ruthless warlords, were pedestrian and are notable only for the introduction of, Ember, a beautiful red-headed companion and Lawrence’s continued excellence. As for the barbarians at the gate, they were inevitably the Mongol hordes and vicious Native American “savages.” Maybe there were some Parthians thrown in for good measure but I don’t remember any. Just as the technology of the Trigans represented a patchwork of Western civilization and military dominance—from swords and sandals right up to weapons of mass destruction—so too did their enemies reflect the unchanging status of Western vulnerability as described by Joseph Schumpeter in “The Sociology of Imperialisms”: Originally published in the anthology title Ranger from the first issue in September 1965, and Look and Learn from June 1966 until April 1982, the series told the story of an alien empire on the planet Elekton that was heavily influenced by history, particularly Roman. Created by Mike Butterworth, who died in 1986, and artist Don Lawrence, who passed away in 2004, the series’ mix of political intrigue and Lawrence’s lush painted artwork won a host of fans worldwide, and proved to be highly influential, inspiring a generation of comic book creators with its depth and beauty.

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' 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. Ray Gun: The guns on Elekton is a hybrid projectile/energy weapon that fires a bullet propelled by a heat ray.

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From its start in 1965 until 1976, the series was mainly created by writer Mike Butterworth and artist Don Lawrence. For stories in two Ranger annuals and some fill-in serials, other artists made a contribution. During a sabbatical, Philip Corke replaced Don Lawrence. From mid-1976 until the end of 1977, Oliver Frey was the artist. In 1978, Ken Roscoe took over the writing, and concluded the series with artist Gerry Wood. According to Butterworth: "The original Impetus was from that veritable genius Leonard Matthews, then my senior group editor when I was editing Sun and Comet. He threw the first introductory script at me and told me to take it from there. He had no idea where to further it but he knew where to look for a guy who did." However, as the story progressed, it became a series of adventure stories featuring the same cast of characters, principally Trigo, the emperor; Brag, his brother; Janno, Brag's dashing son; Keren, Janno's friend; Peric, a wise architect and scientific genius, and his daughter, Salvia. Later, Janno and Keren aquired another friend, Roffa, and Trigo had three sons of whom one, Nikko, lived to be a major character. Argo, the son of Trigo while being controlled by an evil alien, had King Kassar, his own grandfather and previously a major character, executed. Holland, Steve (19 July 2008). "Explanation by editor Steve Holland for crediting Miguel Quesada". bearalley.blogspot.com . Retrieved 31 March 2023.

Freeman, John (27 August 2022). " "Trigan Empire Volume Two: Limited Edition Hardcover Announced". downthetubes.net . Retrieved 11 September 2022. Quando um disco voador se despenha na Terra, um cientista fica obcecado por decifrar os estranhos escritos que se encontram nos destroços. Um trabalho de décadas, mas que quando é terminado, dá a conhecer a história do império Trigan, do qual os tripulantes do disco voador eram os últimos sobreviventes. Do cataclismo final nada se sabe, as histórias das crónicas do império falam de um líder indomável, Trigo, capaz de subjugar nações mais avançadas e poderosas combinando coragem com diplomacia. E assim funda o império Trigan, o mais avançado do planeta Elekton.The strip had begun in the first issue of Ranger, in September 1965, where it shared billing with an early, and inferior, translation of the adventures of Asterix, under the title, “ Britons Never, Never, Never Shall Be Slaves!”. Lawrence had been offered the job illustrating “The Rise and Fall of The Trigan Empire” after the publisher saw a single colour episode of his “ Karl the Viking” in the 1965 Lion Annual. The strip that he and writer Mike Butterworth went on to produce was to become one of the best remembered and most influential of its time, even if much of the influence was felt outside of the British Isles.