Early Review: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE TRIGAN EMPIRE Vol.1

I've never met anyone who bought Look and Learn just for the articles. Yes, those features were superbly illustrated, and they certainly taught us a few things about everything from geology to Medieval life, from the nocturnal habits of bats to the story of space flight, but they were but a bonus to the main attraction. Everyone I've met who read Look and Learn bought it for The Trigan Empire. 

The Rise and Fall of The Trigan Empire (to give it its full title) actually started out in Ranger in 1965, a companion magazine to Look and Learn but one that had more comic strips. Then, as kids' publications often did, the two titles merged, bringing The Trigan Empire to Look and Learn in 1966. The strip was created by Mike Butterworth and artist Don Lawrence and told the story of a distant planet called Elekton and its strange culture that seemed like a mash up of Ancient Rome, futuristic technology and a good dollop of fantasy thrown in for good measure. 

The stories were intriguing but it was Don Lawrence's photo-realistic artwork and stunning use of colour that made it compelling. Most kids' publications of the 1960s were printed on newsprint, which meant basic flat colours with few variations. Ranger, and Look and Learn, were of the few that had the luxury of Photogravure printing, and Don Lawrence certainly made the best of it. 

The Trigan Empire ran in Look and Learn until its final issue in 1982. By that time other artists had replaced Lawrence, who had left the strip in 1976. Now, Rebellion are to publish a huge chunky 300 page volume reprinting the series from the start in what is hoped will be an ongoing series of books. The Rise and Fall of The Trigan Empire Vol.1 will be published in March 2020 and having seen a preview of the whole book I think it'll be a winner.

I can only show a few pages from the start of the book so here's the first four pages of the saga...

Yes, the early Trigan Empire stories have been reprinted before, but it was many years ago or in an expensive format. The new collection will be affordable and superb value for money. Another bonus is that, like the deluxe expensive editions of several years ago, Rebellion's version replaces the dull typeface dialogue of the originals with a comic book style font that's easier on the eye. This is, quite frankly, the best Trigan Empire collection there's been. 

• CREATIVE TEAM: Mike Butterworth (w) Don Lawrence (a)
• RELEASE DATE: 17 March 2020 (US) 19 March 2020 (UK)
• PAPERBACK, 304 pages
• PRICE: £19.99 (UK) $24.99 (US)
• ISBN: 9781781087558
• DIAMOND: TBC

Under the leadership of Trigo the Vorg tribesmen band together to resist the Lokan Empire, forming an empire of their own: The Trigan Empire. And this is the story of its rise and fall. Originally published in the educational Ranger magazine in 1965, and continuing in the similarly themed Look and Learn. The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire uses elements of the Roman Empire and ancient Greece to tell a fascinating sci-fi story. The first in a series of books collecting all the stories beautifully painted by Don Lawrence in their originally published order.
Available in print from: book stores, Amazon, and UK comic book stores.

Available in digital from: Treasury of British Comics webshop & apps for iPad, Android and Windows 10

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Chris Weston cover to retailer Trigan Empire Vol.1 hardcover revealed

Breaking news! Rebellion have just released an image of the alternative cover to their Trigan Empire collection as a retailer variant, and it's stunning artwork by Chris Weston. (If ever the series was revived for new stories Chris would definitely be the perfect artist for it.) Here's the PR just in...

The Invisibles artist pays tribute to greatest work of legendary creator who mentored him early in his career

The Treasury of British Comics is pleased to unveil Chris Weston's brand new cover for a retailer exclusive hardcover edition of the first volume of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire.

With this special cover - available only from selected comic book stores - the artist on Judge Dredd, The Filth and The Invisibles has paid tribute to the inimitable work of the legendary Don Lawrence, artist on Trigan Empire, one of the finest comics creators in British comics history, and Weston's mentor early in his career.

The retailer variant hardcover with Chris Weston cover will be available to buy from Forbidden Planet, Forbidden Planet International, OK Comics, Book Palace, and other selected stockists.

The hardcover variant, individually numbered with a cover by Don Lawerence, is also available to pre-order from the Treasury of British Comics website until 4th December.

The standard paperback collection will be available in March from all good retailers and comic book stores.

Featuring stunning artwork taken from crisp scans of Lawrence's original artwork, this 304-page volume includes a touching introduction from Liam Sharp (Green Lantern), who was also mentored by Lawrence, and marks the first time the series is being collected in a mass market edition.

Co-created by Lawrence with writer Mike Butterworth, The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire merges the movie serials of the 1930s, Flash Gordon, John Carter, and ancient history into a sprawling, classic science-fiction epic. It has been named as a major influence by the likes of writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman), artist Dave Gibbons (Watchmen) and Brian Bolland (Judge Dredd), amongst many others.

Originally published in the anthology title Ranger from September 1965, and Look and Learn from June 19966 until April 1982, the series told the story of an alien empire on the planet Elekton that was heavily influenced by history, particularly that of the Roman Empire. Created by Mike Butterworth, who died in 1986, and artist Don Lawrence, who died 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.

Lawrence, who started out as a comics creator in the Gower Street Studios in London, first working on Marvelman before moving on to Karl the Viking for Lion. Other artists who worked on the strip include Ron Embleton, Miguel Quesada, Philip Corke, Oliver Frey and Gerry Wood. Although the strip has seen only limited English-language release it remains one of the most popular comic series in Holland and Germany, with over two million albums sold.

More classic collections from Rebellion!

A few years ago it seemed very unlikely that many classic British comic strips would ever be reprinted again but thanks to Rebellion's acquisition of the old Odhams / Fleetway / IPC archives there are now collections issued on a monthly basis. 

Two more books have recently been announced and this time Rebellion are delving even further into the archives. On 25th July we can look forward to Roy of the Rovers: The Best of the 1950s, reprinting the earliest strips from Tiger starting with issue No.1. (Specifically the book covers issues dated 11th September 1954 to 21st May 1955 and 20th August 1955 to 11th February 1956 inclusive so there's a lot of episodes here!)

CREATIVE TEAM: Frank S. Pepper (w) Joe Colquhoun (a)
RELEASE DATE: 25th July 2019
HARDCOVER, 148 pages
PRICE: £19.99 (UK)
ISBN: 9781781087176

A highlight for 2020 will be The Rise and Fall of The Trigan Empire, - just announced exclusively on The Hollywood Reporter website:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/trigan-empire-comic-book-be-reissued-1211893

Written by Mike Butterworth and illustrated by Don Lawrence, The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire began in Ranger magazine in 1965, transferred over to Look and Learn when the two magazines merged in 1966, and continued until 1982 (the later years drawn by other artists). Some chapters of the strip have already been reprinted several times; abridged and edited in a couple of books in the 1970s, in Vulcan weekly in the 1970s, a book compiled by Mike Higgs for Hawk Books in 1989, and most recently in 12 expensive hardbacks by The Book Palace. The new collections promise to be more affordable. The first 304 page volume goes on sale in March 2020.

More info on these books soon!

Vulcan Holiday Special 1976

As noted in the previous blog post about Vulcan weekly, it only had a relatively short run (30 issues in Scotland, then 28 nationwide). However, after its demise, IPC still felt confident enough to publish a Vulcan Holiday Special in the summer of 1976.

The thing that's immediately evident is that the design and layout of the Holiday Special is a big improvement on the weekly. It's highly likely it was packaged by a different art editor. I would venture that if the weekly had looked as dynamic and exciting as this it might have lasted a bit longer. 

THE STEEL CLAW. Artist: early Belardinelli perhaps?

Inside, the Special reprints stories of The Steel Claw, The House of Dolmann, Mytek the Mighty, Robot Archie, and Saber: King of the Jungle. All are edited versions to one degree or another of serials from Valiant, Lion, and Tiger, but again the design and any resizing is a step up on that which we'd seen in Vulcan weekly. 

MYTEK THE MIGHTY Artist: Bill Lacey.

ROBOT ARCHIE Artist: Ted Kearon.

The highlight of the issue is a brand new six page Trigan Empire prose story, accompanied by new artwork by Don Lawrence (who also illustrated the cover). Click to enlarge..

There's also a couple of Sporty humour strips by Reg Wooton. These would have originally appeared in either Knockout or Valiant. 

All in all, this one-and-only Vulcan Holiday Special is a great read and worth tracking down on eBay or wherever. Admittedly the Steel Claw story they chose to reprint isn't one of the best, and isn't by Jesus Blasco the regular artist, but the rest of the comic is good stuff. 

There was also a one-off Vulcan Annual published that year and I'll take a look at that another time.