The Trigan Empire

The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire, later shortened to The Trigan Empire, was a science fiction comic series written mainly by Mike Butterworth with artwork (initially watercolours, later gouache) by Don Lawrence, among others. It told the story of an alien culture in which futuristic technology, such as antigravity vehicles and energy ray weapons, was blended with architecture, dress, and customs reminiscent of ancient civilizations, the most obvious being those of Ancient Greece and Rome. The stories revolved around a strong and heroic leader who defended his empire from constant threats from both outside and within. A new original graphic novel revival was announced in 2025 and scheduled to debut in 2026.

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.

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."

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. 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.

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 low and high tech.

The strip debuted in the first issue of the British magazine Ranger in September 1965 and then in the British Look and Learn magazine from issue #232 (June 1966) when the two titles merged after the 40th issue of Ranger. Both titles were weekly educational magazines designed for children; although mainly filled with educational features on life, history, science and technology, both contained a small comic strip section in each issue. Unusually for a British comic, the strip was printed in colour.

The series ran in Look and Learn until the title ceased publication with issue #1049, in April 1982, comprising a run of 854 issues in total, divided between the two magazines.

In addition to the weekly strips, a very small number of Trigan Empire stories were published in Ranger annuals and a Vulcan summer special.