The Green Fog

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Episode 56 of The Trigan Empire

The Green Fog
aka The Dryaks
The Green Smog (The Collection)
De groene plaag (Dutch title)
The Green Plague (Dutch title, translated)

Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Don Lawrence

The Green Fog was originally published in 8 instalments in issues 732 (24 January 1976) to 739 (13 March 1976) of Look and Learn magazine.

It is reprinted in Volume 12 of The Trigan Empire—The Collection (the Don Lawrence Collection).

It is reprinted in Volume 5 of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire (Rebellion).

Plot summary

In the Great Square of Trigan City, the blind Uruz is begging. Janno walks by and gives him some money. Uruz says he recognizes him by his footsteps. One day, a green wave of mist floods Trigan City. Not long after, the mist disappears just as quickly as it came. The city is in chaos, and vehicles are damaged. Uruz says he heard a strange people walking, but the imperial council does not believe him.

A strange kind of green fungus begins to grow on all the buildings, and after a lunar month, there is so much growth that the city starts to collapse, prompting Trigo to decide to evacuate the city. Suddenly, the mist returns and disappears again very quickly. The vegetation is gone once more. Peric believes the growth was cut away in order to make it regrow. Uruz says he heard the creatures again, and they decide to leave Janno with Uruz.

When the green mist rises again, Uruz hears the creatures walking once more, and Janno is able to capture one. The creature has a visor that allows one to see through the green mist. The next time the green mist appears, Janno uses the visor to see the creatures. But he is captured by them. The creatures are Dryaks, a people who lived there long before the Trigans. Their city at the time was attacked by barbarians, and they had to flee underground. Their only food source was the green fungus that grew there. They built houses and temples underground.

Trigan City is on the brink of collapse, and people believe that Janno has perished. The leader of the Dryaks explains that their green fungus no longer provides enough nutrition because of the pollution caused by the Trigans. That is why they grow the green fungus in sunlight above ground. They create the green mist by releasing volcanic gas to the surface.

After this explanation, Janno escapes through the sewers and tells the story to Trigo and Peric. The Trigans have replicated the visors and are able to capture the green men. They decide to help them and harvest the green fungus. They also promise to reduce pollution. The Dryaks trust Trigo, and the Trigans begin cleaning up the city. After that, the fungus under the city also begins to grow well again.