The Lost Valley

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Episode 57 of The Trigan Empire

The Lost Valley
aka The Nobes
De vergeten vallei (Dutch title)
The Forgotten Valley (Dutch title, translated)

Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Don Lawrence

The Lost Valley was originally published in 8 instalments in issues 740 (20 March 1976) to 747 (8 May 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 Zeros Mountains in Tharv, a volcanic eruption occurs. This reveals a previously unknown valley, where an unknown people live. Janno and Peric go there to establish a friendship. They travel the final stretch by kreed. They are received by the leaders of the Nobes, who believe they are technologically far ahead, but in reality, they are behind. They have primitive aircraft and their cars cannot brake. The national sport is the popular bollo, a game played with a metal ball.

Janno offers the people protection from Trigo in times of war, but the people do not know what war is. They also encounter envoys from Cato and get into a conflict with them. Not long after, Cato’s air force appears, and the Nobes are given an ultimatum. They must submit, or they will be destroyed. The Nobes decide to fight Cato’s army with their air fleet.

Trigo decides to help Kalli, a pilot of the Nobes. When Cato attacks with heli-jets, Kalli and Janno manage to shoot down a few of them. Cato now decides to send their entire air fleet to the valley, but Trigo decides—despite the fact that the Nobes did not want assistance—to send his own air fleet as well. The leaders from Cato do not want to engage in this battle and recall their air force. They now advance with their army over land and must pass through Tharv. The leader Zad Krakkar of Tharv is paid for this.

Janno and Kalli convert their cars into armored vehicles and decide to use the metal balls from the bollo game to fight Cato’s army. In doing so, they defeat and drive out Cato’s army. The leaders of the Nobes ask Trigo to seal off the valley again.