Episode 1 of The Trigan Empire
Victory for the Trigans
aka Strijd om Trigië (Dutch title)
Battle for Trigan (Dutch title, translated)
Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Don Lawrence
Victory for the Trigans was originally published in 20 instalments in issues 1 (18 September 1965) to 20 (29 January 1966) of Ranger magazine.
An abridged version was reprinted in 1973 in The Look and Learn Book of the Trigan Empire (IPC/Fleetway).
An abridged version was reprinted in 1975 in Vulcan comic.
An abridged version was reprinted in 1978 in The Trigan Empire (Hamlyn/Chartwell).
It was reprinted in 2007 in the new series Look and Learn magazine.
It is reprinted in Volume 1 of The Trigan Empire—The Collection (the Don Lawrence Collection).
It is reprinted in Volume 1 of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire (Rebellion).
Plot summary
In the swamps of Florida, a spaceship crashes. The spaceship withstands the impact, but the crew is found dead. Onboard is a collection of books containing the chronicles of the Trigan Empire. Scholars study the spaceship, its fuel, and the books. The medical world examines the deceased, who are large men of about four meters tall. Everything remains incomprehensible for a long time, but Richard Peter Haddon spends his life deciphering the books. At the age of seventy, he finds the key and translates the books with the help of a computer.
Billions of miles from Earth is the star Yarna, with a planet named Elekton that has five large continents. The most important continent is Victris, with five countries: Loka, Tharv, Vorg, Cato, and Daveli. In Vorg, a group of nomads led by the triplet brothers Brag, Klud, and Trigo wanders. Trigo dreams of building a great city, which Klud finds absurd. The nomads are attacked by planes from Loka and suffer heavy losses. Trigo uses this as an argument to start building the city for defense against Loka. They begin with a city wall, but it keeps collapsing.
In Byzan, Loka’s capital, King Zorth decides to attack Tharv. Tharv’s capital, the most beautiful on the planet, built by Peric, a great architect, is bombed. Peric is buried under the debris but is saved by his slave, a Zolt. The Zolt takes Peric and his daughter Salvia to safety in the wilderness of Vorg. Klud sees the refugees arriving and wants to drive them away, including Peric, due to food shortages. When the Zolt tries to prevent this, Klud attacks him. Klud wins but is stopped from killing the Zolt by Trigo, who knows Peric by reputation and asks for his help in building the city.
Meanwhile, Zorth has conquered Tharv and now attacks Cato. Cato’s air force, defending their capital built against a mountain, defeats Loka’s air force. Zorth also sends his army, but by blowing up a large dam, the plains are flooded, destroying Loka’s army.
In Vorg, a struggle for leadership breaks out. The people must choose one of the three brothers as leader. Therefore, Klud tries to kill Trigo with a poisoned knife. The Zolt saves Trigo. According to the law, the brothers must fight to the death. Klud with only the murder weapon, Trigo fully armed. Trigo wins but is poisoned by the knife. Klud escapes and joins Zorth, who gives him six planes to conquer Vorg. Klud first sends paratroopers to Vorg. Brag defeats them by capturing a heat projectile cannon. Unaware of this, Klud lands and is then attacked by Brag, who wins the fight. Klud dies in the battle. Zorth attacks Cato with his last weapon, his fleet. Trigo, saved by Salvia’s medical knowledge, uses the planes to destroy Zorth’s fleet. Thus, they continue building the city of Trigan City.
Links
https://www.slideshare.net/luisnarbona/01-victory-for-the-trigans-10048180
https://www.scribd.com/document/323070194/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-the-Trigan-Empire
Comicweb (Dutch)
Plot summary at Nitcentral’s Bulletin Brash Reflections on The Trigan Empire
https://mobile.twitter.com/Scott_CitC/status/1477727501736681479
Downloads
MediaFire via British Comics Compilations