Review by Karl Verhoven

Creating new adventures of what’s considered among the greatest of British comic strips is indeed a poisoned chalice, with Rebellion having recently reprinted almost the entire run of The Trigan Empire for readers who didn’t marvel at the grace of Don Lawrence’s art in the 1960s and 1970s. Writer Michael Carroll provides an introduction musing on his childhood love of the original series and how any revival today needs to be different and build on what came before. Does he succeed?

He’s bolstered from the start by having Tom Foster as illustrator. Few artists can match Lawrence, so that’s setting the bar too high, but Foster may one day approach that mastery. Here he seems to be looking more toward Glenn Fabry, also a high standard to aim for, and creates people who’re recognisable individuals. Where he looks more toward Lawrence is with distinctively designed technology avoiding the smoothness of the usual futuristic vision. The least appealing aspect is the blurred colour in unusual shades. It’s intended to create an alien environment, but it’s off-putting.

Carroll’s introduction identifies flaws with the original material and sets about rectifying them early by introducing women to the series. As his starting point he takes Lord Janno, considerably older than before, wanting to write his own history of the Trigan Empire, aiming for greater honesty. “The standard history texts are replete with errors, omissions, contradictions and fabrications”, Janno notes, “and in places downright lies”. That’s Carroll’s proper starting point.

Thankfully, Carroll’s not on a continuity nitpicking exercise, although there are elements of that, but he’s more concerned with broadening a world from a narrow viewpoint. It emerges very slowly, though. In the 1960s Mike Butterworth only had two pages a week to fill, so the action came rapidly. Here diplomacy and explanation fill the pages, and any bursts of action are brief until halfway through, when the plot properly kicks in. Even then, apologising for the past continues and Carroll heads too far in the other direction by having the visiting women possess the only brains among the gentry of Hericon.

New Adventures From the Trigan Empire is better than average, but it misses the wood for the trees. Carroll’s introduction was right in noting any revival should build on the past, but he spends too long trying to rectify the faults instead of focussing on the feature’s enthralling action.