Review by Frank Plowright

These stories originally serialised between 1977 and 1979 have never previously been reprinted, because the primary interest in The Trigan Empire is the art of Don Lawrence, and by the end of 1977 he was no longer the artist. However, Lawrence’s excellence can devalue the feature’s creator Mike Butterworth, whose contribution wasn’t as consistent overall, but who could surprise and startle when on form. Unfortunately, though, he doesn’t hit that form with his final stories here.

A compromised opener seems designed to supply artist Oliver Frey with disaster after disaster to draw, which supplies visual impact at the cost of repetition. Butterworth serves up the true culprit early, then coasts, meaning an ironic ending is wasted. Nor does Frey make the most of the opportunities the plots demand, as the sample art shows. He’s a good artist on the wrong feature.

The best Butterworth and Frey supply is ‘The Curse of Zonn’ in which an ancient menace appears to have a new form. Frey’s design is imaginative and the plot is taut from start to finish. It’s only the best in isolation, though, as three of Butteworth’s five contributions feature rampaging mechanical devices.

If Butterworth’s final stories lack inspiration, so does the subsequent 75% of the content, which is the work of Ken Roscoe and Gerry Wood. Roscoe’s first plots are compressed echoes of earlier stories, but never quite selling the premise of an underground civilisation or a space robbery. Dialogue is stiff, formal and unconvincing, technological leaps are introduced from nowhere and Roscoe flits from threat to threat in a way that overwhelms when weekly episodes are collected together. He does briefly use a woman as a supporting character, the first the series has featured for years, and restores Trigo to a primary role, but is very keen on his new investigator Brinka in preference to long-running cast members.

Wood was primarily an illustrator, and takes some time coming to terms with the needs of comics. His first strips are poorly laid out, with packed panels and weak storytelling, but he gradually absorbs the necessities, and while anyone’s going to come second best compared with Lawrence, his work from 1979 has improved. His figures always remain posed, but the designs have the necessary spectacle and there’s space for the characters to breathe within the panels.

Roscoe and Wood’s best is ‘Voyage of the Perici’ in which Trigo’s advisor and chief scientist Peric can’t resist the temptation of being part of a new submarine’s first mission. It’s clever story in an enclosed environment, and although the dialogue is poor and the figures stiff, the threat transmits well.

‘The Poisoning of Trigo’s Youth’ is the longest story, and flows well in isolation, but recycles too many plot elements from earlier stories in the latest Lokan plot to undermine Trigo.

While it’s good to see the strips available again after so long, most of this volume is ordinary at best, and frequently uninspired, meaning it’s for completists only.