REBELLION'S THE TRIGAN EMPIRE...

Copyright REBELLION

Another book I received today was REBELLION's 300-plus pages collected edition of The TRIGAN EMPIRE, the first of four volumes.  I'd read somewhere that the pages were scanned from DON LAWRENCE's original art, but that appears to be only partially true, going from the difference in the clarity of reproduction on various pages.  It's also been completely relettered, in a more comic strip style computer font, as opposed to the original typeset upper and lower case speech balloons and captions.  That I can live with.

However, if you have this book, compare the first two strip pages with the ones below, scanned from a limited edition series of LOOK & LEARN, which reprinted RANGER's iconic strip as it originally appeared.  I can't open the new volume wide enough to scan without risking damage to the spine, otherwise I'd show you the difference myself, but these particular two pages aren't as good in the Rebellion book as they are here.  (Especially the second panel on the first tier of page 2.)

Don Lawrence's art is impressive, and it's really on the art that the reputation of this series rests, because the stories are nothing brilliant - they merely exist to give Don something to draw.  I'm not saying they're bad, merely serviceable, and I'm not sure that any plot could ever be described as a classic, but this is still a book worth having just to linger lovingly over the illustrations.  And when the pages are scanned from the original artwork, the quality is impressive, but it's just a shame that all the pages couldn't be reproduced this way.

However, it's at an affordable price (£19.99), and if you're a fan of British comic strips from yesteryear, you'd be mad to let this one escape you.  Available direct from Rebellion's website and all good book and comics shops.  

Posted in: Cartoons