Well this is a biggie.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/05/20/rebellion-don-lawrence-trigan-empire-full/ (https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/05/20/rebellion-don-lawrence-trigan-empire-full/)
Have to say after years of coveting this I got hold of an old edition and... well wasn't that impressed. It looked beautiful but just wasn't for me. That said I'm sure there are many who will tell you otherwise.
Excellent news - it's a series that really deserves to be available in a more affordable, widely-available format.
From memory, the most recent editions of The Trigan Empire used scans of the original art rather than scans of the printed comics. Hopefully that will be possible here too. At 300-ish pages, five or six volumes should see the whole saga reprinted too, so with any luck the whole thing will be available again fairly quickly.
I've never hear of this, but a fully colored sci-fi epic spanning several volumes has me more than interested. And that cover is amazing too.
Is this series kind of like Dan Dare?
Looking forward to this, awesome stuff
Quote from: Rogue Judge on 20 May, 2019, 03:19:38 PM
Is this series kind of like Dan Dare?
No, it's the story of a Sci-fi Roman-esque Empire.
Cover for Trigan Empire Volume 1:
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LKgjGgAY0Hw/XOKkT8EjasI/AAAAAAAAkww/2lXWmQX71uAkUI_eOf9KYRS-2UgEeO4pwCLcBGAs/s1600/TRIGAN_EMPIRE.jpg)
Quote from: Pyroxian on 20 May, 2019, 04:31:56 PM
Quote from: Rogue Judge on 20 May, 2019, 03:19:38 PM
Is this series kind of like Dan Dare?
No, it's the story of a Sci-fi Roman-esque Empire.
Thanks, Im sold. Now to wait a year...
I wonder if they'll ever get to the Oli Frey stuff? (I always liked his cover art for computer mags. I wish he'd done more comics.)
Quote from: Colin YNWA on 20 May, 2019, 02:02:22 PM
after years of coveting this I got hold of an old edition and... well wasn't that impressed. It looked beautiful but just wasn't for me.
It's very much a creature of its time. Lawrence's artwork is probably what lifts it more than owt else but its a bit like the early Dare stuff; there are bits that are well worth the trouble but a lot that just isn't. Be nice if Rebellion did it hardback, just not at the sort of prices we've seen in recent years!
If each volume is going to be 300-odd pages, hardback might be unlikely.
Can't speak to the Treasury's decision-making, but my POV would be that The Trigan Empire has been a bit of a niche purchase (a dozen 100-odd-page books at around £45-50 a pop) and while the quality of those releases has been very good, they have naturally had a very limited audience. That's also before you get into the question of the reach that a company like Rebellion has that a publisher like The Don Lawrence Collection doesn't. Ideally you want to serve the audience who were aware of the series but couldn't justify over £500 for a complete collection, as well as a wider audience who you're going to make aware of the series and are looking for an appealing price point (the niche audience who would buy a series of expensive deluxe hardbacks will likely already have done so, after all :) )
The Charley's War paperback collections were around 300 pages each with a RRP of £20, so I would think something like this in a similar format with colour interiors would be a bit more (maybe £30 or so?) but still heading toward a more mass-market pricing. Going that route gets a classic British SF epic back out there in an appealing package and gives the Treasury a showcase release for as many volumes as they commit to (I think four would do the currently-available run from the Don Lawrence Collection, with another couple of volumes seeing the whole series out there).
I'm so in. I've got a folder of pages cut from Look and Learn I've had for decades I can finally retire. The stories are very much of their time and its very similar to Dan Dare in that aspect if not genre. The art elevates it well above where it would be otherwise though. Every page is a joy.
I am so buying this when it comes out. Z
I might buy this and leave it in the bar at a 2000AD convention like I did with the book that Colin have at the 40th...
* makes note to follow Cosh around at next con*
Quote from: I, Cosh on 21 May, 2019, 04:40:00 PM
I might buy this and leave it in the bar at a 2000AD convention like I did with the book that Colin have at the 40th...
I reckon it was that there Rian Hughes...
I'm well up for this! Just saying.
Looking forward to this, especially if the series includes the work that wasn't already reprinted as someone noted earlier, as I have the lavish books from the Don Lawrence collection but would appreciate a collection that I didn't need to treat with kid gloves.
I am also - so up for this - just wish it was sold just before Xmas , instead of having to wait till next year
I am 53 so read the Trigan Empire issues in the 1970's and early 1980's with Look and Learn
= and a lot of the stories have not aged at all , plus the art work was incredible , even when the original artist left due to creator payment issues over sales from abroad , that he was not paid .
It is a just wonderful series that deserves to be more freely available than the very expensive Dutch Hardbacks that were printed a few years ago ( at eye watering prices ) .
Some concept art by maestro Weston for a proposed TV series:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETRcxFVX0AEL6dK?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETRczlkXQAAiHQD?format=jpg&name=medium)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETRc2uhXQAE1kSG?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ETRc4okXYAUc_h9?format=jpg&name=900x900)
Is there some particular reason why Chris Weston isn't one of the most famous comics/concept artists in the world? Did he run over a senior freemasons's cat? Do a half-arsed job on a Rockefeller's driveway?
That bike alone..!
He seems to have plenty of fans in the movie industry, but obscurity is a pitfall of making a living producing art that most people never see.
The article:
https://downthetubes.net/?p=116303 (https://downthetubes.net/?p=116303)
My copy of the HC arrived yesterday.
Gorgeous, as expected.
Mine arrived this morning. I can finally look at retiring my folder of old look and learn clippings. The second vol HB isn't available for pre-order yet is it? I'm going to get paranoid about missing it
Vol. 2 paperback release date is showing as "November", James.
Based on vol. 1, I'm guessing the HC pre-orders will pop up July/August time?
If you're worried about possibly missing it, you can subscribe to Downthetubes and get email alerts!
cheers :)
I have still to receive the Hard Back Edition - my account was charged but the copy has yet to be sent out
for shipping - they received stock , but it doesn't show anything online - I ordered mine from Forbidden Planet
seriously looking forward to reading it - and getting the second edition HB to accompany it
( I read it in the mid to late 1970's )
Quote from: 73north on 21 March, 2020, 11:06:24 PM
seriously looking forward to reading it - and getting the second edition HB to accompany it
Hopefully Rebellion are slowly waking up to the specialised market for HB editions of their books. I'm hoping that the 2nd volume of 13th floor gets the HB treatment as well. I've given up on the prospect of HB editions of the Dredd Casefiles though. :(
I'm still annoyed that they switched to TPB for the rest of the Movie Dreddworld books after the first volume. I get how limited the market is but look at how fast the Nemesis volume shifted last year, and this is a book that has been reprinted I don't know how many times.
Just a belated update - that the HB copy of Triga Empire was just Glorious !
My copy of the limited edition Trigan Empire finally arrived yesterday, a mere five months after the launch date.
Only read the first episode so far, but it's an absolutely gorgeous book regardless of the content. Hopefully be able to sit down and read the first storyline in the next few days.
Makes me sad all over again that the Thrid World War collection wasn't at original size.
Volume 2 hardback seems to be up now and available to order
Has anyone received volume 3 yet? I had a dispatch email last Friday and nothing in today's delivery.
Mine arrived a couple of days ago
Mine too! The three spines look a bit wonky when added together - but otherwise a glorious book!
Arrived today. Good old post office...
Somehow, I totally missed the volume 3 announcement and now it's sold out. How will the poor spines look now with a sad little paperback in there? Bollocks!
I'm the same. I'm looking at the Book Palace who have some listed as well
Quote from: Tjm86 on 25 July, 2021, 06:33:22 PM
I'm the same. I'm looking at the Book Palace who have some listed as well
Cheers. Never heard of these guys before but ordered one from them. Except, the only option for shipping outside the UK is air courier for an additional £35! Oh well, another nice parcel for my mum to keep in the cupboard until whenever the hell they start to have flights back to Scotland.
Quote from: Anthony Garnon on 21 July, 2021, 08:55:11 PM
Mine too! The three spines look a bit wonky when added together - but otherwise a glorious book!
Pics?