I stumbled across a copy of the Trigan Empire someone had scanned and posted online (I rather suspect its's not there anymore) and read some of it on my computer screen while I was living abroad. It is, indeed, stunningly and resolutely non-PC, so much so I began to feel a bit uncomfortable despite otherwise warm memories. Still, yeah, seminal influence and all that. I remember reading it in Look and Learn, and Trigan Empire being the primary if not indeed the only reason for purchasing that magazine.
Ah, the Trigan Empire! I too had that collection and remember much childish sniggering with friends over the speculated length of the Trigan willy.But sfnally speaking it was Countdown that did it for me, introducing me to sf and spinoffery and space opera all at once. Countdown was 90% reprints from TV21, which I didnroducing me to sf and spinoffery and space opera all at once. Countdown was 90% reprints from TV21, which I didn<'t know at the time, plus a Dr Who strip and the one original item - the titular Countdown strip which was darker and edgier than anything Gerry Anderson could do. Eight years before Blakee's 7, the crew of an alien-enhanced starship fight an evil Earth dictatorship, with spaceship designs borrowed from 2001. Happy days.
The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire, later called simply The Trigan Empire was a science fiction comic series written mainly by Mike Butterworth and most notably drawn by Don Lawrence. It told the story of an alien culture that contained an educational blend of science and Earth-like ancient civilizations.[1]
It initially ran from 1965 to 1982, dealing with the long-past events of an empire on the distant planet of Elekton. Heavily influenced by mythological tale, a number of the societies seemed to be based on ancient cultures that had existed in history. Chief among these was the Trigan Empire, apparently modelled on the Roman empire. This similarity even extended to Trigan City, the capital being built on five hills, in a similar fashion to the seven hills of Rome. The Trigans flew atmosphere craft. These vessels were like spaceships, but restricted to the atmosphere of the planet of Elekton. The Trigans' clothing was similar to that of the Romans, with many of the populace dressed in Toga-like garments, or in the case of the soldiery, in Roman-style armour.
