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| Copyright REBELLION |
I bought the above book in the early '80s ('81 or '82) from John Menzies in Glasgow's Buchanan Street. Published in '78, I'd seen it over the years at various times in different places, but it'd never previously called out to me to purchase it.
Not sure why as it's a handsome tome, so I guess I wasn't really a fan of The Trigan Empire, despite the impressive art of Don Lawrence. (I wasn't too keen on some of his aircraft designs though.) Or maybe it was because I'd already read the initial strips when they'd been reprinted in Vulcan around the mid-'70s and didn't feel compelled to own them again. What changed my thinking that day I don't know; perhaps I just had money to spend and the book was in the right place at the right time - and at the right price. I say that because, although I couldn't swear to it, it may've been reduced.
Anyway, one day during an idle chat with an acquaintance, he expressed his love for the strip and when I mentioned owning this book, he offered to buy it. Unusually for me I agreed, and we arranged for me to visit him on the coming Sunday and pass the volume into his hands for a paltry sum, probably less than I'd paid for it. On the appointed day I chapped his door and was met with no response despite repeated attempts, so I took the book home and have had it ever since. When I eventually ran into him some time later, he said he'd been in but hadn't heard me at the door. "Tough luck," I thought, "too late!" - he'd had his chance to buy it and wasn't getting another. (And he'd have had to be dead not to hear me knocking).
Anyway, fairly recently I learned there'd been an earlier incarnation of the book in the form of The Look and Learn Book of The Trigan Empire, published by IPC in 1973 (for '74), and I managed to track one down a few days ago, which arrived at Castel Crivens yesterday (Friday). It has only the first two stories of the Hamlyn edition's seven, though the latter has used the same proofs or negs as the former in regard to those two particular adventures. I bought it mainly for the cover, which I think is better than its later counterpart. Which one do you prefer?
So I now have five editions of Trigan Empire reprints, the two already mentioned, a tabloid-sized hardback by Hawk Books, two Rebellion volumes, plus a 48 issue part-work of Look and Learn which reprinted the strip exactly as it had first appeared in Ranger Magazine. I believe there are two more volumes due from Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics imprint, and you can be sure I'll be adding them to my collection when they appear in the not too distant future.
Y'know, being able to read stories I didn't see as a kid is like returning to the '60s and catching up with what I missed at the time; almost like hitting a rewind button and reliving my early years and experiencing what I could've and should've but somehow didn't - expanding my childhood so to speak. It's difficult to put into words, but I'm sure you're all clever enough to catch what I'm trying to say.
Anyway, forgive my self-indulgent nonsense. It's really just an excuse to show off my new acquisition and remind you all that you too have a chance of experiencing what you may have missed first time around, and to encourage you to consider buying Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics collected editions of one of Britain's most popular strips from the '60s. Whether you've seen these strips before or not, you're bound to enjoy having them in your collection to dip into whenever the fancy takes you.
Go on - treat yourself today!
******
(Update: Sharp-eyed readers will notice a few minor changes to the above text since first posted. That's because, last night, I typed out and published a first version, only for it to disappear into limbo when I attempted to correct a typo moments later. An email then appeared in my Spam inbox, saying that the post had been deleted because it contravened Blogger community guidelines content policy, and that I should click an enclosed link if I wished to appeal the decision.
However, heading that email was a warning saying that the link was known to steal information and it was dangerous to respond to it. I therefore deleted the email and rewrote the post from memory, but I've just noticed a new email in my inbox [not Spam] saying that after re-evaluating my original post, it's been restored to my drafts file. I've therefore taken the opportunity to restore some of the original text because I preferred it. Must've been the word 'Empire', eh?)
Below is the very first Trigan tale as it appeared in Ranger, and reprinted in a 'new' Look and Learn part-work series a few years ago. Below that is the cover of the tabloid-sized volume published by Hawk Books in 1989.
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