Thorgal is a science fantasy adventure series created in the Franco-Belgian bandes dessinées (BD) tradition by Belgian writer Jean Van Hamme and Polish graphic artist Grzegorz Rosiński. Debuting in 1977, it has incorporated elements of Norse mythology and the legend of Atlantis, as well as science fiction and horror.
In 2002, it was adapted as an adventure video game, Thorgal: Curse of Atlantis, by Cryo Interactive Entertainment.
Development The comic first appeared in serial form in Tintin magazine in 1977, with the story La Magicienne Trahie. Originally a stand-alone 30-page project, its early success encouraged turning it into a longer series.
It has subsequently been published in hardcover volumes by Le Lombard from 1980 on. Translations have appeared in among others, English, Dutch, German, Polish, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Tamil and Greek.; includes other language editions.
Covers for all comic albums are drawn by Rosiński, even for the spin-off albums which sometimes are drawn by other artists.
Reception and significance Thorgal is critically acclaimed and one of the most popular French language BDs, with more than 11 million Thorgal books in print. There are currently three ongoing successful spin-off series, in addition to the continuation of the main Thorgal series.
It has been called the most popular series published by Le Lombard.
D. Aviva Rothschild in her 1995 book Graphic Novels: A Bibliographic Guide to Book-length Comics praised the series, stating that it is "better than an American swords-and-sorcery comic" when it comes to both art and stories. Commenting on The Archers volume, Rothschild described it as "one of the finest pieces of heroic fantasy I have ever set my eyes on".
The series has also been credited with popularizing the BD in Poland.
Main characters
Thorgal Aegirsson: Son of Varth and Haynee, grandson of Xargos – a captain of a spaceship on a way to Earth in search of energy. He is raised by Vikings after his ship crash-lands. He possesses character traits and morality that many Vikings consider a sign of weakness. Thorgal is still a courageous and skillful warrior and an archer of phenomenal skill. His life's goal is to find a place for his family to live in peace. For a time, he is stripped of his memory, and becomes the pirate lord Shaigan, though his compassion remained unaltered. Aaricia: Thorgal's wife and the daughter of Gandalf the Mad, a Viking leader. She is bound to Thorgal from the moment of her birth by a magic object named Tjahzi's Tears. Aaricia is a spirited and strong-willed woman, who loves her family dearly despite all the mishaps Thorgal's fate brings to their lives. Jolan: Thorgal's son. He possesses supernatural powers as the heritage of Thorgal's mysterious ancestry. For most of the series his power is limited to molecular agitation (usually the ability to disintegrate objects). He gradually learns to hone his ability. Louve: Thorgal and Aaricia's daughter, who has the ability to communicate with animals. Kriss of Valnor: A young, beautiful, unscrupulous and deadly warrior, and also a skilled archer. She first appears in Les Archers, and then intermittently in the following stories. She is in some ways Thorgal's greatest nemesis, and repeatedly tries to hurt him and his family, but occasionally shows hints of admiration and even secret love for Thorgal. When Thorgal loses his memory, she tricks him into believing that they are married, and convinces Thorgal that he is the ruthless pirate lord Shaigan. She becomes pregnant with his son Aniel, whom her father Kahaniel of Valnor wished to reincarnate himself, but Thorgal eventually regains his memory and leaves to find his true family. Later, she ends up as a slave in Byzantium and apparently sacrifices her life to help Thorgal's family escape from the same slave pits, but is later revealed to be alive and queen in the northern lands. Aniel: the young son of Thorgal and Kriss of Valnor, conceived while Thorgal lived as the pirate lord Shaigan. He and his mother fall prey to Byzantian slavers, and his vocal cords are cut to forestall crying, leaving him mute. Later, Kriss and Aniel escape the slave pits with Aaricia, Jolan and Louve, who had also been brought there. When Kriss is wounded by her pursuers and prepared to make her last stand, she asks Aaricia to take care of Aniel. Aaricia agrees and takes Aniel in as one of her own children. Aniel is later kidnapped to serve as a host body for Kahlim, grand master of the Red Mages of the oriental city of Bag Dadh (Le Feu écarlate). With the help of Armenos the Mage, both Kahaniel and Kahlim are exorcised from him, but having become hateful of Thorgal, he leaves with his mother.
Other characters Ogotai (also known as Varth): the war-loving, merciless "god" brought by the sea into the land of Qâ (a presumably South American pre-Columbian civilization). He leads his people into countless conquests of the neighboring tribes and orders endless human sacrifices to himself. He has superior intelligence, knowledge of highly advanced technology, and supernatural powers, which he uses to trick people into believing he is a true god. In reality, he is a grief-stricken, crazed man, driven by the vengeance against the planet he believes responsible for the death of his beloved wife and son. Tanatloc (also known as Xargos): another "god" living in the land of Qâ. He is the nemesis of Ogotai, with whom he shares a secret past. He is kept hidden from his people. Darek and Lehla: brother and sister children of banished Vikings who met Aaricia and her family after they had been banished from their village following Shaigan's raids against their people. They joined Thorgal and his family on their journey, but after a few adventures they decided to stay behind on an island Thorgal and Louve had just liberated from a tyrant (Arachneà). However, Lehla later turns up a slave in the northern lands, where she is liberated by Thorgal and taken along for his search for Aniel (Le bateau-sabre). They later recover Darek from slavery in the jungle kingdom of Zhari (Aniel), and they subsequently join Thorgal's extended family. The Key Guardian: a powerful magician, who is (or maybe just assumes the form of) a beautiful woman. The gods have entrusted her with the task of guarding the passages between worlds. She walks between the worlds, wearing nothing but a golden girdle that grants her powers and immortality. She has (like many other female characters appearing in the series) a crush on Thorgal, but she respects his loyalty to his family. Because of her love, she is eventually dismissed as a Guardian, cast out into the mortal world, and adopts the name Cleo (Louve #6: "La Reine des Alfes noirs"). Tjall (called by some people Tjall-The-Fiery): the young, hot-headed nephew of Treefoot and friend of Thorgal. An excellent archer with a good heart and a silly mind, who has a crush on Kriss. He later dies while accompanying Thorgal to the City of the Lost God (La Cité du Dieu Perdu), saving him from a raging mob. Argun Treefoot: He's uncle of Tjall. He's a warrior past his prime and with a pegleg, but still an exceptional archer and bowmaker. One of Thorgal's few friends. Solveig: she is a Viking who is the best friend of Aaricia. Devoted friend she will help the family Aegirsson. Shaniah: a teenage girl from a village enamored in the adult and married Thorgal. Out of jealousy she causes a great tragedy in Thorgal's life, but later redeems herself by giving her own life to save Aaricia. Gandalf the Mad: Aaricia's father and king of the Vikings of the North. He became the leader of his tribe after Thorgal's adoptive father's death. Greedy, cruel and mad, he makes repeated attempts at Thorgal's life, whom he perceives a threat to the legitimacy of his own rule. Tiago and Ileniya: brother and sister descendants of a group of space-farers who had landed on Midgard and formed the fabled kingdom of Atlantis. They foiled their elders' plan to enslave the world and travelled together with Thorgal and his family. Soon afterwards, however, they were all taken as slaves to a Byzantinian governor and his sadistic son Heraclius, who made Ilyena his personal 'pet". When Tiago tried to stop Heraclius from abusing his sister, the nobleman murdered him; in revenge, Ileniya killed Heraclius later on and, facing imminent death, joined her brother by throwing herself off a cliff. Snake Nidhogg: a powerful, mythological monster creature, which Thorgal dared to go against in his youth with the help of the goddess Frigg. Based on Níðhöggr from Norse mythology. Volsung of Nichor: A cunning, treacherous schemer. He first appears as Thorgal's competitor in Three Elders of Aran, but apparently dies in the tests they have to face. Actually, Nidhogg saves him to be her servant; his mission is to gain the Girdle of Immortality from the Guardian of the Keys. For betraying her, she transforms Volsung into a toad and keeps him with her trapped in the neverness. Muff: A dog that belongs to Jolan & Louve. He appears for the last time in "The Blue Sickness", when he stayed on the island of Our Ground, together with Darek de Svear and his sister Lehla, because he was too old to travel any further. Alinoë: Appeared in the volume of the same name as a violent, primitive boy with green hair, later revealed to be part of Jolan's imagination. He vanished when Jolan's mysterious bracelet was removed by Thorgal. Manthor: a Viking Half-God who cures Thorgal in "Sacrifice". He is the son of Kahaniel of Valnor and the half-brother of Kriss of Valnor. Vigrid: One of the lesser Gods of Asgard who is indebted towards Aaricia for having helped him after having gone blind. He repays this debt by helping her husband reach Manthor and bringing her back to her ancestral home. However, his love for Aaricia eventually made him abandon a task set by the gods, compelling Frigg to banish him from Asgard to Svartalfheim (Louve #5: "Skald"). However, he finally earns his eventual pardon by taking the recalcitrant Niddhog's destined place as the guardian of Yggdrasil (Louve #7: "Niddhog"). The Kingdom of Zhar (first featured in Le Mal Bleu) Zarkaj and Zajkar: The twin princes of Zhar. To avoid dynastic disputes, Zajkar was chosen to be killed right after birth, but survived and was taken in by the Myrms. After growing to manhood, and with Thorgal's help, he reclaims his rightful place and reconciles with his brother, with whom he rules the realm as a diarchy. Armenos: A reclusive mage and inventor. He first saves Thorgal and his family from the Blue Death disease, and later Aniel from his dual possession (Aniel). Zim: A member of the Myrms, Zharians afflicted with dwarfism and made outcast swamp-dwellers. Zim falls in love with Thorgal upon his first visit, but respects his faithfulness to his family. When Thorgal returns to Zhar after completing his search for Aniel, Zim loses her life in the last decisive battle against a horde of Amazons. Gilli and Ava: The children of Grimur from the village of Mikladalur, a henchman of the sysselmann of Kalsoy. While Gilli is a normal human boy, Ava is half selkie, the result of Grimur having captured himself one of the seal-folk as his wife. When Grimur kidnapped Louve to rear her as a new wife, Thorgar and Jolan went to her rescue, which set off a chain of events which lifted a curse bestowed on the islanders by the selkies; Grimur is killed in an uprising against the tyrannical sysselmann, while Ava's mother recovers her pelt and returns into the sea. With their parents gone, the two children are taken in as part of Thorgal's family (La selkie).
Fictional character biography