Luc Orient is the hero of a science fiction comic series, created in 1966 by Greg (pseudonym of Michel Regnier), writer, and Eddy Paape, artist. It belongs to the rich family of Franco-Belgian comics.
Synopsis
Luc Orient, professor Hugo Kala from Eurocristal laboratory, and his girl-friend Lora, share several adventures involving aliens (from planet Terango) and scientific mysteries. The entire serie is made of a set of 18 episodes published across a few decades, from the end of '70s to the end of '90s: despite this limited number of issues and an initial resemblance with the adventures of Flash Gordon, character had a good success in many European countries, where a small fan community is still alive.
While the first album seems to simply introduce the French-speaking counterpart of the adventures of Flash Gordon (sharing with it the brilliant scientist, the hero and the beautiful girl-friend), stories quickly become original and fresh and, while aimed to young readers, are filled with intriguing ideas attracting a more mature audience.
At the beginning, the trio discovers a stranded spaceship with an hibernated crew of aliens: the arrival of professor Kala gives again hope with the survivors of the people of Terango (Episodes 1-2). They then travel to Terango to thwart the evil tyrant Sectan who plots to invade Earth (Episodes 3-5). Subsequent adventures involve a series of scientific mysteries. Luc and Lora even acquire super-powers in Episode 6.
The first 7 albums are very representative of the entire series, and they are also known as the "Cycle of Terango". The others are unequal, kinds of compromise between Flash Gordon and Bob Morane. The drawing is very traditional (Belgian school), then Paape tried to modernize its drawing, not very successfully.
Les Spores de Nulle Part [The Spores From Nowhere] ("Tintin Pocket" 1970; collected 1990)
Rendez-Vous à 20 Heures en Enfer [Rendezvous At 20:00 In Hell] (1994)
Publishing History
Luc Orient was originally serialized in the weekly comic magazine "Tintin" starting in 1966. It was one of the many series simultaneously launched by its then-editor Greg to give the magazine a needed facelift. Luc Orient's adventures were then collected as a series of graphic novels by Editions du Lombard, starting in 1969.
The series continued regularly with one or two volumes per year until Episode 13 released in 1978. After "Tintin" cancellation in 1978 (following several name changes), the later episodes were released sporadically.
Episode 16 was written by Paape himself. Episode 17 was not a single new story but a collection of short stories previously published in the digest-sized "Tintin Pocket" in the early 1970s and reformatted for graphic novel publication. Episode 18, released in 1994, seems to be the last in the series.
