Torkan
Torkan is a heroic fantasy comic strip written and illustrated by Roger Fletcher. The strip debuted in June 1976 in the Sunday Telegraph[1] and has appeared continuously in the paper to the present day, with over seventy stories having been published.
During the early 1970s, Fletcher began developing a comic strip about an Australian soldier-of-fortune, titled Nathan Cole—until he was introduced to the world of sword and sorcery by science-fiction writer Fritz Leiber that would have a profound impact on his future. In particular, the pair of characters called Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser influenced Fletcher greatly.
Fletcher worked on a fantasy comic strip called Orn the Eagle Warrior in 1974, but the strip received no attention from publishers. Fletcher subsequently started drawing Torkan.[2]
Torkan continues to win new generations of readers; something which Fletcher believes is attributable to the character's enduring appeal. Fletcher claims; "the paradigm for heroic adventure was first written in the Bible, as David and Goliath. Whether it's in Arthurian legend or Harry Potter, the paradigm itself doesn't change much - but fashions do change."
Levels of violence in the stories have dropped since the strip's early years.
Sources
- ↑ "Torkan". Feature Library. Auspac Media. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ↑ Patrick, Kevin. "Fletcher's Twin Triumphs". Comics Down Under.