When, towards the middle of the sixth century AD, the Gothic historian Jordanes wrote in the Latin Getica , that is to say, the History of the Goths , he never suspected without doubt that his book would starting point for a comic science fiction published in the 2000s.
And yet it is an entity of this kind that a friend introduced me a few years ago, fully prepared: The Scourge of the gods , Valerie Mangin (the scenario) and Aleksa Gajic ( the drawing), published by Sun between 2000 and 2006. History in a nutshell? The confrontation between the Roman Empire and the Huns led by Attila ... in the distant future, with spaceships and interstellar travel in shambles.
The end of the Roman Empire: quid, what gives?
The end of the Roman Empire was a period that is often poorly known, even when there is a student in classics (and even when one is in preparation). I must say it has the predictable failure to arrive ... at the end and that we tend to focus more on the best of times, as the end of the Republic or the beginnings of the empire, in short, the first and second centuries around AD those of Cicero and "twelve Caesars ".
When you do things seriously, we of course also examines the earliest times: the founding of Rome (Romulus, Remus and their wolf), royalty and how it is abolished (after the rape of chaste Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius the infamous son of king Tarquinius Superbus), or the many conquests by which Rome gradually extended his power. And when you want some nice battles, there is always, for example, the Punic Wars that oppose the formidable Carthage to Rome (it holds especially the first two, in the third century BC.).
short, we do not already short of work, then learn how it all over it ends ... So put away the last centuries of Rome in the practice, but rather vague category of "Late Antiquity", a polite and somewhat contemptuous of designating anything that happens once all that was interesting to do has already happened. And yet, the end of antiquity is an exciting time in all areas.
The problem is that it's a big mess (and "bazaar" is a euphemism).
First, we show images of Epinal, a Rome weakened and decadent plundered by barbarians, but this is much more complicated. Over the centuries, the Roman Empire became immense, and he embraced and assimilated a variety of populations.
In 212, Emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all freemen of the empire who were not yet citizens: it puts an end to so many differences in status (particularly in terms of taxation and military service) who existed so far in the various provinces. This is the great strength of Rome from the Greek cities that giving foreigners the opportunity to fully integrate into the empire, the Greeks, for their part, refuse to grant citizenship in general that at dropper.
short, keep in mind that the opposition "Romans vs. barbarians" is not nearly as clear-cut: in fact, many "barbarians" had become Roman, and vice versa Roman culture was all but sealed the multiple influences local cultures of the provinces.
Image: amethyst intaglio representing Caracalla, 212 AD. JC, Sainte Chapelle, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons .
This belief Cloven, let's review the events. You should know that the Roman Empire, partly because of its vastness, eventually divide. The Emperor Diocletian is the first to have the idea with the system of tetrarchy, established in 285: he divided the empire in four of his subordinates, two August themselves assisted by two Caesars, in the hope of facilitate the defense of borders. Unfortunately this does not work well and the succession of Diocletian is particularly troubled because his former assistants are fighting the empire. The unit cost of power from Constantine and lasts until the reign of Theodosius (which definitely makes Christianity the official religion of the empire). But the death of Theodosius in 395, the empire is divided permanently into two: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire.
When talking about the end of the Roman Empire, it is the Western Roman Empire, which is generally dated to 476 the disappearance, when the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, was introduced by Odoacer, a Teuton, who commanded the Imperial Guard. This date is also used to mark the end of antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The Eastern Roman Empire, it is still powerful (proof: Odoacer, just after he was proclaimed king, swore allegiance to the emperor of the East) and it lasts much longer, since it becomes then the Byzantine Empire, which does not disappear until the fall of Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453. This date is also used to mark the end of ... Middle Ages.
The Scourge of the Gods: the Roman Empire in the Galactic Orbis
If you've read this far, you have looked forward to spacecrafts. One minute it happens!
Now to the episode in the history of Rome, which inspired more precisely The Scourge of the gods. Much is known about Attila the Hun leader, nicknamed "the Scourge of God", by Christian tradition, as opposed to the "City of God" par excellence had become Rome. Less is known of the great adversary of Attila, Flavius Aetius, chief of the legions of the emperor at the time, Valentinian III. Yet Aetius who wins one of the last great Roman military victories, pushing Attila in 451 during the battle known as the Champs Catalaunian, which takes place in Gaul, somewhere in the vicinity of Troyes. The Getica Jordan, I mentioned at the beginning, are one of our sources on this. This battle, which resulted in the nineteenth century all sorts of exaggerations on "civilization vs.. Barbarity", is less known today. In ancient history, Attila died two years later, in 453, not without having made Rome tremble.
Image: Cover the full Scourge of the gods, by Aleksa Gajic. Source: site CAG
In The Scourge of the gods, the story is set in a futuristic Roman Empire, the Galactic Orbis, whose power extends over the entire galaxy ( orbis orbis terrarum or "disc of the earth" in Latin means the world). The main elements of ancient history are transposed to more large scale in most cities of the empire, such as Ravenna (where Valentinian III established his capital), Sirmium (hometown of Aetius) and of course Rome, become planets. Rome is other than Earth, and the seven hills in September .. moons embedded in the earth, where they form huge continents raised. This gives you an idea of the enormous scale of the story!
The cartoon obviously takes liberties with ancient history. Thus the Romans were not Christians, but still honor the pagan gods, and Aetius becomes a woman, Flavia AETI. But the story is far to be a simple transposition space opera battles Attila. First, because qu'Aetia discovered the incarnation of a goddess of war hun, Kerka (fictitious, as far as I know: the true pantheon hun does not look very well known). Then because Attila and Flavia AETI eventually discover a very old book which is nothing but ... the Getica Jordan. Therefore, they realize that there existed another Roman Empire thousands of years earlier, and that their own fate seems doomed to replay that of Attila and Aetius ancient. The two enemies are drawn to ally, and to discover that they are merely pawns in a plot much larger when other forces are at work. For centuries, the Orbis Galactic has turned into a fixed society, where any force for technological innovation is forbidden and nothing seems to have to move, but things are about to change.
I can not say much more without spoiling the fun of reading. But this comic is in my opinion a great success.
She must in large part to the scenario of Valerie Mangin, original and impeccably constructed. Original, because if the theme of the transposition of ancient science fiction is not new (it is likely that the writer grew up when going on television Ulysses 31, the Franco-Japanese anime series Jean Chalopin, which transposes travel Odysseus XXXI century), it was mainly operated in the field of Greek mythology, but less, to my knowledge, Roman history, and also not so developed. Impeccably constructed a scenario, especially because the twists are linked Volume in the Volume over a plot with the ins and outs appear gradually, gradually gaining momentum. We feel that all was prepared entirely in advance, and the consistency of the six-volume history is very clear once play is complete.
But the aspect graph itself is comparable in quality to the script. Illustrations by Aleksa Gajic immediately plunge the reader into the dark and majestic in the galactic Orbis, whose costumes and architecture inspired blend ancient and futuristic elements, and the alliance between the design and realistic colors watercolor gives a very good result. Gajic control moods easily visible colors, lights and contrasts, and the "development box" of the story regularly gives rise to an impressive wide shots which give to see the enormity of this universe, without sacrificing the progression of the plot or leave a feeling of emptiness at the end of a tome.
I really do not have reservations, saying simply that he must love science fiction a bit dark and not be afraid to follow a horde of bloodthirsty Huns. We must also trust the story, including the issues and characters evolve much over the volumes.
Other series: The Last Trojan War and gods
Antiquity is an inspiration to almost inexhaustible, and the concept of the Orbis Galaxy was too good for that it is confined to a single series. Valérie Mangin has therefore created others in the same universe, the whole series forms a ring called "Chronicles of Ancient Galactic. These series are conducted before The Scourge of the gods , which stands at the end of the fictional chronology: they therefore form prequels that tell the origins of Orbis.
The Last Trojan, written by Valérie Mangin and designed by Thierry Demarez and published between 2004 and 2008, tells the story of Aeneas, prince of Troy and survivor of the war after the capture of the city by the Achaeans , to lead the Trojan survivors to another country (another planet) where they can build a new Troy.
Image: Cover of Volume One of the Last Trojans . Source: GAC site
Mangin inspired by either of the story, but Roman myth, that of the Trojan origin of Rome. A myth political and literary, as it was coined by the Romans to raise the prestige of their city, and particularly by the first emperor, Augustus (ist century BC., so), which the poet found the ideal person Virgil, who tells the epic of Aeneas in the Aeneid . After the fall of Troy, Aeneas wanders on the seas and eventually settled in Italy, where his distant descendants, Romulus and Remus founded Rome. The epic is Virgil's imperial propaganda in many ways, including training and a flattering portrait of Aeneas. Indeed, Augustus, grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, as he belonged to the people Iulia, an old Roman family which had always claimed descent from lulus, the son of Aeneas, more commonly called Ascanius. During his adventures, Aeneas descended to the Underworld, is also predicting the future glory of Rome and the deeds of Augustus ... This bias
policy does not preclude the Aeneid to be a masterpiece of Latin poetry and a source of delight for all lovers of mythology, and one of the best continuations of the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, which also draws Valérie Mangin here. In fact, Aeneas, during his journey, meets Lotophagi example, an episode that does not appear in the Aeneid of Virgil, but is directly inspired by the Odyssey .
I can not speak in more detail in this series, so I only read the first two volumes long ago. I remember being less excited than The Scourge of the gods . On the one hand because the drawing of Demar, including its colors, I liked least (but it is true that it is difficult to arrive after Gajic). On the other hand, because the scenario seemed less controlled and seemed to leave a little in every sense ... but we should see what looks like the result, now that the whole series was published. Incidentally, I'm still more ticklish on adaptations of Greek myths, so I'm not really neutral on the subject!
The first volume of a third series, The War of the Gods always written by Mangin and designed by Dean Yazghi this time, was released in February 2010. This time we are in Greek area, because the story is set during the siege of Troy and the main character Odysseus: The series takes place in the "first" antiquity, long before the founding of the Empire Roman Galactic. I have not read this series yet I am content, therefore, to note its existence.
Palaeography futuroscope
Overall, although there is concern that overuse of the vein would be detrimental to the quality of comics (as in other series from Sun, for example Lanfeust Troy), the principle of this series is eminently likeable, especially since the authors do not lose an opportunity to discuss their work on the ancient literature. The site series is well done in this respect: he speaks not only of the universe in the series, but also his sources of inspiration, detailing what items were taken or adapted. Valérie Mangin also includes some volumes of appendices explaining the relationship between its ancient sources and the universe it develops.
Image library in the world of Chronicles of Ancient Galactic . Source: site CAG
But really, what was the point of the writer? As stated on its website , she went through the preparatory classes before taking the competitive School Charters and to obtain, through Charters thesis, a diploma paleographer archivist. She then turned to the cartoon scenario, a choice that other Chartists had done before her, for example Franck Giroud, screenwriter of the Decalogue .
School Charters is school choice for historians of the Middle Ages, because it teaches palaeography, that is to say, the study of medieval manuscripts, as she prepares to contest the heritage, which can work in libraries, museums and national archives (areas unknown to the general public, but extremely interesting). But this school Hideout is THE best Latin scholars as one of the events of the entrance is a free version of Latin dictionary, which is enough to make you scream in horror most people but was not feasible (and it requires to master its vocabulary: useful when you need to read pages written in Latin script in a small weird).
Morality? Interest in ancient and medieval manuscripts never stopped loving science fiction or comic book writer to finish. Not so sterile it, dead languages ...
When you do things seriously, we of course also examines the earliest times: the founding of Rome (Romulus, Remus and their wolf), royalty and how it is abolished (after the rape of chaste Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius the infamous son of king Tarquinius Superbus), or the many conquests by which Rome gradually extended his power. And when you want some nice battles, there is always, for example, the Punic Wars that oppose the formidable Carthage to Rome (it holds especially the first two, in the third century BC.).
short, we do not already short of work, then learn how it all over it ends ... So put away the last centuries of Rome in the practice, but rather vague category of "Late Antiquity", a polite and somewhat contemptuous of designating anything that happens once all that was interesting to do has already happened. And yet, the end of antiquity is an exciting time in all areas.
The problem is that it's a big mess (and "bazaar" is a euphemism).
First, we show images of Epinal, a Rome weakened and decadent plundered by barbarians, but this is much more complicated. Over the centuries, the Roman Empire became immense, and he embraced and assimilated a variety of populations. In 212, Emperor Caracalla granted Roman citizenship to all freemen of the empire who were not yet citizens: it puts an end to so many differences in status (particularly in terms of taxation and military service) who existed so far in the various provinces. This is the great strength of Rome from the Greek cities that giving foreigners the opportunity to fully integrate into the empire, the Greeks, for their part, refuse to grant citizenship in general that at dropper.
short, keep in mind that the opposition "Romans vs. barbarians" is not nearly as clear-cut: in fact, many "barbarians" had become Roman, and vice versa Roman culture was all but sealed the multiple influences local cultures of the provinces.
Image: amethyst intaglio representing Caracalla, 212 AD. JC, Sainte Chapelle, Paris. Source: Wikimedia Commons .
This belief Cloven, let's review the events. You should know that the Roman Empire, partly because of its vastness, eventually divide. The Emperor Diocletian is the first to have the idea with the system of tetrarchy, established in 285: he divided the empire in four of his subordinates, two August themselves assisted by two Caesars, in the hope of facilitate the defense of borders. Unfortunately this does not work well and the succession of Diocletian is particularly troubled because his former assistants are fighting the empire. The unit cost of power from Constantine and lasts until the reign of Theodosius (which definitely makes Christianity the official religion of the empire). But the death of Theodosius in 395, the empire is divided permanently into two: the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire.
When talking about the end of the Roman Empire, it is the Western Roman Empire, which is generally dated to 476 the disappearance, when the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, was introduced by Odoacer, a Teuton, who commanded the Imperial Guard. This date is also used to mark the end of antiquity and the early Middle Ages. The Eastern Roman Empire, it is still powerful (proof: Odoacer, just after he was proclaimed king, swore allegiance to the emperor of the East) and it lasts much longer, since it becomes then the Byzantine Empire, which does not disappear until the fall of Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans in 1453. This date is also used to mark the end of ... Middle Ages.
The Scourge of the Gods: the Roman Empire in the Galactic Orbis
If you've read this far, you have looked forward to spacecrafts. One minute it happens!
Now to the episode in the history of Rome, which inspired more precisely The Scourge of the gods. Much is known about Attila the Hun leader, nicknamed "the Scourge of God", by Christian tradition, as opposed to the "City of God" par excellence had become Rome. Less is known of the great adversary of Attila, Flavius Aetius, chief of the legions of the emperor at the time, Valentinian III. Yet Aetius who wins one of the last great Roman military victories, pushing Attila in 451 during the battle known as the Champs Catalaunian, which takes place in Gaul, somewhere in the vicinity of Troyes. The Getica Jordan, I mentioned at the beginning, are one of our sources on this. This battle, which resulted in the nineteenth century all sorts of exaggerations on "civilization vs.. Barbarity", is less known today. In ancient history, Attila died two years later, in 453, not without having made Rome tremble. Image: Cover the full Scourge of the gods, by Aleksa Gajic. Source: site CAG
In The Scourge of the gods, the story is set in a futuristic Roman Empire, the Galactic Orbis, whose power extends over the entire galaxy ( orbis orbis terrarum or "disc of the earth" in Latin means the world). The main elements of ancient history are transposed to more large scale in most cities of the empire, such as Ravenna (where Valentinian III established his capital), Sirmium (hometown of Aetius) and of course Rome, become planets. Rome is other than Earth, and the seven hills in September .. moons embedded in the earth, where they form huge continents raised. This gives you an idea of the enormous scale of the story!
The cartoon obviously takes liberties with ancient history. Thus the Romans were not Christians, but still honor the pagan gods, and Aetius becomes a woman, Flavia AETI. But the story is far to be a simple transposition space opera battles Attila. First, because qu'Aetia discovered the incarnation of a goddess of war hun, Kerka (fictitious, as far as I know: the true pantheon hun does not look very well known). Then because Attila and Flavia AETI eventually discover a very old book which is nothing but ... the Getica Jordan. Therefore, they realize that there existed another Roman Empire thousands of years earlier, and that their own fate seems doomed to replay that of Attila and Aetius ancient. The two enemies are drawn to ally, and to discover that they are merely pawns in a plot much larger when other forces are at work. For centuries, the Orbis Galactic has turned into a fixed society, where any force for technological innovation is forbidden and nothing seems to have to move, but things are about to change.
I can not say much more without spoiling the fun of reading. But this comic is in my opinion a great success.
She must in large part to the scenario of Valerie Mangin, original and impeccably constructed. Original, because if the theme of the transposition of ancient science fiction is not new (it is likely that the writer grew up when going on television Ulysses 31, the Franco-Japanese anime series Jean Chalopin, which transposes travel Odysseus XXXI century), it was mainly operated in the field of Greek mythology, but less, to my knowledge, Roman history, and also not so developed. Impeccably constructed a scenario, especially because the twists are linked Volume in the Volume over a plot with the ins and outs appear gradually, gradually gaining momentum. We feel that all was prepared entirely in advance, and the consistency of the six-volume history is very clear once play is complete.
But the aspect graph itself is comparable in quality to the script. Illustrations by Aleksa Gajic immediately plunge the reader into the dark and majestic in the galactic Orbis, whose costumes and architecture inspired blend ancient and futuristic elements, and the alliance between the design and realistic colors watercolor gives a very good result. Gajic control moods easily visible colors, lights and contrasts, and the "development box" of the story regularly gives rise to an impressive wide shots which give to see the enormity of this universe, without sacrificing the progression of the plot or leave a feeling of emptiness at the end of a tome.
I really do not have reservations, saying simply that he must love science fiction a bit dark and not be afraid to follow a horde of bloodthirsty Huns. We must also trust the story, including the issues and characters evolve much over the volumes.
Other series: The Last Trojan War and gods
Antiquity is an inspiration to almost inexhaustible, and the concept of the Orbis Galaxy was too good for that it is confined to a single series. Valérie Mangin has therefore created others in the same universe, the whole series forms a ring called "Chronicles of Ancient Galactic. These series are conducted before The Scourge of the gods , which stands at the end of the fictional chronology: they therefore form prequels that tell the origins of Orbis.
The Last Trojan, written by Valérie Mangin and designed by Thierry Demarez and published between 2004 and 2008, tells the story of Aeneas, prince of Troy and survivor of the war after the capture of the city by the Achaeans , to lead the Trojan survivors to another country (another planet) where they can build a new Troy. Image: Cover of Volume One of the Last Trojans . Source: GAC site
Mangin inspired by either of the story, but Roman myth, that of the Trojan origin of Rome. A myth political and literary, as it was coined by the Romans to raise the prestige of their city, and particularly by the first emperor, Augustus (ist century BC., so), which the poet found the ideal person Virgil, who tells the epic of Aeneas in the Aeneid . After the fall of Troy, Aeneas wanders on the seas and eventually settled in Italy, where his distant descendants, Romulus and Remus founded Rome. The epic is Virgil's imperial propaganda in many ways, including training and a flattering portrait of Aeneas. Indeed, Augustus, grandnephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar, as he belonged to the people Iulia, an old Roman family which had always claimed descent from lulus, the son of Aeneas, more commonly called Ascanius. During his adventures, Aeneas descended to the Underworld, is also predicting the future glory of Rome and the deeds of Augustus ... This bias
policy does not preclude the Aeneid to be a masterpiece of Latin poetry and a source of delight for all lovers of mythology, and one of the best continuations of the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, which also draws Valérie Mangin here. In fact, Aeneas, during his journey, meets Lotophagi example, an episode that does not appear in the Aeneid of Virgil, but is directly inspired by the Odyssey .
I can not speak in more detail in this series, so I only read the first two volumes long ago. I remember being less excited than The Scourge of the gods . On the one hand because the drawing of Demar, including its colors, I liked least (but it is true that it is difficult to arrive after Gajic). On the other hand, because the scenario seemed less controlled and seemed to leave a little in every sense ... but we should see what looks like the result, now that the whole series was published. Incidentally, I'm still more ticklish on adaptations of Greek myths, so I'm not really neutral on the subject!
The first volume of a third series, The War of the Gods always written by Mangin and designed by Dean Yazghi this time, was released in February 2010. This time we are in Greek area, because the story is set during the siege of Troy and the main character Odysseus: The series takes place in the "first" antiquity, long before the founding of the Empire Roman Galactic. I have not read this series yet I am content, therefore, to note its existence.
Palaeography futuroscope
Overall, although there is concern that overuse of the vein would be detrimental to the quality of comics (as in other series from Sun, for example Lanfeust Troy), the principle of this series is eminently likeable, especially since the authors do not lose an opportunity to discuss their work on the ancient literature. The site series is well done in this respect: he speaks not only of the universe in the series, but also his sources of inspiration, detailing what items were taken or adapted. Valérie Mangin also includes some volumes of appendices explaining the relationship between its ancient sources and the universe it develops. Image library in the world of Chronicles of Ancient Galactic . Source: site CAG
But really, what was the point of the writer? As stated on its website , she went through the preparatory classes before taking the competitive School Charters and to obtain, through Charters thesis, a diploma paleographer archivist. She then turned to the cartoon scenario, a choice that other Chartists had done before her, for example Franck Giroud, screenwriter of the Decalogue .
School Charters is school choice for historians of the Middle Ages, because it teaches palaeography, that is to say, the study of medieval manuscripts, as she prepares to contest the heritage, which can work in libraries, museums and national archives (areas unknown to the general public, but extremely interesting). But this school Hideout is THE best Latin scholars as one of the events of the entrance is a free version of Latin dictionary, which is enough to make you scream in horror most people but was not feasible (and it requires to master its vocabulary: useful when you need to read pages written in Latin script in a small weird).
Morality? Interest in ancient and medieval manuscripts never stopped loving science fiction or comic book writer to finish. Not so sterile it, dead languages ...
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