{"id":36114,"date":"2026-08-03T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T08:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=36114"},"modified":"2026-07-31T11:31:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T11:31:46","slug":"thorgal-volume-0-the-betrayed-sorceress-almost-paradise-island-of-the-frozen-seas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/08\/03\/thorgal-volume-0-the-betrayed-sorceress-almost-paradise-island-of-the-frozen-seas\/","title":{"rendered":"Thorgal volume 0: The Betrayed Sorceress & Almost Paradise: Island of the Frozen Seas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Grzegorz Rosinski<\/strong> & Van Hamme<\/strong>, translated by Jerome Saincantin<\/strong> (Europe Comics\/Cinebook)
\nISBN: 978-1-84918-443-4 (Cinebook PB Album) 978-1-84918-614-8 (Cinebook Digital edition)
\nNo ISBN (Europe Comics digital-only edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times, and imagery made for cultures far less prudish and body conscious than ours or the current US conception of Family Values. As such, there\u2019s also probably far less explicit violence than you might be accustomed to. Sorry, Not Sorry.<\/em><\/p>\n

One of the very best and most celebrated fantasy adventure series of all time, Thorgal <\/strong>accomplishes the seemingly impossible: pleasing critics and selling in vast quantities.<\/p>\n

The prototypical Game of Thrones<\/strong> saga debuted in iconic weekly Le Journal de<\/em><\/strong> Tintin<\/em><\/strong> in 1977 with album compilations beginning three years later. A far-reaching, expansive generational saga, it has won a monolithic international following in fourteen languages and dozens of countries, generating numerous spin-off series, and thus naturally offers a strong presence in the field of global gaming.<\/p>\n

In story-terms, Thorgal <\/strong>offers the best of all weird worlds, with an ostensibly historical milieu of bold Viking adventure seamlessly incorporating science fiction elements, dire magic, horrendous beasts, social satire, political intrigue, soap opera, Atlantean mystique and mythically mystical literary standbys such as gods, monsters and devils. Created by Belgian writer Jean Van Hamme (Domino<\/strong>, XIII<\/strong>, Largo Winch<\/strong>, Blake and Mortimer<\/strong>) and Polish illustrator Grzegorz Rosinski (Kapitan Zbik<\/em><\/strong>, Pilot smiglowca<\/em><\/strong>, Hans<\/strong>, The Revenge of Count Skarbek<\/em>), the feature grew into an \u00a0unstoppable juggernaut over decades with the creative duo completing 29 albums between 1980 & 2006 when Van Hamme moved on. Thereafter, scripting duties fell to Yves Sente who collaborated on a further five collections until 2013 when Xavier Dorison wrote one before \u201cYann\u201d AKA Yann Le Pennetier became chief scribe. In 2025, he and Rosi?ski released 36th<\/sup> epic-album Aniel<\/em><\/strong> after which Fred Vignaux took over as artist in residence with L\u2019Emite de Skellingar<\/em><\/strong>. The current count is 43 tomes, with La vengeance de la d\u00e9esse Sk\u00e6dhi<\/em><\/strong> published in 2025.<\/p>\n

By the time Van Hamme departed, the canon had grown, spawning spin-off series to cover not only the life of the titular hero and his son Jolan<\/em>, but also other indomitable family members. These include The Worlds of Thorgal – Kriss of Valnor<\/strong> (8 volumes); Thorgal – Wolf<\/strong> (7 volumes) and Thorgal – The Youth of Thorgal<\/strong> (11 books) plus an Homage imprint inviting other creators to tell non-canonical yarns set in the Thorgal universe. There\u2019s five of them thus far since kicking off in 2023, with all additions lumped together under umbrella aegis Les Mondes de Thorgal<\/em><\/strong>…<\/p>\n

In 1985, US publisher Donning released a brief yet superb series of oversized hardcover translations, but Thorgal never really found an English-speaking audience until Cinebook began its own iteration in 2007. The original Belgian series meandered back and forth through the hero\u2019s life and Cinebook\u2019s translated run began with the 7th<\/sup> and 8th<\/sup> albums combined in a double-length premiere edition (just like the one under view today). By that time the saga of ceaselessly wandering enigma Thorgal Aegirsson<\/em> had properly gelled, but there were a few books before then, with our hero still finding his literary and graphic feet…<\/p>\n

What you\u2019ll learn from later volumes<\/em>: Thorgal was recovered as a baby from a ferocious storm and raised by Northern Viking chief Leif Haraldson<\/em>. Nobody could possibly know the fortunate foundling had survived a stellar incident which destroyed a starship full of super-scientific humanoid aliens. Growing to manhood, the strange boy was eventually forced out of his adopted land by ambitious usurper Gandalf the Mad<\/em> who feared the young warrior threatened his own claim to the throne.<\/p>\n

For his entire childhood Thorgal had been inseparable from Gandalf\u2019s daughter Aaricia<\/em> and, as soon as they were able, they fled together from the toxic atmosphere to live free from her father\u2019s lethal jealousy and obsessive terror of losing his throne. Danger was always close but after many appalling hardships, the lovers and their new son finally found a measure of cautious tranquillity by occupying a small island where they could thrive in safety… or so they thought…<\/p>\n

Here, however, in harder-hitting, initial escapades from 1980, the largely unexplained and formulaic Viking warrior is simply a hero in search of a cause. La Magicienne Trahie<\/em><\/strong> becomes eponymous debut book The<\/strong> Betrayed Sorceress<\/strong>, opening with a full-grown Thorgal tortured and left to die of exposure and drowning by arch enemy Gandalf before being fortuitously rescued by a red-haired woman who demands he work in her service for a year…
\n\"\"
\nAccompanied by a loyal wild wolf, formidable mystic matron Slive<\/em> is consumed with a hunger for vengeance and orders her reluctant vassal to undertake an arduous quest and great battles to retrieve a hidden casket and its mystical contents. Only after succeeding does the warrior discover that the target of her ire is Gandalf himself. Her complex scheme almost succeeds but the witch\u2019s plans eventually lead to bloodshed, calamity, unsuspected connections to beloved Aaricia and the exposure of long-hidden secrets.
\n\"\"
\nAs the final clash climaxes, Gandalf is near death and the reunited lovers witness the sorceress\u2019 last voyage into the coldest regions on Earth in a dragonship made of ice…<\/p>\n

Bridging the first and second volumes, short follow-up exploit \u2018Almost Paradise\u2019<\/em> continues the saga and completes the first volume with Thorgal living again amongst Gandalf\u2019s band, but only on sufferance and in constant daily hardship. Here, a lone ride through winter snows leads to his being hunted by ravening wolves before plummeting into a fantastic time-lost and timeless enclave at the bottom of an icy crevasse. In a tropical Eden Thorgal finds a trio of mysterious maidens.
\n\"\"
\nTwo vie for his attention and argue the seductive benefits of eternal life in a vast garden free of want and danger, but youngest girl Skadia<\/em> craves the freedom of the outer world and is willing to lead the homesick warrior into horrendous peril to achieve her ends. Desperate to return to his true love, Thorgal escapes with the third immortal, suffering a nightmare journey back to the real world, but not without paying a painful price…
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\nSecond collected album L\u2019lle des Mers gel\u00e9es <\/em><\/strong>is included here as The Island of the Frozen Seas<\/strong>, opening in spring as Aaricia prepares to wed Thorgal and abandon Gandalf\u2019s lands forever. Those dreams are shattered when giant eagles fly down and snatch her away. Soon all the warriors are pursuing in Drakkars (dragonships), heading ever northwards.
\n\"\"
\nThe pursuit leads to fractious moments aboard ship. Imminent mutiny is only forestalled when the Vikings encounter a fantastic vessel moving without oars or sails and – despite valiant resistance – the barbarians are soon all captive beside Aaricia. All, that is, save for Thorgal and future brother-in-law Bjorn<\/em> Gandalfson<\/em> who escaped capture by taking to a lifeboat…<\/p>\n

At the top of the world, they meet strange tribes-folk perfectly adapted to arctic life. Thorgal continues hunting his bride-to-be, meeting and defeating her abductor, uncovering an incredible secret citadel and hearing an incredible story about his long-occluded origins before he can bring his beloved back home to her people…
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\nAlthough lacking the wit and raw humour of later tales these works-in-progress are fierce, inventive and phenomenally gripping: cunningly crafted, astonishingly addictive formative episodes gradually building towards a fully-realised universe of wonder and imagination whilst offering insight into the character of a true, if exceedingly unwilling, hero.<\/p>\n

Thorgal<\/strong> is every action fan\u2019s ideal dream of unending adventure. What fanatical fantasy aficionado could possibly resist such barbaric blandishments?<\/p>\n

The Europe Comics volume is a digital-only edition from the pan-continental collective imprint which collaborates to bring fresh and classic material to English speaking fans. Many of their selections are picked up by established print publishers like Top Shelf or Cinebook. In fact, this volume joined to Cinebook\u2019s stable of titles at the end of 2018, under special enumeration as Thorgal volume 00: The Betrayed Sorceress<\/strong>. Although currently out of physical print it too is available digitally, so if you\u2019re already a fan you can still add the book to your collection. The past awaits you, only a few keystrokes away…
\n\u00a9 Editions du Lombard (Dargaud-Lombard s.a.) 1980 Rozinski & Van Hamme. English translation \u00a9 2018 Cinebook Ltd.<\/p>\n

Today in 1924 Golden Age artist\/inker John Belfi<\/strong> (Justice Society of America<\/strong>, Sky Wolf<\/strong>, The Heap<\/strong>, Straight Arrow<\/strong>, Strong Bow<\/strong>, The Saint<\/strong>, Tarzan<\/strong>, Flash Gordon<\/strong>) was born, followed by Filipino illustrator Eufronio Reyes<\/strong> \u201cE. R.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d Cruz<\/strong> (The Shadow<\/strong>, Moon Knight<\/strong>, Sherlock Holmes<\/strong>, Eerie<\/strong>, G.I. Combat<\/strong>) in 1934. In 1941 Grzegorz Rosinski<\/strong> arrived, joined by writer Reed Waller <\/strong>(Omaha the Cat Dancer<\/strong>) in 1949, and colourist Dave Stewart<\/strong> (Hellboy<\/strong>, Daytripper<\/strong>, Shaolin Cowboy<\/strong>, The Goon<\/strong>, DC: The New Frontier<\/strong>, Star Wars<\/strong>, The Umbrella Academy<\/strong>) in 1972.<\/p>\n

Today in 1991 the last episode of the fourth Batman<\/strong> newspaper strip was published.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Grzegorz Rosinski & Van Hamme, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Europe Comics\/Cinebook) ISBN: 978-1-84918-443-4 (Cinebook PB Album) 978-1-84918-614-8 (Cinebook Digital edition) No ISBN (Europe Comics digital-only edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times, and imagery made for cultures far less prudish and body conscious than ours or the current US conception … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Thorgal volume 0: The Betrayed Sorceress & Almost Paradise: Island of the Frozen Seas”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[191,63,122,107,256],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-european-classics","category-historical","category-science-fiction","category-sword-sorcery"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-9ou","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36114"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36125,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36114\/revisions\/36125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}