Thorgal ─ Child of the Stars

In the wild and inhospitable European far north, in the land of Scandinavian myth and runic legend, Viking warriors discover a child in a space capsule. Leif Haraldson adopts him and gives him the names of his gods: Thorgal Aegirsson, son of Thor (god of lightning) and son of Aegir (master of the sea). Upon Leif's death, the Viking chief Gandalf the Insane isolates Thorgal from others. Only the friendship of Aaricia, the daughter of Gandalf, brightens Thorgal's solitary childhood. Their mutual affection quickly turns into true love. The tale takes place in the seventh century and draws its narrative power from the imaginary world of magic spells and legends, where men and gods still mix. More than a simple adventure story, this series is a true apology for freedom and the fight against the arbitrary, because what stands out most in Thorgal's personality is his deep sense of humanity...

Jean Van Hamme signed his first scenarios in 1968. He then increased his collaborations and quickly became one of the best-known European scenario writers. Among his most popular successes, one can name Thorgal with Rosinski, XIII (illustrated by Vance and published by Dargaud), and Winch Largo (illustrated by Francq and published by Dupuis). In 2003, during the French graphic novel festival of Vaison-la-Romaine, the jury for young readers awarded the prize for best scenario to Jean Van Hamme for The Barbarian (a volume of the Thorgal series). In 2005, the French Minister of Culture decorated him with the rank of “Officier des Arts et des Lettres.” As for Grzegorz Rosinski, he published his first drawings very early, at 16 years old. In 1977, in collaboration with Jean Van Hamme, he launched the saga of Thorgal in Tintin magazine. Rosinski has received two lifetime achievement awards for his outstanding work; the first was in 2004 during the graphic novel festival of Belgium, and then he received the 'Grand Prix Albert Uderzo' in 2005, during the graphic novel festival of Nimes (France).