I came over this old legend when I read a comic book inspired by it; The Selkie, number 38 in the series about Thorgal, the viking from the stars. The comic even features a giant bronze statue clearly inspired by the one pictured in this article.
I never knew that's where your name comes from, that's so cool. :-D
Update (11/8/2023):
It became a bit hard to keep up with the series in the 10s, when there were three spin-off series being produced at the same time. Here in Norway the series is being published as a series of hard cover books, typically with 3 stories in each.
Also, there's a tabletop RPG being released soon! I picked up the promo starter booklet in Essen, but haven't really had the time to study it yet.
My dad’s last name is Galle, and Thorgal was among his favorite comic books, so “Thor + Galle = Thorgal (+ le)” is really where the inspiration came from! Then, my parents both liked Thor as such too, so it was decided.
Hardcover bundles sound nice! I think we have every issue in the main line until the mid ‘10s (soft cover, Dutch) and perhaps one or two from the spin-offs. But I think my dad was less impressed with the later issues without Jean Van Hamme’s writing, and he stopped buying them.
Update (11/8/2023):
Come to think of it: is Thorgal a name you’ve heard used in Norway? I know there’s Torben, Torbjørn, Torsten, probably others, but somehow I never met a true Thorgal.
But I think my dad was less impressed with the later issues without Jean Van Hamme’s writing, and he stopped buying them.
Yeah, Van Hamme's scripts were always good, while the later ones vary wildly in quality, from pretty bad to almost great. I enjoyed The Selkie, though it uses the "kidnapped family member" trope, which s a bit overused in this series.
Come to think of it: is Thorgal a name you’ve heard used in Norway? I know there’s Torben, Torbjørn, Torsten, probably others, but somehow I never met a true Thorgal.
Thorgal isn't actually a traditional Scandinavian name. I read somewhere (can't find it now, may have been in the foreword of one of the books) that they originally wanted to name the character something else, but discovered shortly before publishing that the name they wanted to use (can't recall exactly what, might have been Thorbjørn or something in that vein) was already the title of an older Polish comic book about vikings. They had to think of another name quickly, and they decided on Thorgal, a unique alteration of the original name.
The Norwegian statistics bureau has a website (one of my favourite websites) where we can search for a name and see how many Norwegians share it. There are "fewer than 4" (they're not allowed to be specific below that number) named Thorgal. There are however 6 people named Torgal, but I suspect their name stems from somewhere else.
Update (11/29/2023):
Found it! It was in the afterword of the fourth book, where they have excerpts from interviews with Van Hamme and Rosinski. Van Hamme came up with the name Ragnar Ægirsson, but Rosinski remembered an old comic named Ragnar le Viking that he'd read when he was young. Van Hamme claims to have been unaware of the older comic with the similar name, but still came up with the name Thorgal Ægirsson as a replacement, to avoid potential confusion.
I had read this story before but the pictures add so much. The bronze statue brings to life the power and energy of the Seal Woman. What a perfect location! And I love the stamp of the seal women dancing. That would be a great piece of art to have. It captures SO much - the magical nature of sisterhood; the joy of dancing - of freedom. Will have to look it up and see if it’s possible.
I came over this old legend when I read a comic book inspired by it; The Selkie, number 38 in the series about Thorgal, the viking from the stars. The comic even features a giant bronze statue clearly inspired by the one pictured in this article.
Ah, it seems I'm really not up-to-date on the series that gave me my name :) Interesting find!
I never knew that's where your name comes from, that's so cool. :-D
It became a bit hard to keep up with the series in the 10s, when there were three spin-off series being produced at the same time. Here in Norway the series is being published as a series of hard cover books, typically with 3 stories in each.
Also, there's a tabletop RPG being released soon! I picked up the promo starter booklet in Essen, but haven't really had the time to study it yet.
My dad’s last name is Galle, and Thorgal was among his favorite comic books, so “Thor + Galle = Thorgal (+ le)” is really where the inspiration came from! Then, my parents both liked Thor as such too, so it was decided.
Hardcover bundles sound nice! I think we have every issue in the main line until the mid ‘10s (soft cover, Dutch) and perhaps one or two from the spin-offs. But I think my dad was less impressed with the later issues without Jean Van Hamme’s writing, and he stopped buying them.
Come to think of it: is Thorgal a name you’ve heard used in Norway? I know there’s Torben, Torbjørn, Torsten, probably others, but somehow I never met a true Thorgal.
Yeah, Van Hamme's scripts were always good, while the later ones vary wildly in quality, from pretty bad to almost great. I enjoyed The Selkie, though it uses the "kidnapped family member" trope, which s a bit overused in this series.
Thorgal isn't actually a traditional Scandinavian name. I read somewhere (can't find it now, may have been in the foreword of one of the books) that they originally wanted to name the character something else, but discovered shortly before publishing that the name they wanted to use (can't recall exactly what, might have been Thorbjørn or something in that vein) was already the title of an older Polish comic book about vikings. They had to think of another name quickly, and they decided on Thorgal, a unique alteration of the original name.
The Norwegian statistics bureau has a website (one of my favourite websites) where we can search for a name and see how many Norwegians share it. There are "fewer than 4" (they're not allowed to be specific below that number) named Thorgal. There are however 6 people named Torgal, but I suspect their name stems from somewhere else.
Found it! It was in the afterword of the fourth book, where they have excerpts from interviews with Van Hamme and Rosinski. Van Hamme came up with the name Ragnar Ægirsson, but Rosinski remembered an old comic named Ragnar le Viking that he'd read when he was young. Van Hamme claims to have been unaware of the older comic with the similar name, but still came up with the name Thorgal Ægirsson as a replacement, to avoid potential confusion.
Interesting. Thanks for posting!
Not a happy ending! Macabre to imagine this chain of dead people.
Nice that visitfaroeislands.com is keeping their "old" site online!
What a story!
I had read this story before but the pictures add so much. The bronze statue brings to life the power and energy of the Seal Woman. What a perfect location! And I love the stamp of the seal women dancing. That would be a great piece of art to have. It captures SO much - the magical nature of sisterhood; the joy of dancing - of freedom. Will have to look it up and see if it’s possible.