''Nippur de Lagash'' ( en, Nippur of Lagash) is an Argentine historical comic series, published between 1967 and 1998. It is set in the 23rd century BC (according to the short chronology), about a fictional

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definiti ...

warrior of Sumer, created by

Paraguayan Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

comic scriptwriter Robin Wood, and illustrated by Argentine artist Lucho Olivera. It was published by Columba Publishing in the magazine ''D'Artagnan'' and later ''Nippur Magnum'' comic books from 1967 to 1998, and is considered one of the most important Argentine comics. Some of the authors and artists who worked on this comic are, among many, Sergio Mulko, Néstor Barrón, Gustavo Amézaga,

Ricardo Villagrán Ricardo Villagran (born 1938 in Corrientes) is an Argentine illustrator known for his work in the American comic book industry. Biography Early life and education Villagran was born in the small northern city of Corrientes in 1938. Drawing be ...

and Jorge Zaffino.Jorge Zaffino and Nippur
Rebrote.com at

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

Plot summary

The protagonist's parents name him after the ancient city of Nippur, where they were born. He later gained the epithet "from Lagash" after leaving his home city,

Lagash Lagash (cuneiform: LAGAŠKI; Sumerian: ''Lagaš''), was an ancient city state located northwest of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and east of Uruk, about east of the modern town of Ash Shatrah, Iraq. Lagash (modern Al-Hiba) w ...

, in forced exile. Nippur's adventures, loosely framed on actual

Ancient History Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

, start when he is a general and military leader of Lagash, who is forced to escape from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

after an invasion carried out by the tyrant

Lugal-Zage-Si Lugal-Zage-Si ( ; frequently spelled ''Lugalzaggesi'', sometimes ''Lugalzagesi'' or "Lugal-Zaggisi") of Umma (reigned c. 2358 - 2334 BCE middle chronology) was the last Sumerian king before the conquest of Sumer by Sargon of Akkad and the rise o ...

. Nippur then wanders around the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

known world, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and east

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. He makes friends and enemies, acquires enormous fame, first as "The Errant One" and then as "The Incorruptible", fights many battles and loses one eye. After some years of living the life of a farmer and raising his son, the wild archer Hiras, Nippur eventually decides to take up the sword once more: he and his allies take part on the Akkadian conquest of the

Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...

. Thus does Nippur become king of Lagash, but after some time he chooses to

abdicate Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

and resumes his travels for the rest of his life.

References

External links

White Walls - Unofficial ''Nippur de Lagashs Website
Blancas Murallas at

{{comics-stub Argentine comic strips 1967 comics debuts 1998 comics endings Fictional Iraqi people Male characters in comics Fictional generals Fictional kings Comics characters introduced in 1967 Comics set in ancient Mesopotamia Comics set in ancient Persia Comics set in ancient Egypt Comics set in ancient Israel Fiction set in the 23rd century BC