''Nippur de Lagash'' ( en, Nippur of Lagash) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

comic a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

series, published between 1967 and 1998. It is set in the 23rd century BC (according to the

short chronology The chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Com ...

), about a fictional homonym warrior of

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

, created by Paraguayan comic scriptwriter Robin Wood, and illustrated by

artist

Lucho Olivera Ricardo Luis Olivera, better known as Lucho Olivera (1942–2005), was an Argentine comic book artist and writer. Olivera made himself a recognised name in his country, working many years in important Argentine comics, like the classic ''Nip ...

. 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 Argentine comics ( es, historietas) are one of the most important comic traditions internationally, and the most important within Latin America, living its "Golden Age" between the 1940s and the 1960s. Soon after, in 1970, the theorist Oscar Masot ...

. Some of the authors and artists who worked on this comic are, among many, Sergio Mulko, Néstor Barrón, Gustavo Amézaga, Ricardo Villagrán and

Jorge Zaffino Jorge Rubén Zaffino (1959–2002) was a comic book artist born in Argentina. Biography Zaffino spent a lifetime working as an artist in and out of comics. At the age of 16, he began working as an unpaid apprentice at the comics studios of Ri ...

.Jorge Zaffino and Nippur
Rebrote.com at Wayback Machine

Plot summary

The protagonist's parents name him after the ancient city of

Nippur Nippur (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''Nibru'', often logogram, logographically recorded as , EN.LÍLKI, "Enlil City;"The Cambridge Ancient History: Prolegomena & Prehistory': Vol. 1, Part 1. Accessed 15 Dec 2010. Akkadian language, Akkadian: '' ...

, where they were born. He later gained the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

"from Lagash" after leaving his home city, Lagash, in forced

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

. Nippur's adventures, loosely framed on actual Ancient History, start when he is a general and military leader of Lagash, who is forced to escape from Mesopotamia after an invasion carried out by the tyrant Lugal-Zage-Si. Nippur then wanders around the Bronze Age known world, the Middle East and east Mediterranean. 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. Thus does Nippur become king of Lagash, but after some time he chooses to abdicate and resumes his travels for the rest of his life.

References

External links

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