Garth – Story 04 – The Seven Ages of Garth

Garth - The Seven Ages of Garth

The Seven Ages of Garth
Writer: Don Freeman
Artist: Stephen Dowling & John Allard
Published: 8th September 1944 – 20th January 1946 (C23 – E17)
Number of Episodes: 413

In this epic story, Garth is regressed back into seven former lives. He adventures variously as a British slave during the Roman occupation of Britain, a 12th century Crusader, a participant in the Wars of the Roses, an Elizabethan sea captain, a Cavalier fighting the Roundheads, and in a climactic final previous life he is an Englishman caught up in the French Revolution.

In each segment, Garth lives the last weeks of an earlier life as a man of that period in time and he finally comes to a bloody and heroic death.

Thanks to Lumiere’s foresight, Garth is conditioned to visualise the word ‘KARMA’ at the moment of death, enabling him to jump to his next life. Throughout the tales, Karen and Dawn (avariciousness and virtue respectively) share Garth’s lives in their own earlier incarnations.

Written during the exigencies of wartime, these fascinating stories are both frank and brutal.

• Previous Story: The Island Laboratory | Next: The Saga of Garth

Synopsis by Philip Harbottle

• Garth: An Introduction

• Garth – Strip Checklist – Part One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight (Garth Reprints)

A Tribute to Garth Artist and Editor John Allard by Philip Harbottle

In a feature encompassing the entire history of the much-loved strip, Garth writer Philip Harbottle pays tribute to artist and editor John Allard, who worked at the Mirror for over 50 years, outlining his huge contribution to Garth‘s enduring success

Strip dates given are those of their original appearance in the British newspaper the Daily Mirror, first compiled by Geoffrey Wren and Ann Holmes and updated by Ant Jones and Philip Harbottle

Garth © REACH/ Daily Mirror