27 jewels of European comics that are worth discovering
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18 commentsAlbertini@albertiniIn a market invaded by American superhero comics at times, or at least for me it was at the time, it is difficult to navigate among the magnificent offer of European comics that populate the shelves of specialized bookstores and large surfaces. Thousands of albums and volumes of various formats with a wide variety of authors and themes.
And it is that European comics, dominated above all by the Franco-Belgian market, has a very long tradition of masterpieces and jewels that, perhaps, have gone unnoticed. That is why in Xataka we are going to review today 27 great European comics that are worth discovering.
In XatakaThis is how Whakoom works, the Spanish comic collection management startup that now also wants to send them home'The Eagles of Rome', by Marini
Enrico Marini narrates the story in cartoons of the Roman Empire through Arminius, son of a tribal chief, and Marcus, son of a Roman general. As a cartoonist, Enrico Marini is excellent, however it is in the script where he fails the most. What does not take away for us to enjoy a great work.
THE EAGLES OF ROME 1 (MARINI)
Today on Amazon for €14.25'Arthus Trivium', by Raule and Landa
Nostradamus is the protagonist of this saga of the Spanish Raule and Landa. The famous "prophet" appears to us somewhat older and helped by three assistants in a series of adventures and action. Each Landa plate is pure art and accompanies an amazing script full of details.
ARTHUS TRIVIUM 1. THE ANGELS OF NOSTRADAMUS
Today on Amazon for €15.20'The Arab of the future'. from Riad Sattouf
Year after year each installment has found its way into most tops and no wonder. Riad Sattouf offers us a rare glimpse into his youth in the Middle East in the 1980s. A wide portrait, generous both in the light and in the shadows and completely essential.
THE ARAB OF THE FUTURE (VOL I) (Narrative)
Today on Amazon for €18.05 In XatakaWho is telling the story better now is the comic and the manga: 30 recommendations to start'The rise of the great evil', by David B.
David B. is responsible for what may be the first great masterpiece of the 21st century so far (or the last of the 20th depending on the year of publication of each installment). Also known as 'Epileptic. The rise of the great evil', the author takes us on a tremendous and terrifying (not in a bad way) autobiographical journey through his childhood and relationship with his brother's illness.
Epileptic (Salamander Graphic)
Today on Amazon for €24.70'Asterix and Cleopatra', by Albert Uderzo and Renée Goscinny
With the Gauls Asterix and Obelix it is just as difficult to choose just one. Here I prefer 'Asterix and Cleopatra' because I believe that it is in this comic, in which our protagonists travel to Egypt, in which Uderzo and Goscinny reach maturity with this saga. Very funny, imaginative and with immortal gags.
Asterix and Cleopatra (Spanish - From 10 Years - Asterix - The Classic Collection)
Today on Amazon for €12.30'Blacksad', by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido
In one of those sad examples of how difficult things have been to get published in our country, we we find 'Blacksad', a sensational noir that arrived in France months before Spain. Juanjo Guarnido and Juan Díaz Canales manage like few others a charming and magnificent noir that has managed to win some of the most important awards in the global industry.
BLACKSAD INTEGRAL VOLM, 1 TO 5 ENGLISH
Today on Amazon for €46.55'Los Cabecicubos', by Jan
It may be, without a doubt, the most political story of all that Superlópez has to his credit. And probably the best and most complex. A commission to advertise square eggs culminates in a satirical denunciation against militarism and totalitarianism in one of the best Spanish comics ever made.
The longest week | The Cabecicubos | Pandora's Box | The big blockbuster | To the center of the Earth (Super Humor Superlópez 2)
Today on Amazon for €23.65'The daily combats', by Manu Larcenet
A tender slice of life in which Larcenet tells the story of a former war photographer who retires to live to field. The intimate custom of the pages means that each reflection, each thing that takes place in this album remains engraved in our retinas in a work about reconciling with our own life.
EVERYDAY COMBAT. COMPLETE EDITION (EUROPEAN COMIC)
Today on Amazon for €23.70'The Heart of the Empire', by Bryan Talbot
I remember that the first time I read 'The Heart of the Empire' I must have been thirteen years old and everything I saw I was overwhelmed and fascinated in equal measure. Talbot creates a rich future universe mastered by the British Empire. A great political drama full of nuances that plays with parallel worlds.
The Heart Of The Empire (Wing Armchair)
Today on Amazon for €27.55'Diary of a naive. An adventure of Spirou', by Émile Bravo
Recently republished in Spain, Émile Bravo begins to update the famous bellboy within the collection of stories that has given us other jewels such as 'The bellboy in green khaki' or 'The leopard woman'. This time it takes us to the dawn of World War II, with Spirou receiving and seeing off the hotel guests without paying much attention in a heartfelt tribute to the character's early days.
Diary of a Naive: An Adventure of Spirou by Émile Bravo
Today on Amazon for €19.00'Dylan Dog', by Tiziano Sclavi et al.
Among the best that the Italian house Bonelli has produced are the adventures of the supernatural investigator Dylan Dog Created by Titian Sclavi. With a publication that has comfortably exceeded 300 issues with various authors, perhaps the most recommendable are precisely the first with such memorable stories as 'Memoria dall invisible' or that first 'L'alba dei morti viventi'.
In Xataka33 graphic novels from the last ten years with which to re-engage in reading comics'Honor among punks', by Guy Davis and Gary Reed
With this intriguing and shocking name hides an exercise in history alternative set in the late 20th century with Victorian overtones, more specifically we go to a Baker Street that is the nerve center of London punks. A kind of tribute to Sherlock Holmes that mixes crime and counterculture in a wonderful cocktail.
Baker Street: Honor Among Punks
Today on Amazon for €39.99'El incal'
How not to put here the magnum opus of two giants such as Alejandro Jodorowski and Moebius and which has become one of the most science fiction influencers of recent decades. Starring a rogue detective, we dive through endless philosophical and mystical layers in a galactic adventure.
El Incal (Integral) (GRAPHIC RESERVOIR)
Today on Amazon for €33.15'Isaac the Pirate', by Christophe Blaine
A fun saga in which we follow the story of a poor painter who finds himself looking for a living as a crew member on a Pirate Ship. Cartoonish and unexpected in the sense that it is not what one expects when reading the synopsis and the title, but much more. A jewel that has been in a "hiatus" for more than a decade.
Isaac The Pirate Complete Edition
Today on Amazon for €33.25'Jeremiah', by Hermann
With 'Jeremiah', the magnificent Hermann creates a great post-apocalyptic saga starring two young people in search of justice that does not exist in a United States divided into three racial regions. Hermann proves in these albums to be at least as good a writer as he is a cartoonist... and his drawing is outstanding.
Jeremiah (Integral) nº 01 New edition (BD - European Authors)
Today on Amazon for €20.90'Judge Dredd: Complete Files', by Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner
Dredd being one of the most emblematic characters to come out of the 2000AD factory, strange the poor editorial luck that our country has had until relatively recently. But this does not imply that these first years, with Ezquerra and Wagner at the helm, are not of a highly remarkable quality. Crime and punishment personalized in an exceptional figure.
Judge Dredd. The Complete Files 01
Today on Amazon for €23.75'My Circumstances', by Lewis Trondheim
Trondheim is an old acquaintance for Franco-Belgian comic fans for his collaboration with Joan Sfarr on 'The Dungeon'. With 'My Circumstances', the French author faces his own midlife crisis, his fears, his relationship with his future wife and everything that is on his mind (him and us) in a sincere and interesting work.
My Circumstances 3ｦed (WING CHAIR)
Today on Amazon for €13.30'Paracuellos', by Carlos Giménez
It is difficult to decide on something by Carlo Giménez, so I am going to "throw" for the impressive 'Paracuellos', which situates the misadventures of a group of children in a boarding school (Casa de Axilio Social) during the first years of Franco's national-Catholicism. An immense, passionate and sincere work.
Todo Paracuellos: 40th Anniversary Commemorative Edition (Albums 1-6) (Best Seller | Comic)
Today on Amazon for €22.95'Persepolis', by Marjane Satrapi
In this great work, Marjane Satrapi recounts her experiences as a witness to the change that Iran underwent in the late 1970s, when she was still a girl. In 'Persepolis' we see a mature, strong and sincere story of her life in the Middle East until her departure to Europe and the adaptation process that this entailed.
Persepolis (Graphic Reservoir)
Today on Amazon for €21.75'Blue Pills', by Frederik Peeters
Peeters' work is full of great comics but I think the most moving and well-rounded is 'Blue Pills' in the that the author recounts his relationship with Cati and her son, both of whom are HIV positive. A work that overflows feelings on the surface.
Blue Pills: Expanded Edition (Ear Armchair)
Today on Amazon for €17.10'The Dream of the Monster', by Enki Bilal
The Yugoslavian Enki Bilal captures in the "Tetralogy of the Monster" that begins with this comic an amazing story full of humanity in which, set in the near future, he tells us about the wounds of the Balkan war through three orphans. A sensitive story that is somewhat difficult to get into, but once you do, it grabs you.
THE DREAM OF THE MONSTER C (COL. BILAL 1) (ENKI BILAL)
PVP on Amazon €17.10'Atomic Sulfate', by Ibáñez
Although it seems that nobody pays attention to Mortadelo and Filemón anymore, we have to remember that for a while they have been the greatest symbols of Bruguera comic and, by extension, Spanish. With 'Atomic Sulfate', Ibáñez makes the first long story of the TIA agents with what is one of his most emblematic comics.
Atomic sulfate (Ibáñez Esencial 1)
Today on Amazon for €11.30'Los surcos del azar', by Paco Roca
Of all Paco Roca's bibliography, 'Los surcos del azar' is probably the work where he reaches higher degree of artistic maturity. The comic tells the story of La Nueve, a company made up mostly of Spanish republicans who fought in World War II.
The grooves of chance. Expanded Edition (Wing Armchair)
Today on Amazon for €23.75'Tintin in Tibet', by Hergé
It may be a strange choice considering that 'The Pharaoh's Cigars' or 'The Secret of the Unicorn' are the first that come to mind when talking about the adventures of the intrepid reporter created by Hergé. However, 'Tintin in Tibet' is one of the most special albums in the saga. A very personal, delicate work with the most careful and spectacular drawing.
R- Tintin in Tibet (THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN RUSTICA)
Today on Amazon for €9.00'The Towers of Bois-Mauri', by Hermann
Although we have already recommended 'Jeremiah', I cannot resist including what is probably one of the best comics historical genre of the Franco-Belgian BD. A complete vision of the 11th century through the adventures of Aymar de Bois-Maury in search of recovering his lands.
The towers of Bois-Mauri nº 01/03 (BD - European Authors)
Today on Amazon for €23.75On XatakaThe trick that DC has used since the first edition of 'Watchmen' to prevent Alan Moore from recovering his rights'Torpedo 1936', by Enrique Sánchez Abulí, Alex Toth and Jordi Bernet< /h2>
Another magnum opus of comics is 'Torpedo' by Abulí and Bernet, a monumental work that tells the adventures of Luca Torelli, a relentless hired assassin who roams the underworld of 1930s New York. Noir in its most hard-boiled facet, excellently done both in the script and in the drawing.
Torpedo 1936. Comprehensive - 4th edition
Today on Amazon for €57.00'V for Vendetta', by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Although much of his work has been done for American publishers, the English Alan Moore has given us that masterpiece that is 'V for Vendetta' (started in the United Kingdom and completed in the United States). His profound portrayal of a fascist England and the mysterious V is a prodigy.
V for Vendetta (Hardcover Edition) (Second Edition)
Today on Amazon for €25.00Follow on InstagramNote: some of the links posted here are from affiliates. Despite this, none of the items mentioned have been proposed by either the brands or the stores, their introduction being a sole decision of the team of editors.
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