Classic European comics

[Roquefort Raider]

Figured you folks might be able to help, I'm looking for a copy of Astérix et ses Amis - Hommage à Albert Uderzo, the tribute album that came out in 2007. I don't expect to ever see an English translation, so if anybody could point me to somewhere I could buy a french edition (or croatian edition will do), or an online scanlation, I would very much appreciate it?

ps, i should point out that I live in Australia, so competitive shipping is an issue :D

With this, you could get it for about 22 Australian dollars. Most of it is for shipping, unfortunately.

Good luck!

[Mladen]

many thanks!

[berk]

thanks to Fesch for digging this up again.

October of 2010 since the last post - how has it been so long?

Anyway, one of the reasons I wanted to revive this thread is the recent proliferation of threads posing interesting questions such as: best individual comic, best extended run, most iconic (=represntative?) of decade, etc, in comcs - they were all great threads that I read avidly, but - understandably - they were all dominated by American/USA comics. And I thought that maybe we could do similar thread(s) for European comics.

I'd also like to see the same done for other non-anglophone comics if there are enough people interested.

And for UK comics - I think there's been enough of an independent tradition to warrant an independent thread or three.

[Francis Dawson]

thanks to Fesch for digging this up again.

October of 2010 since the last post - how has it been so long?

Anyway, one of the reasons I wanted to revive this thread is the recent proliferation of threads posing interesting questions such as: best individual comic, best extended run, most iconic (=represntative?) of decade, etc, in comcs - they were all great threads that I read avidly, but - understandably - they were all dominated by American/USA comics. And I thought that maybe we could do similar thread(s) for European comics.

I'd also like to see the same done for other non-anglophone comics if there are enough people interested.

And for UK comics - I think there's been enough of an independent tradition to warrant an independent thread or three.

I think I'd like us to have another go at collectively compiling a definitive 'Classic Comics Canon' of US and international comics, something comparable to the TCJ and Hooded Utilitarian polls. I think the last list we came up with pretty decent but perhaps the thread title, 'Top Events / Storylines' was a bit of a red herring and led us down a route of almost exclusively listing US serial comic-books. I'd like us to open out our suggestions quite a bit and also suggest newspaper strips, manga, BDs etc. I think we should sticky the resulting list.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Com...00_Comics_list

http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/08/the-top-115/

[Fesch_]

thanks to Fesch for digging this up again.

Actually, it wasn't me.

I think I'd like us to have another go at collectively compiling a definitive 'Classic Comics Canon' of US and international comics, something comparable to the TCJ and Hooded Utilitarian polls. I think the last list we came up with pretty decent but perhaps the thread title, 'Top Events / Storylines' was a bit of a red herring and led us down a route of almost exclusively listing US serial comic-books. I'd like us to open out our suggestions quite a bit and also suggest newspaper strips, manga, BDs etc. I think we should sticky the resulting list.

A definitive canon? I think it is beyond our resources. I, at least, don't think I've read enough comics to attempt a serious list. I'd rather recommend something like this, with all its faults and virtues: http://www.paulgravett.com/index.php...ics/1001_atoz/

[Ezio_Howlett]

Tex Willer is a good classic european comic book, it's from Italy and I mostly read superhero comic books, but this just very good black and white and started back in the 1930s and they are still popular, at least here in Norway
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Willer

[End of Time]

it all depends on what country you're looking at.

Europe is diverse, and its comics are equally diverse, in tone, style and in subject matter. After all, Westerns are way more popular and succesful in Europe than they are in the USA, which is... remarkable to say the least.

[Francis Dawson]

A definitive canon? I think it is beyond our resources. I, at least, don't think I've read enough comics to attempt a serious list. I'd rather recommend something like this, with all its faults and virtues: http://www.paulgravett.com/index.php...ics/1001_atoz/

Nah, not a definitive canon - is that possible or even desirable? Any list we came up with would reflect our own tastes and biases. I just think it would be good to do a collective top 100 again which reflected a fuller range of our favourites, not just US comic-books.

http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/08/favorites-vs-best/

[Fesch_]

Nah, not a definitive canon - is that possible or even desirable?

Well, it wasn't me who wrote "a definitive 'Classic Comics Canon' of US and international comics"! A list of favourites would be simpler, of course. But honestly, I'm not too fond of lists. I'd rather discuss individual comics than waste my time in adding another top 100 list to the thousands that can be found in the web. There's already enough reference stuff for those interested in reading comics, I think.

[Francis Dawson]

Well, it wasn't me who wrote "a definitive 'Classic Comics Canon' of US and international comics"! A list of favourites would be simpler, of course. But honestly, I'm not too fond of lists. I'd rather discuss individual comics than waste my time in adding another top 100 list to the thousands that can be found in the web. There's already enough reference stuff for those interested in reading comics, I think.

Ha ha, fair enough. 'Definitive' only in the sense that it would be less conceptually muddled than the previous attempt. I like lists personally when they introduce me to neat stuff that I might not otherwise have heard about. Like this one for example:

http://www.comicsreporter.com/index....ommentary/393/

[berk]

I'd like to read some representative French language BD from each decade of the 20th century. Not sure where to start - the 1930s, or can I go back earlier than that? Also looking for some recommendations for some of the earlier decades:

1930s:
I was thinking the obvious: Tintin - but any particular volume recommended? I'm also curious about Futuropolis, but have yet to find a reasonably priced edition.

1940s:
?

1950s:
Had my eye on the first Blake et Mortimer story, Le Secret de l'Espadon. There's an Intégrale volume, but I read somewhere that the printing quality might not be as good as the 3 individual albums. Anyone familiar with the various editions?

From the 60s on, I already know about all too many things I want to read - most of them I found out about in this very thread!

[The Confessor]

1930s:
I was thinking the obvious: Tintin - but any particular volume recommended? I'm also curious about Futuropolis, but have yet to find a reasonably priced edition.

The obvious choice for a standout Tintin adventure from the 1930s would be The Blue Lotus (Le Lotus bleu), although the commonly known version of the book was actually redrawn in 1946. Nonetheless, it's the first truly excellent Tintin adventure and marked a quantum leap in quality for the series. Having said that, I've always had a soft spot for Tintin In America too, because it's one of the funniest Tintin books that Hergé wrote, but it does suffer from the narrative being a tad unfocused.

If you wanted to read a Tintin adventure from the 1940s as well, you can't go far wrong with the awesomely good Secret Of The Unicorn/Red Rackham's Treasure two-parter.


By the way, dunno if you're aware of it or not, but my (still woefully incomplete) Tintin reviews thread might be of some help to you. Bear in mind that I've only gotten as far as reviewing 1939's King Ottokar's Sceptre. *sigh* I really must get back to that thread and carry on with it sometime soon.

[berk]

Ah, thanks Confessor, I looked for your Tintin thread but couldn't find it. I did have a vague recollection of having heard about The Blue Lotus somewhere but wasn't sure.

[Polar Bear]

I'm in, despite my limited knowledge. This looks interesting.

What are the rules? If Romana Scarpa (Italy) did work for Disney (in the USA) that was printed mostly by Edmont (in Europe) and later got reprinted in the US, is that European?

Do Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman comics count as European? How about Neil's work now that he's an American?

Herge is pretty easy to figure out, for which much thanks.

One more silly comic: Why Europe? Why omit Manga/Manwa, Africa, South America (M. Deodato, Rios, Nino, N. Redondo, Alcala, etc.)? Do they get their own threads, or are they actually going to be here? This is exciting!

[Rob Allen]

Why omit Manga/Manwa, Africa, South America (M. Deodato, Rios, Nino, N. Redondo, Alcala, etc.)?

Redondo & Alcala were from the Phillipines, not South America. There is a current thread on Latin comics, with some great recommendations. Filipino comics are a world of their own.