Asterix

[Art Monkey]

I only still collect two European titles, but I recommend them both: Thorgal and Chesterfield and Blutch.

Thorgal is very different from Asterix and similar comics: it's more realistically drawn (sometimes painted). It's a story about a man raised by Vikings, but draws a lot upon myths and legends - Norse myths in particular (various Norse gods like Thor and Odin and Loki make their appearance) and the Atlantic myth - and science fiction. The earlier stories in particular are very strong and well-written.

Chesterfield and Blutch is more cartoonish in style and relies on humour a lot more. It is set in the American civil war and revolves around two Northen soldiers: one, a sergeant enthusiastic about the war, and the other, his reluctant corporal who'd rather desert and live. Of course, the interaction between the two is hilarious at times. Other than that, the stories are often drawn from various actual events from the war in which the pair inevitably get caught up.

[V0nnegut]

I've been reading Asterix since I was 5 years old. The 23 first books are all amazing, sadly the quality took a nosedive when Goscinny died.

[Art Monkey]

That often tends to be the case with European series, even when the writer doesn't change. In other cases, it's probably because the series have been running for so long, the creators end up running out of inspiration. Of both titles I've mentioned, the quality drops during the later run as well (although in case of Thorgal, the change of writers could be to blame as well).

[Angilas-Man]

Took the plunge into some other European series.

Got the Lucky Luke album "Ghost Town." Goscinny is just the man. I don't think the setting and characters are as interesting and inventive as Asterix, but it has this easygoing zip to it that was just nice. Love all of Luke's gun-slinging sight-gags, Morris is no Underzo, but he's no slouch.

Read the adventure of "The Yellow 'M'" of Blake and Mortimer. This one was a bit harder to get into: the serial nature of original publication really shows as the story starts and stops over and over. It's also text heavy with the kind of earnest and dry dialogue that can be repetitive. There was a lot of unneeded, constant narration in places where the artwork alone would tell the same thing far more effectively. Not to say I hated this adventure; the art was great and the overall tone of the work (incredibly proper English blokes in cloke and dagger and sci-fi capers) was pretty cool.

Then I read Dark Horse's collection of the first three Blacksad albums. First of all, I have to say that this is some of the best comic art I've ever seen. It's spectacular and worth the price of admission alone. The cinematic nature is great, as is the characterization. I also felt the series improved as the makers got more experience: the first book is splendid, but the central mystery is a bit simple and straightforward; the second is more ambitious and complex in its mystery, but I didn't quite buy the resolution; in the third volume everything clicked, just perfect. I can't wait for Dark Horse to publish the forth Blacksad adventure in, what, a month or two?

Also got Fantagraphics first Gil Jordan volume. Haven't read it yet.

[Johnny P. Sartre]

Here are some rec for you Euro throw
The Incal, Metabarons and Before the Incal
Thorgal
Aldebaran & Betelgeuse
Torpedo
Borderline
Modesty Blaise
Milo Manara Library by Dark Horse
Borgia
Keeper of the Maser
The Great Adventure: The Adventures of Giuseppe Bergman
The Hollow Grounds
Get anything by Tardi (Fanatgraphics is doing a great job reprinting his works)

[Fesch_]

Also got Fantagraphics first Gil Jordan volume. Haven't read it yet.

Is that one Murder by High Tide? If so, excellent choice: one of the best in the whole series. And my favourite too. After you finish it check the Route du Gois in Google Earth (island of Noirmoutier, Brittany).

[Angilas-Man]

^It's not just Murder by High Tide. Fanta is doubling them up, so it's albums 3 and 4!

Just finished the second story, and I'm fully won over as a Gil Jordan fan. It's just such a great combination of elements: taking (broadly speaking) the Herge style of cartooning but making the characters a bit more "cartoony" and expressive; adding more humor (Gil is certainly more sarcastic and cynical than boy reporter Tintin); and telling darker (but not too dark for older kids) mystery stories. I like how the four main characters interact with each other... it's just great, all around.

This is the first Gil Jordan release by Fantagraphics. I don't know if there's any sort of guarantee for more, but I sure hope they continue.

[Fesch_]

^It's not just Murder by High Tide. Fanta is doubling them up, so it's albums 3 and 4!

Just finished the second story, and I'm fully won over as a Gil Jordan fan. It's just such a great combination of elements: taking (broadly speaking) the Herge style of cartooning but making the characters a bit more "cartoony" and expressive; adding more humor (Gil is certainly more sarcastic and cynical than boy reporter Tintin); and telling darker (but not too dark for older kids) mystery stories. I like how the four main characters interact with each other... it's just great, all around.

This is the first Gil Jordan release by Fantagraphics. I don't know if there's any sort of guarantee for more, but I sure hope they continue.

Not just those things you mention, but also there's something unique by Tillieux: how he deconstructs movement in his panels, in ways that were not fully explored by Hergé. In fact, the cartoony style places him somewhere in between Hergé and the school of Marcillene (i.e., Franquin). Also, the way he shows the interaction between his characters and the physical world in which they move is impressive: the backgrounds aren't just for decoration, most of the time even the little details are relevant for the action (Les cargos du crépuscule is one of the best examples at that). This makes Tillieux's style very special. It was a tragedy that he couldn't work much in Gil Jourdan due to his illness and premature death. Gos wasn't a bad substitute (I love his Le Scrameustache), but his art couldn't match Tillieux's.

I hope that Fantagraphics publishes the whole series for English readers, it's really worth it.

[Angilas-Man]

Just finished Asterix Omnibus vol. 3. While I liked the first two (that is, the first 6 albums) the stories in this one really grew in all the ways I wanted. Those early stories definitely established a formula, but in these stories (The Big Fight, in Britain, and the Normans) the formula is either subverted or abandoned and it just feel bigger and better. Uderzo's art even picks up steam (excellent as it was already).

[Angilas-Man]

Fantagraphics' next Gil Jordan release is scheduled for next Spring!

[keeperxiii]

You could also try Spirou & Fantasio, although I haven't read a lot of it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirou_et_Fantasio

Or Groo the Wanderer from Sergio Aragones
http://www.cbdb.com/record_detail.lasso?ID=21044

EDIT: Glad you like Astérix, it's my favorite comic :D You can't beat Obélix.

[Angilas-Man]

Oh, need this!

Attachment 90701

There's another one of these called "Where's Dogmatix?" scheduled for release here this fall. Just how many of these things are there in France?

I hope they'll do an English release of that Asterix tribute book which had tons of different artists contributing 1-4 page short stories.

[keeperxiii]

I hope they'll do an English release of that Asterix tribute book which had tons of different artists contributing 1-4 page short stories.

I didn't knew about this. It looks interesting.

You might like this:
http://theworldisenough.blogspot.pt/...o-asterix.html