Summary
People have been doodling comic drawings of each other since the dawn of humanity. Though comics as storytelling devices didn’t really catch on until the early 20th century when strips about funny men, cheeky kids, or wacky animals began breaking up newspaper articles. From there, America produced superhero stories, and Japan brought in dramatic manga strips. Europe was caught in the middle, often influenced by both while trying to take things in their own direction.
Some European strips managed to become international hits, likeThe SmurfsandThe Moomins. Others remained restrained to the continent, or just one country within its borders. But whether they’re big names, dark horses, light and fun, or grim and gritty, these are just some of thebest and most influential European comics, ranked by popularity. Meaning the lower entries aren’t worse than the higher ones, but they may be harder to find.
10Torpedo
Sicilian Mobster Makes a Name for Himself in 1930s America
Before superheroes caught on in American comics, they often told pulpy stories about detectives and gangsters. Nowadays, unless it’s a dedicated crime comic, they’ve been overtaken by more colorful supervillains. But they still live on with nary a spandexed supe in sight in strips likeTorpedo. Set in 1936, it follows Italian immigrant-turned-mobster Luca Torelli. In his youth, he manipulated his neighbor into killing his abusive father to avenge his elder brother’s death.
The neighbor wanted his own revenge, which led to Luca and his uncle silencing him. To avoid the heat, he took his uncle’s advice and fled to the US. After surviving on menial jobs and committing escalating crimes, he becomes one of New York City’s best hitmen, or ‘torpedos’. Often aided by his Polish-American sidekick Rascal, the strip follows his different hits and the politics within the world of organized crime. It’s a hard-boiled story that’ll suit anyone who loves noir detective tales.
9It Was the War of the Trenches
The Carnage of World War 1 Realized in Gruesome Detail
One of the reasons World War 2 has fueled more fiction is because it can fit all sorts of stories. Some can focus on its messy political machinations, but others can boil it down to good guys socking the evil Nazis and their monstrous leader across the jaw. World War 1 was asadder, muddier affairwhere troops from all over the globe got to die in France, Belgium, Turkey, and beyond due to their nation’s political ties.
Jacques Tardi recounted this inIt Was the War of the Trenches, where he combined historical data with his grandfather’s memories of serving in the conflict. It focused on the toll it took on troops, from the horrific deaths and disfigurements they’d be left with to the psychological struggles they had to handle during and after it ended. The comic doesn’t mince words or details when recounting the war’s brutality, and whether it was worth the cost its soldiers had to pay.
8Marvelman/Miracleman
Silver Age Shazam Clone Gets Reinvented as a Dark Superhero Story
Nearly any Alan Moore comic could count on this list, from his take on Jack the Ripper inFrom Hellto hisLeague of Extraordinary Gentlemen,where every fictional character is real. But one overlooked but intriguing gem is his work onMarvelman, a British superhero made when legal trouble keptCaptain Marvel(Shazam) strips off the presses. Moore’s version, renamedMiraclemanto avoid legal trouble with Marvel Comics (who now own the character today), saw an amnesiac man slowly remembering his past as a Silver Age hero.
Then he learns his old sidekick Johnny Bates, or Kid Marvelman, survived, grew corrupted by his power, and now aims to put his former mentor away for good. While it’s not Moore’s most refined work, it is one of the more influential ones. Its dark world of corrupted heroes is basicallyThe Boys, right down to the Homelander-esque sociopath Kid Marvelman. Then it becomes something closer toInjusticeor the Justice Lords, as the hero takes matters into his own hands to stop monsters like his ex-sidekick from rising to power again.
7Lucky Luke
Cool Cowboy Stops Wrongdoers in the Wild West
AsTorpedoshows, there are plenty of European comics that still take place in the US. Given the modern comic is essentially an American invention, most comic creators across the continent will have at least been fans of one American strip or another. As such, Americans might be curious about whatTorpedoorLes Tuniques Bleu(a Belgian comic aboutthe US Civil War) get right or wrong about their land, or how they see the States. For example, what did artist Maurice ‘Morris’ De Bevere see in the Wild West?
He sawLucky Luke, a comic about a cowboy who “shoots faster than his shadow”, rides on Jolly Jumper, “the smartest horse in the world”, and is often joined by Rin Tin Can, “the stupidest dog in the universe”. He uses his smarts and sharp-shooting to work with or against real-life figures like Calamity Jane and Jesse James. Goscinny and Morris liked to work real events into their stories, but they placed historical accuracy second to funny jokes and a great story. This leads toLucky Lukecatching on as an irreverent Belgian look at cowboys.
6The Incal
Detective Is Led on a Journey Through Space by a Magic Crystal
One of the most famous artists in comics history was Jean ‘Moebius’ Giraud. His grittier take on the ligne claire art style, producing dreamlike surreal sci-fi worlds inspired a multitude of different works, from movies likeBlade RunnerandThe Fifth Elementto esteemed figures like Hayao Miyazaki and Mike Mignola. Most of his acclaimed stories turned up in famous comics likeHeavy Metal,with one gaining a life of its own:The Incal.
It’s a sci-fi noir story that sees John Difool end up holding the Light Incal, a powerful crystal that many powerful factions are seeking to exploit. With the help of a variety of accomplices, like the Amok warrior Kill Wolfhead, and Animah, the Light Incal’s Keeper, he has to keep the MacGuffin away from the likes of the Bergs and the Technopriests to save the universe. It practically heralded cyberpunk media with its dystopian cities and eerie landscapes. Jodorowsky created the story, but Moebius gave it life.
5The Metabarons
The Harsh, Strange Backstory of The Incal’s Cyborg Super-Merc
Much ofThe Incalused what Jodorowsky wanted to put in his failed adaptation ofDune. From there, he got to build up his own space opera universe, or ‘Jodoverse’, with all sorts of characters, races, worlds, and events. One of John Difool’s more interesting companions was the Metabaron, a powerful psychic cyborg mercenary who’s the last of 5 to take that title. Jodorowsky would tell his story, and that of his predecessors, in his spin-offThe Metabarons.
The android Tonto narrates the Metabarons’ history to another robot, Lothar, where he goes into their history, their Bushitaka ritual code, religion, weaponry, and howIncal’s Metabaron, Nameless, became the last one. It shows more ofDune’s influence on Jodorowsky, as it includes tribal conflicts and politics, biopunk body manipulations, and religious awakenings before its twist finale that leads into Nameless’ role inThe Incal. It’s on par with its famous forebear, giving readers more of how the Jodoverse works.
4Corto Maltese
Laconic Sailor Travels Wherever the Wind Takes Him
No matter a person’s background or upbringing, everyone loves a good adventure story. Which may be whyCorto Maltesebecame such a hit. It’s regarded as one of the best comics ever made, both in its writing and art.Famous comic writer Frank Millereven signed a deal to adapt it for Canal+ in 2022, though considering his work onThe Spirit, that could be a cause for concern. Taking place in the early 20th century, it’s about Corto Maltese, an Anglo-Spanish Romani sea captain from Malta.
As a boy, he received a palm reading where he learned he had no fate line. Carving his own, he decided he’d make his own destiny, going wherever he fancies. He doesn’t judge others, befriending people from all walks of life, be they British aristocrats, Czech scholars, or real historical figures like James Joyce. It sounds like a grounded strip, but it can get fanciful. When he isn’t helping the downtrodden, like the South American Jivaro people, he’s discovering the lost continent of Mu and working with Merlin the Magician.
3Judge Dredd
Hardcore Cop Punishes Evil Slightly More Than He Punishes Good
Arguably, this section should go to2000ADas a whole, asJudge Dreddwas just one of the many comics that ran in its pages. Yet whileRogue TrooperandStrontium Dogare also worth checking out, the Judge’s antiheroic authoritarianism made him the comic’s most famous star. He’s one of Mega-City-One’s Street Judges, who have the authority to arrest, sentence, and punish lawbreakers, including execution.
With his Lawgiver (a multipurpose pistol) and Lawmaster (an AI-run motorbike), he brings justice to the city streets and to the post-apocalyptic ‘Cursed Earth’ outside its boundaries. It’s part hard sci-fi, as Dredd deals with his complicated past and otherworldly threats like the Dark Judges, and part satire, as Mega-City-One’s laws are comically strict. It pranks the righteousness other Western comics have by taking them to the extreme, as Dredd is just as likely to imprison people as he is to save them.
2Asterix
Diminutive Gaul Thrashes Entire Roman Armies With His Smarts and a Magic Potion
Japan’s premier pirate manga,One Piece, has since become the best-selling comic series of all time. But nipping at its heels is an older, humble French comic about Gauls during the Roman Empire. By 2023,Asterixhad sold over 393 million copies of its different adventures, where Asterix overcomes the encroaching Romans with his quick wits, his best friend Obelix, and a magic potion developed by the druid Getafix (or Paranoramix in the original French). As simple as it sounds, its stories have gone beyond the Gauls punching out the Romans.
Asterix has had to fight against gentrification, psychological warfare, capitalism, and other sly schemes by the Romans and other rivals. They’ve also gone abroad, reaching Egypt, India, and even America. He’s practically become France’s Mickey Mouse, right down to the multiple cartoon and live-action adaptations, theme park, and problematic elements. Uderzo’s art isn’t always flattering, and his own written stories were much weaker compared to Goscinny’s. Luckily, the newer stories by Ferri, Conrad, and Fabcaro are more inspiring and up-to-date.
1The Adventures of Tintin
Boy Reporter Travels the World in Search of Mystery and Adventure
The ligne claire style describes scenes that are drawn with clear, varying lines with no hatched shading, and was created by Belgian illustrator George ‘Hergé’ Remi. It’s shown at its best in his most iconic work,The Adventures of Tintin. They follow the title character as he and his dog, Snowy, travel the world to report on one adventure or another. It’s basicallyIndiana JonesorUnchartedif the lead was a Belgian kid, and his sidekick was a sozzled sea captain with a creative use of curses (“Billions of blistering blue barnacles!”).
The series caught on worldwide, with its art inspiring thousands of artists from Jacques Tardi to Andy Warhol. However, it hasn’t made much headway in North America beyond the Hollywood movieThe Secret of the Unicorn. Its older volumes have also aged badly in their content, with Hergé himself later disowning tasteless stories likeTintin in the Congoin favor of his more refined and open-minded later works. Like classic Disney and Warner Bros cartoons, it can have some grim reminders of the past.
