My Favorite Franco-Belgian Comic Creators >> January B 2007
This list was very difficult to narrow down so I mention more at the end. It's also not in any particular order. Frustratingly I can't read French so there are bunch more that should be translated and published in English pronto. .. perhaps starting with: Slalom by Lewis Trondheim and Varlot Soldat by Jacques Tardi. Italian creators and other Europeans are a whole 'nother list. Find more at Lambiek.net.
1) Lewis Trondheim - The Hoodoodad, Harum Scarum, Dungeon (here I like the banter and the whimsical art)
2) Jean Girard & Jean-Michel Charlier - Blueberry series (here I like the quick adventure and suspenseful plots)
3) Christophe Blain - Isaac the Pirate, The Speed Abater (here I like the striking mood, the unpredictable plot and characters)
4) Hermann Huppen - The Towers of Bois-Maury, Jeremiah (here I like the vivid settings more than the plot or characters)
5) René Goscinny & Albert Uderzo - Asterix series (here I like the light mood, the varied locales and the silly puns)
Others I really like but didn't make the top 5 are:
- Manu Larcenet - Ordinary Victories
- Joann Sfar - The Rabbi's Cat, Dungeon
- Hergé - Tintin
- François Schuiten and Benoît Peeters - Cities of the Fantastic series
- Jacques Tardi and Léo Malet - The Bloody Streets of Paris
- David B. - Epileptic