Did you enjoy TinTin or the Smurfs as a kid? Then you've already had  taste of Franco-Belgian comics, another distinct style of comics and graphic novels. As I've already covered, the Japanese have their own style, manga, which has influenced Korea's manwha and China and Hong Kong's manuha. In the United States, descendants of Jewish immigrants have heavily influenced American comics. Lest you think Europe is a comics wasteland, the French and Belgians have a history of “bandes dessinées” (translated as “drawn strips”), their own style of comics.

Within the world of bandes dessinées there are distinct sub-styles – not all Franco-Belgian comics look the same. The rest of Europe has enjoyed the Franco-Belgian artists and their styles, and artists in other countries such as Italy have been strongly influenced by them.

Here's just a sample of what we have available to borrow from the world of Franco-Belgian comics artists:

Farr, Michael. The Adventures of Hergé, Creator of TinTin. San Francisco:  Last Gasp, 2007.

Goscinny. Asterix at the Olympic Games. Orion, 2004.

Hergé. The Adventures of TinTin.  Little, Brown, 1994.

Tardi, Jacques. The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. Pterror over Paris ; and, The Eiffel Tower Demon. Fantagraphics Books, 2010.

Tardi, Jacques. The Adventures of Jérôme Plumier. The Arctic Marauder. Fantagraphics, 2011.