European Comics Are the Next Big-Screen Gold Mine

The ongoing trend of turning comic book properties into cinema gold continues to suffer from diminishing returns in the US In Europe, however, the graphic novel is thriving.

More than 4,000 titles are published every year in France and Belgium, and the bande dessinée industry has fostered an inordinate amount of amazing talent from all over Europe, both on the writing and visual fronts.

Here’s a list of eight Franco-Belgian comic books from the past five years that are ripe for a film or streaming adaptation. Some of these have already been translated into English. The rest are available in the original French editions — but in most cases, the richness and fluidity of the images convey their stories regardless of language.

Ava

Ana Miralles, Emilio Ruiz

Born in Madrid, 65-year-old Ana Miralles is one of the most exquisite artists in contemporary comic books — her command of color and mood is unparalleled. Published in 2024, this evocative graphic novel finds her teaming up with longtime collaborator Emilio Ruiz for a poetic exploration of the 48 hours that Hollywood diva Ava Gardner spent in Rio de Janeiro during a 1954 promotional tour. Meticulously researched, the story delves into fiction for a meditation on the perils of fame and the vile treatment of women by the media. Perfect for a sumptuous HBO adaptation.

Caravaggio

Milo Manara

In 1983, Italian virtuoso Milo Manara made history with the nasty, electrifying Le Déclica before-and-after jolt for erotic comics. Incredibly, the 80-year-old maestro continues to generate outstanding work. This two-volume fictionalized biography of Caravaggio pays a lovingly crafted tribute to one of Manara’s idols. This one is not as explicitly sexual as his books of the ’80s and ’90s, even though his obsession with the female body continues to fuel his imagination. The colors are opaque and subdued, but the drawings remain as aesthetic as ever. A miniseries in the original Italian could be a hit.

Madeleine, résistante

Dominique Bertail, JD Morvan

This four-part saga is one of the major triumphs of the comic book medium in the 21st century, and it demands to be transposed into a lavish miniseries. It chronicles the real-life feats of Madeleine Riffaud, a daredevil member of the French resistance during World War II who was imprisoned, tortured, sent to a concentration camp and still lived to tell the tale. The script, by JD Morvan and Riffaud herself, uses her published poetry for maximum emotional effect. The art, by Dominique Bertail, opts for delicate, blue monochrome tones that enhance the story’s pervasive sorrow. Incredibly, Riffaud lived to be 100 and died last year, just a few days after the publication of the fourth and final book volume.

Matteo

Jean-Pierre Gibrat

No one draws female characters quite like veteran Parisian artist Jean-Pierre Gibrat, and his gorgeous images take your breath away. His lines are realistic, with a warm retro touch, like a Fellini movie from the ’70s. And his use of color — bold reds, crepuscular blues, hopeful yellows — is impossible to forget. The six volumes of Matteo would make for a great Hulu show: complex, understated and occasionally heart-wrenching. It follows the personal and political adventures of the titular character, the son of a Spanish anarchist, and his love affair with the endearing Juliette, as ideological conflicts succeed one another from 1914 to 1940.

Un flic sous l’Occupation (A Cop Under the Occupation)

Jean-Michel Beuriot, Philippe Richelle

Between 2001 and 2023, the award-winning saga Amours Fragiles told the story of Martin Mahner, a young, hypersensitive German, through the rise of Nazism and the war years. It was an unforgettable series that relished its own ambiguity and blossomed on the narrative weight of psychological complexity. Now, the same duo teams up for the first installment in an equally thrilling story about three French police inspectors in 1940 Paris. From the implied menace in the lovely cover art to the fascinating cast of characters, this one sits comfortably alongside the HBO aesthetic that fostered Perry Mason.

Lefranc

Jacques Martin

The character of intrepid French journalist Guy Lefranc was dreamed up in 1952 by Jacques Martin, a longtime collaborator of Tintin creator Hergé; the graphic style of his adventures is marked by vibrant colors and the school of clear line (ligne claire) that dominated Franco-Belgian comics in the 20th century. Remarkably, Martin made sure that the series would continue following his death at 88 in 2010. Since then, two separate creative teams alternate developing stories to sustain the rhythm of an annual album. Lefranc’s adventures — exotic and suspenseful — would be a perfect fit for a Prime series.

Les Damnés de l’or brun (The Damned of the Brown Gold)

Francis Vallès, Didier Alcante, Fabien Rodhain, Christian Favrelle

A pulpy series with three published books so far, The Damned of the Brown Gold is set in the 19th century, when the cocoa trade was still linked to slavery and all-around colonial abuse. An intergenerational story, it begins in Brazil, then moves to São Tomé and Paris. Informed by stylish settings, family rivalries and a healthy amount of sex and violence, it could easily become one of those addictive guilty pleasures that Netflix does so well.

Scotland — Episode 1

Leo, Rodolphe, Marchal Bertrand

It remains a mystery why Hollywood hasn’t jumped at the chance of adapting the rich, expansive universe of Kenya and its sequels (Namibia, Amazonia, Scotland) into a lavish cinematic universe. A more ethereal, graphic novel version of The X-Files set in the 1940s, the narrative world created by frequent collaborators Leo and Rodolphe has one of the coolest protagonists in recent times: Kathy Austin, a secret agent who investigates the supernatural. The fourth cycle, Scotlandis wonderfully atmospheric, filled with suspense and romanticized landscapes.