Happy birthday cake with candles

Happy Birthday to Me: Buy Your First BD Today! [2022 Edition]

Today is my birthday.  I’m not asking you to buy me anything.  

Instead, I want you to buy yourself something.

Get started on some good Franco-Belgian comic books.  Here are some suggestions, with all applicable purchasing links.

If I were you, as a North American comic book reader, I’d start with Ken Games, which is on sale this week for a mere $2.99 a book. More about that series in a bit.

First, the standard FTC disclosure:

(Amazon links are affiliate links, yes. I get a small commission from those sales that won’t cost you a penny extra.And, let’s be honest: any money I make off of this will go straight towards buying the next book to review. I like to think of it as “reinvesting”.)

Orbital v1

Amazon | Izneo

If you’re looking for a beautiful sci-fi book, this is your best shot. I have reviewed it, and the next seven books in the series.

Valerian and Laureline v6

Amazon | Izneo

If you’re still looking for a beautiful sci-fi book, just slightly less modern, go with this one. It is also the basis of the “Valerian” movie, so you can look cool to all your friends for having read it while they pre-judged the movie and missed a great sci-fi flick. Here’s my review of the book.

Check out the Pipeline Portal for “Valerian and Laureline” for my reviews of every book in the series and more.

Lucky Luke: “Daisy Town”

Amazon | Izneo

Technically, this is the adaptation of an animated movie based on the first 20 years or so of the series, but it works well as an introduction for new readers.  Written by Rene Goscinny with Morris on art.  It’s a well-drawn and funny entry in the series.

Ken Games v1

Ken Games volume 1: "Rock" cover

Comixology | Izneo

This is my most recommended BD and the one that everyone who’s taken me up on it has enjoyed.  You’ll likely immediately pick up volumes 2 and 3 (and maybe even 4) after you read this.  It’s that good. (Did I mention already that it’s on sale?)

Largo Winch v1

Amazon | Izneo

Start with the “origin” book.  It fits neatly into the pattern of the series.  “Largo Winch” is a board room thriller as much as it is an action thriller.

As a bonus, this is from early in the run, when Cinebook would combine both of the original albums that tell a complete story in one book.  After the third, Cinebook started publishing the albums individually to get to a lower price point.

Asterix Omnibus, Volume 3: “Asterix and the Big Fight,” “Asterix in Britain,” “Asterix and the Normans”

Amazon

Papercutz v3 softcover edition from Papercutz

Amazon – Papercutz Edition

I had a hard time picking a single “Asterix” volume for this list.  Anything between books 4 and 24 or so would be a good start. Thankfully, with the Omnibus format, you can get three books for only a little more than the price of one. I think these three would whet your appetite to go read the rest. At that point, I’d suggest going back to Volume 1 and reading them in order. You’ll also see how much Uderzo’s models for the characters changed from that first book this way.

Smurfs Anthology v1

Smurf hats in a group

Amazon

Contains both of the classics, “The Purple Smurf” and “The Smurf King.” The latter you might find political resonance with from recent years…

The Campbells

The Campbells v1 cover

Izneo | Amazon

Jose Luis Munuera tells the story of the pirate who retired after his wife’s death to take care of his children, only to have to return to piracy for their survival. There are dramatic twists and turns across the five books in this series, but also a lot of laughs.

Long John Silver

Long John Silver v1 cover

Izneo | Amazon

Who doesn’t love Mathieu Lauffray’s artwork? This one is available through Cinebook, so you can get it digitally or in print. It’s one story written by Xavier Dorison told across four books, and it’s a serious, dramatic, and insanely good-looking series.

Glorious Summers

Cover from Glorious Summers v1 by Zidrou and Jordi Lafebre

Izneo | Amazon

Who doesn’t love Jordi LaFebre’s art? You may not know his name yet, but plenty of North American comic artists you like do know about him, and love his work, too. It’s almost unfair how good this guy is. And “Glorious Summers” is his showcase, detailing the lives of a Belgian family and their annual summer trips to France.

Written by Zidrou, the book skips around across the years of the family’s lives, and putting it all together in your mind is half the fun.

It’s a great series. Start with book one.

Ekho

Ekho v1 cover by Barbucci

Amazon

This is the beautifully drawn series in which two people crash land on an alternate earth where there is no electricity. Cities still exist and look very familiar, but everything about the infrastructure is wildly different. Birds are planes and dinosaurs are buses and all sorts of crazy things. Alessandro Barbucci’s art is wildly impressive and detailed.

This is also the odd case where a series is available on Amazon, but not Izneo. Nine books are available in the series so far.

#ReadBD


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4 Comments

  1. Happy birthday Augie!!
    I hope you had a lovely day with friends and family.

    Since my last post a lot has happened.
    I’m in the middle of a divorce. The love from her side is gone.
    We have 3 kids (2 are autistic), so i’m not in the mood for buying something other than my montly purchases..
    Hopefully everything will calm down in a few months, and we have a new leader in Holland who isn’t as crazy as the man in charge in your country.

    Are you watching the UK Open or the Premier League darts?

    Don’t drink to much and keep posting 🙂

  2. Happy belated birthday.
    Whatever Comixology’s business model is, they should definitely set up an affiliates program for you Augie, you deserve it for all the good work you’re putting out.

    1. Thanks on all counts! I wish they’d set up that affiliates program, too. Heck, they could make it part of Amazon’s affiliate program. They probably don’t have the margins to justify it, though. Ah, well… I’m the internet’s worst business guy. My next website will be car reviews, and I’ll get an affiliate fee on those. 😉

  3. “This is also the odd case where a series is available on Amazon, but not Izneo. Nine books are available in the series so far. ”

    I hope that tome 11 will be available somewhere digitally.

    I like Ekhö very much, I started to learn French on Duolingo because I waited, waited, but tome 10 was never published in English language, only in French. Although I’m still very far from the knowledge to read it.