Did you know that outside of the real world we live in, there is a universe that can please you so much that it will make you want to stay there forever? Don't waste your time, opt for steampunk comics. Alan Moore 's array of tales full of adventures await you. Here are the Top 20 best steampunk comics .
20. The Dark Cities (casterman)
In the 12 albums of "Les Cités Obscures", Benoît Peeters talks about the adventure of Franz, a liaison agent sent from the city of Xhystos to Samaris. Here is a mysterious city where there is no trace of children, all the buildings sink into the void as you progress through the passages. Finally, the courageous adventurer realizes that such mysteries are linked to centuries-old historical contexts...
19. Ship of Fools (delcourt)
It is the year 627, in the 77th brumore, where the commanders of the ministerial authorities of the city of Eauxfolles, after having been informed of the existence of dangerous monsters in the sewers, implore the King to make a decision as quickly as possible regarding the restoration of order. At this time, the discovery of a traffic of giant gourds is noted. Combining both humorous and fanciful styles, La Nef des fous de Turf is intended for all audiences.
18. MORIARTY (delcourt)
In 1899, in London, in an opium den during a shootout between the police and dangerous criminals, one of the latter known as Hyde did not survive after receiving 7 bullets in the skin, while Dr. Jekyll, his right-hand man, was able to escape death. At the same time, the investigator Sherlock Holmes faces the deceptive plans of a manipulative card player at the Diogenes Club. A new case awaits our daring investigator.
17. The Diurnal (glenat-12 bis)
This steampunk comic by Éric Corbeyran tells a distressing story of a hybrid vampire called Wölfel von Ulf the Daytime. Raised since childhood and in secret by a mayor of the city of Loukiana, Wölfel adapts very quickly to the human world. His father entrusts him with Clowdig, his half-brother, the command of the anti-vampire night brigade. Sensing an imminent danger of death to the detriment of men, The Daytime spends most of his nocturnal time defending them by any means against the attacks of a pure race of vampires wandering the city for several years. However, humans wrongly accuse him of being responsible for murders. Between the anvil and the hammer, he wants to act.
16. The Arcana of Midday-Midnight (sun)
Belonging to the Royal Intelligence Service, Jim McKalan is supported by his cousin Jenna during all his investigative missions. Jenna manages a famous watchmaker called the Midi-Minuit but her collaborative meetings with Jim are neither seen nor known by anyone. Now, it is time for the two friends to face a rather complex murder case in the Brooksyork district. The investigation leads them to the involvement of Fernand Loyde who manages to reveal their secret. In a rather Steam-fantasy style, Jean-Charles Gaudin, the author tells us a story with breathtaking suspense.
15. The Regulator ( delcourt )
A killer hired by an armed regulatory body with a putschist vocation, Aristide Thanatos is ready to do anything to achieve his ends: nothing other than kill. His secret? A wormy heart that will sooner or later cost him his life. Still enjoying his existence a little, the passionate criminal prefers to continue his bloody adventure until the leader of the group entrusts him with a mission to stop a hired killer. By surprise, he discovers that his target was a childhood friend. Everything then starts to go wrong since Aristide the Regulator becomes the armed wing that terrorizes the gang. Written by Éric Corbeyran, this series of 6 volumes invites you to a meeting in a steampunk universe. Also discover "Ambrosia", "Hestia", "Ophidia", "666 IA", "Cordelia" and "Nyx".
14. Louis the Moon (Albin Michel)
In the midst of searching for his great-grandfather, Jules Verne, along with his friend Zoé, Louis Verne, known as Louis the Moon, finds an ingenious method for going to the Moon to establish a relationship with all beings living there. The two young high school students from the City of Lights, with their curious minds, then set off to conquer a mysterious world with a stunning steampunk style.
13. The Ghosts of Neptune (delcourt)
The 19th century is the era of the industrial revolution and great scientific progress in Europe. Archaeology occupies a prominent place, especially after the discovery of an effigy once belonging to a legendary colonizing extraterrestrial people, apparently inhabitants of the solar system. Wanting to take possession of it, the Kaiser uses all means to recover it, but Meena, a daring young woman, tries to thwart him. This story by Valp is divided into 3 volumes, namely: "Kheropis", "Collapsus" and "Rorqual".
12. Mechanical Tales (package)
Loïc Malnati is the author, illustrator and scriptwriter of these two mechanical tales contained in a single album. A poetic work devoid of any violence that highlights the emotional side. Entitled "Silence", the first tale recalls the attack in Nice targeting an evening on the Promenade des Anglais. Indeed, in order to better illustrate the feeling experienced by a melancholic child who has lost his loved ones, Loïc Malnati opts for mostly faded images of puppets with very expressive and emotional faces. On the other hand, the album entitled "Eternal Flower" tells the story of an old lonely couple who live in a distant house. The husband, lamenting the loss of his wife, cultivates an abstract flower in memory of his deceased partner...
11. Hauteville House (delcourt)
In 1864, at Hauteville House, Victor Hugo took charge of hiring men from the army for a very particular and precise mission in Mexico: to fight against a scientific project under the authority and initiative of Napoleon III, the French emperor. But the latter, as a great strategist, is much more suspicious than Victor Hugo would have thought. So, Napoleon calls on Gabriel Valentin-la-Rochelle, known as Gavroche, an agent attached to the secret service of the republican force to go to Mexico to fight, resist and attack Victor Hugo by surprise in order to better extend his power to America. Available in 17 volumes, this saga by Fred Duval invites us to live in a world of the Second Empire where the steampunk influence is omnipresent.
10. Grandville
At the beginning of the 19th century , the Kingdom of England raised the white flag against the powerful Napoleonic army that won all the battles during its conquest of the rest of Europe. It was a difficult time for the British Empire ... the entire royal family was beheaded. Driven by a feeling of frustration, the English population, thirsty for independence from France, began to rebel. A wave of attacks took place. It was now up to Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard to conduct an investigation into an assassination, even though the political situation at the time was more complex. Bryan Talbot, the author of this incredible work, delivers an incredible steampunk comic and invites us to follow this series with talent. It is divided into 5 volumes: “Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard”, “Grandville mon amour”, “Bête Noire”, “Grandville: Noël” and “Grandville: Force Majeure”.
9. The Extraordinary Journey
It is 1927, while the First World War is still going on; two boys (Noémie and Émilien) decide to leave a British boarding school, where they have been interned. They then agree to help each other find Émilien's father. He was a scientist who, on the verge of creating a robot prototype, suddenly disappeared. The hypothesis of a simple coincidence is difficult to pin down since this disappearance takes place while a mediating force called the " 3rd axis" emerges from nowhere with the support of robots. Three colleagues and friends of the professor come to the aid of the two children and decide to interrupt the project. They are Amélia, Térence and Winfrey. Denis-Pierre Filippi and Silvio Camboni, the two authors of this saga, have divided it into two cycles of three volumes each. The first cycle is entitled "The Jules Verne Trophy" and the second "The Mysterious Islands".
8. Clockwerx
In 1897, the Industrial Revolution develops the economy of several European countries. In London, a sequence of tragic and murderous events whose true causes are unclear attracts the attention of a former Scotland Yard police officer. To solve this mystery, he uses infiltration. The information gathered has allowed him to be warned of the existence of many unauthorized workers on a construction site. Worse still, these are the main targets of the series of murders in his investigation. Little by little, he realizes the omnipresence of a fight between the Golden Shell, a powerful organization and a group of mercenaries led by a young woman named Molly Vane. The latter has a cargo of secret weapons, huge war robots known as Clockwerx. According to the investigations of the ex-police officer, the discovery of a mineral called lucifernium is a strategic issue. It serves as raw material for the design of a large quantity of very powerful machines which would be capable of endangering the global balance of this beginning of the 20th century.
7. The Meridian of Mists
If you are a fan of steampunk manga , "Le Méridien des Brumes" will fascinate you more than the previous ones. In London, the end of the Belle Époque was marked by a long, terrible period. A ferocious killer decimates the population that even the police do not have the courage to confront. At this precise moment, in Black Africa, John Coleridge, a famous British hunter who has lived there for twenty years, becomes known for having saved a photographer in the middle of the wild fauna. The English authorities decide to bring back his brave national in order to entrust him with a delicate mission which consists of following the serial killer called "the Knacker". The futuristic components à la Jules Verne of such a saga written by Erik Juszezak characterize the work. This comic book is on sale in two volumes. On the one hand, the "Aubes Pourpres" and on the other hand, the "Saba".
6. The Fake Man
Inspired by a novel of the same name by Maurice Renard, this work by Gess and Serge Lehman takes us to the heart of the First World War. Indeed, an occult organization is about to finalize a revolutionary system improving human visual acuity through the intervention of an electrical device. To do this, it needs a human being for the first tests. The secret group then takes advantage of a battle on the Chemin des Dames on May 27, 1918. Lieutenant Jean Lebris is seriously injured, a good part of his face is seriously damaged, he is then considered for the experiment. After a semester, Jean Lebris is released with a completely altered face. He sows terror among the inhabitants of the outlying districts of the Grand Palais, who call him "the rigged man". Two courageous individuals, namely Marie Curie and Léo Saint-Clair the nyctalope, unite to plan the arrest of Lebris in order to restore peace in the city. Sparing no effort, they end up captivating the Lieutenant and subsequently discover the true value of their prisoner. He is indeed the only one who knows of the existence of the threat that hangs over the city and the entire country. The three heroes decide to form a team to organize a counter-offensive. The Fake Man is an epic that will keep you on the edge of your seat with a rather complex, elaborate scenario...
5. Azimuth
This is the disastrous story of Professor Quentin, a famous scientist in search of an effective cure for old age and death, but who has thrown himself into an adventure full of twists and turns and deadly dangers. A large part of his crew was swallowed up by horrible sea creatures, leaving the survivors plunged into deep trauma or in the grip of suicidal madness. This is what Eugene, the only painter on board this ship of misfortune, suffered. At sea for more than 567 days, his ship specially designed to carry out various experiments returns to Ponduche. The professor then realizes something incredible: orientation is now impossible, the North Pole seems to have dissipated. Now available in 4 volumes, namely: “The Adventurers of Lost Time”, “Let the Beautiful Die”, “The Anthropotames of Nihil” and “Black Clouds, White Veil”, the saga is available from your nearest bookstore.
4. The Bombyce Network
At the beginning of the 20th century , being extremely cunning and difficult to apprehend looters, Mouche the gnome and Eustache the colossus pair up to form a great team of rogue schemers called the "Bombyce network". Eustache was an orphan before becoming a burglar, while Mouche is a tightrope walker with incomparable acrobatic skills. One day, their discovery of a very compromising video of a Snuff Movie will change everything. They use the video to blackmail one of their victims, a rich notable of the City of Lights ...
3. The Castle of the Stars 1869: The Conquest of Space
Claire Dulac, an adventure enthusiast, decided in 1868 to investigate the existence of the ether, a huge challenge driven by the thirst to achieve the greatest discovery of this era. However, barely completed, her long journey ended badly. The courageous adventurer unfortunately perished aboard her airship in an indefinable manner. A year later, after receiving an anonymous letter informing the rediscovery of Claire Dulac's logbook; Archibald, her husband and her son Séraphin try to locate her. Notwithstanding a premeditated kidnapping attempt by two unknown men, Séraphin and her father manage to dodge all the pitfalls harming their project before finally arriving at the Bavarian castle where the real adventure is only just beginning.
2. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
This is a work by Alan Moore classified among the fantasy genre comics and published in six volumes. Indeed, the story takes place in London between the twilight of the reign of Queen Victoria and the advent of the 20th century. After having endured for a long time the haunting of a terrible danger of death, the English capital will finally be able to feel the new breath of divine peace thanks to the heroic plan of six courageous people namely: Hawley Griffin, Edward Hyde, Dr. Henry Jekyll, Captain Nemo, Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain who form a sort of superhero club called The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The leadership of the team was entrusted to Miss Wilhelmina Murray by Campion Bond, a secret agent who works on behalf of "M", the main unknown and mysterious founder of the group. The mission consists above all in establishing a strategy to avoid the imminent danger and then to repel the incursion of the Martians.
1. Lady Mechanika (glenat)
Joe Benitez brings us the story of a woman who has suffered a total loss of her memory. She becomes amnesiac after a tragic experiment conducted by a psychopathic researcher. She was the one and only survivor despite the fact that her arms and legs were amputated, which were replaced by mechanical prostheses. Later becoming a private detective known as Lady Mechanika , she decides to investigate her hazy past. Faced with various cases, most of which are unsolved by the police. She then becomes the famous heroine causing floods of ink to flow in an alternative Victorian England, a time when superstition and science competed.
There you go, remember that all this is suggestive and that a TOP20 will never be perfect. Thanks for reading vaporists. Check out the article on Steampunk Art to learn more if you feel like it.
See you soon for a new article on the captivating world of steampunk.