Sambre

Set in 19th-century France, Sambre is a lush, tragic historical romance from Carlsen Comics, running four issues from 1987 to 1997. Written primarily by Yslaire, Balac, and Helmut Mennicken, with Yslaire as the defining artist, the series follows the doomed love affair between a bourgeois girl and a peasant boy against a backdrop of revolution and social upheaval. Its painterly, atmospheric art and operatic emotional intensity made it a landmark of European graphic storytelling, influencing the genre’s approach to period drama.