Vasco

Set against the gritty backdrop of 16th-century Italy, Vasco is a sprawling historical adventure series from Le Lombard that follows the exploits of a cunning, globe-trotting banker. Launched in 1983 and running for 29 issues, the series is most famously associated with its creator, writer-artist Gilles Chaillet, whose detailed, atmospheric artwork brought the Renaissance era to life. After Chaillet's passing, the series continued under a team of writers and artists including Thierry Lebreton, Dominique Rousseau, Christophe Ansar, and Jean-Pierre Joblin, maintaining its focus on political intrigue and swashbuckling action. A cornerstone of Franco-Belgian comics, Vasco matters for its meticulous historical research and its enduring portrait of a complex antihero navigating a world of power, faith, and treachery.