Le Roi Cyclope

Le Roi cyclope (The cyclopean King) is an epic fantasy Franco Belgian Comic written, drawn and colored by Isabelle Dethan. But the plot, the universe and the characters are very quite unique. Sure, you have The Hero and the Big Bad, you have Swords and sorcery, but maybe because the writer is a woman, she brings something you don't see in classical fantasy adventures. That is why there are a lot of averted or subverted tropes in those books.

One of the many interests of this graphic novel is the antagonist, the marquis Desiderat de Mornemont, nicknammed le marquis délicieux (the delicious marquis). He is a Complete Monster. He is an Evil Sorcerer. He is the Big Bad. He becomes so powerful that nobody can defeat him. But at the end, you feel sorry for him.

Other main characters are:
 * Thales, nicknamed le roi cyclope is the youngest son of the king.
 * Antimée, the guardian of the Garden of Pareiza, Thales' love interest
 * Griselda, a gypsy storyteller, the Marquis' love interest

Othenar is the old king of Lycenes. He orders the Marquis Desiderat de Mornemont, a powerful wizard, to make him immortal. With the king's agreement, the Marquis mutilate the seven princes, then kill them and turn them into odebiant ghosts. Only the youngest one, Thales, escape this fate. He is mortally wounded by the king's guards, in front of Griselda. The guards dumped him in le puit aux morts (well of the dead). He is saved by Antimea, who bring him into the garden of Pareiza. The magical garden heals him and mades him a seer. The marquis magically detects that the prince is alive and finds the garden. He absorbe the magical power of the place; Thales defeat him in a swordfight, and the Marquis let Thales and Antimée fly away. Several years later, the Marquis is know the master of the kingdom, and thales tries to find a way to defeat him.

These books provide example of:
 * Action Girl: subverted. Griselda has a sword, she never uses it, but
 * Authority Equals Asskicking: the Marquis. And how.
 * Beauty Equals Goodness: played straight or averted, YMMV. The evil Marquis is very ugly. But his physical ugliness is strange and fascinating, says Griselda.
 * Bittersweet Ending: The sweet part ?  The bitter part ?
 * Black Magic: everything the marquis does is twisted and evil. And creepy, like it's shadow magic.
 * Blind Seer: Thales has lost an eye and he becomes a seer. He can see can see past and present events, but not future ones.
 * Character Title: Thals, aka le roi cyclope.
 * Duel to The Death:
 * Eyepatch of Power: averted. Thales is a capable fighter, he has an eyepatch, but not really badass.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": everybody calls Desiderat de Mornemont the marquis. Also, the captain of the guard.
 * Evil Chancellor: the marquis, before the king dies.
 * Hot Gypsy Woman: Griselda.
 * Immortality Immorality: the king allows the marquis to kill his 7 sons in as he tries to be immortal. Averted in the case of Antimée, the immortal guardian of the Garden of Pareiza, who is the nicest character.
 * Love Is a Weakness for the marquis.
 * Living Shadow
 * Mook Chivalry: averted in the first pages.
 * Swordfight: Thales and the marquis fight twice, using swords. But the fate of the world does not depend on those duels.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Thales