Max Friedman

Max Friedman is a worldly, sophisticated protagonist created by Vittorio Giardino whose adventures unfold across politically charged, historically grounded settings in interwar Europe — navigating intrigue and danger across stories like No Pasarán! and Orient Gateway.

Few characters in European-style comics published in North America carry quite the worldly, literary weight of Max Friedman, who stepped onto the page in 1986 courtesy of creator Vittorio Giardino and Jeff Lisle. A Copper Age original brought to English-language readers through NBM, Max anchors a small but distinctly sophisticated corner of the catalog — his adventures unfolding across titles like No Pasarán!, The Adventures of Max Friedman, and Orient Gateway, each title alone evoking intrigue, history, and far-flung locales. Over more than two decades of publication, this is a character who rewards the reader looking beyond the superhero mainstream for something more continental and carefully crafted — a quiet gem for the discerning collector.