Les Travaux d’Hercule

A singular, monumental work from the French publisher Aubert, Les Travaux d’Hercule is a lavish, single-issue comic from 1847 that stands as an early landmark of sequential art. This pioneering series is most closely associated with the legendary illustrator Gustave Doré, whose dynamic engravings bring the twelve labors of Hercules to life with epic grandeur. More than just a classic myth adaptation, it represents a crucial artifact in the history of the comic form, showcasing the narrative power of illustrated panels decades before the medium's modern conventions were established.