Another cartoon that is an alternative to the American ones: The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian illustrator Hergé
The Adventures of Tintin is widely regarded as a classic of comic art, but some issues are rightly criticized for racial stereotyping and a romanticized view of colonialism. This is hardly surprising, however, as the series dates back to the 1930s.
While I'm a fan of Tintin (and Asterix, Valerian, and others), I don't think "Hey, this century old European comic is good!" is sending the message that OP thinks it is.
Yes, that's true. Especially in the French-speaking parts of Europe with Hergé, André Franquin, Albert Uderzo, Moebius, Peyo, Edgar P. Jacobs, Pierre Christin, Jean-Claude Mézières and many others.
I might post a few more to this community sometime.
Back in my days I use to record them on VHS and watch them again when there was nothing interesting on TV (that is, 90% of the time).
I finished knowing by heart any single lines if dialogs. Yeah, I was that weirdo creep at school.
Except for "Les cigares du pharaon", where I didn't record the good channel 😟. I passed my whole childhood with that hole in the story.
My local library has probably close to the full run of these so I read most all of them growing up and while they are a product of their time I have such good memories of them.
For those who like SF and heard about the legendary Dune movie adaption by Jodorowsky and designed by Giraud (aka Mœbius) that never happened, but fed the next following generation of SF classics (Blade Runner, Alien, The Fifth Element), I recommend the Incal by the same two guys, based on material and concepts from the movie.
Regarding Dune: The documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune" about the production of this probably most influential movie that was never made is well worth watching.
And yes; There are a lot of great comic artists especially from France and Belgium. When it comes to sci-fi I also like Valérian and Laureline among many.