A 2018 adaptation of Ben-Hur in four parts by the French artist Jean-Yves Mitton. The comic adapts elements from both the novel and the 1959 film.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Quintus Arrius' wife and son are stated to have died of a plague years prior, hence his loss of faith and seeing Judah as a surrogate son.
- And Another Thing...: After Judah repeatedly turns downs his increasingly generous offers to drive his chariot, Ilderim happens to remember a minor detail, that the Roman driver is the tribune of Jerusalem, a man by the name of Messala.Ilderim: And you know better than anyone that there are no rules in the arena! Nothing forbids you from crushing your competitors! That said, I wish you a good night that will aid your thoughts and a pleasant trip.
- Antagonist Title: The first book is titled "Messala", who oversees the destruction of the Hur family and sends Judah to the galleys.
- Awesome, but Impractical: Arrius is given command of a particularly huge galley with archer towers, two scorpions and a catapult, even though he'd have preferred something lighter and faster. He's proven right when the galley is unable to avoid being rammed.
- Awful Wedded Life: Pilate's wife constantly snarks at him and bets several thousand sestertii on Judah during the race, both to make money and to piss off her husband (who threatens to exile her).
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Myriam and Tirzah beg Esther to say nothing of their survival as lepers to Judah. She tearfully complies.
- Cool Ship: The Astrea, Arrius' new flagship, which he compares to a floating warcamp. Too bad it doesn't survive its first battle.
- Death Glare: While going though the "ramming speed!" sequence, Judah never breaks eye contact with Arrius.
- Death Seeker: Arrius briefly becomes one when his galley is boarded and he thinks the battle is lost. Then he snaps out of it and resolves to go down fighting before being knocked overboard.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Esther's father Simonides dies offscreen sometime before the fourth book, while he's still alive at the very end of the novel.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Arrius is often seen drinking, though not enough to affect his thinking or fighting ability.
- Establishing Character Moment: Sheikh Ilderim is first heard chewing out one of his servants for his inept charioteering from a distance.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The Roman spectators are disgusted by Messala's brazen cheating and attempted Crippling the Competition on Judah's horses.
- Facial Horror: The ravages of leprosy on Judah's mother and sister are shown in full. His mother in particular has permanently-exposed gums and teeth.
- Funny Foreigner: Sheik Ilderim is lifted straight from the movie and is even more of a stereotype (yet still likable), peppering his speech with Arabisms and praising Allah-Jehovah (literally "God"-"God") every other sentence.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: Jesus's face is never shown, either drawn from behind or with his head down.
- Ironic Echo: "We Keep You Alive In Service Of This Ship" is written (in Latin) over the stairs that lead to the rowers' benches. Judah quotes it back at Arrius when they're adrift on a piece of flotsam.
- Let Me at Him!: Ilderim has to be restrained by his men from emasculating Messala when he sees him trying to maim Ilderim's horses with his Spiked Wheels.
- Looks Like Jesus: Judah, ironically enough, during his time as a Galley Slave who can't shave or cut his hair. Once he returns to Judea, Balthazar also mistakes him for the young messiah he's been looking for.
- One Last Job: Arrius sets off to sink the Macedonian knowing it'll be the last of his career. He succeeds, though his survival was a chance thing.
- Mighty Glacier: The Astrea holds almost one hundred Roman soldiers (and twice as many rowers), nearly fifty archers, two scorpions and a catapult... but is a sitting duck when rammed and boarded due to how hard it is to get moving.
- Named by the Adaptation: Judah's mother gets named Myriam.
- Not Now, We're Too Busy Crying Over You: Judah is so distraught by the death of Jesus that it takes him a while to notice his mother and sister have been cured of their leprosy and that Malluch can speak again.
- Pragmatic Evil: Arrius tells the hortator to replace the rowers every two hours instead of three so they're better-rested.
- Redemption in the Rain: The rain that falls at Jesus' death restores Malluch's tongue and cures the lepers.
- Training the Peaceful Villagers: Judah spends time training fellow Judeans to fight against Rome, even mounting an unsuccessful rescue attempt on Jesus' arrest. Like in the novel, it doesn't work out.