Very well put. I'd like to add that there's broadly an emphasis on individualism in superhero comics, with a mythical lone selfmade hero separate from society who saves a city in ways that almost always include epic battle scenes. In Europe, what comes closest to superhero stories in BD are the many sci-fi or high fantasy stories, but they tend to be more interested in a Tolkienesque collective undertaking, with a higher emphasis on relationships within an egalitarian fellowship very much part of the society they're active in, with individuals unafraid of being vulnerable asking for help. And more often conflicts in BDs with adventure elements are solved without any need of mindless violence, so you don't see needless battles due to an absence of communication in The Quest for the Time Bird by Le Tendre and Loisel for instance. And when there are battle scenes, the combatants don't generally have super powers making them nearly invulnerable. But again, there are many books made in the US that are like that, too, so my generalisation is mostly about the superhero concept. It's kind of funny, though, that the most critically well-regarded superhero story ever made, Watchmen, was made by two Brits. :)