However, neither of the two works can be considered as historical, but rather set in a historical era, which is not the same thing. The historical comic as such was born and consolidated in the Franco-Belgian sphere in the 1970s and 1980s, highlighting, in my opinion, the works of Hermann with the series The Towers of Bois-Maury (1984-2006) and Bourgeon's The Twilight Companions (1984-1990). In both cases, set in the Middle Ages, not only recreations of an almost archaeological nature are reproduced, but the society and life of a specific time are perfectly reflected, demonstrating that, in addition to their artistic value, the historiographical capabilities of its authors, capturing through their works a faithful reflection of this time. Other works followed this way of making comics with greater or lesser success, but in general they focused on the medieval or modern times, marginalizing the ancient world.
This scenario will change with the release of the movie Gladiator (2000) by Ridley Scott that will be a real shock to the ancient world (in this sense you only have to look at the admission rates at the Colosseum in Rome before and after the premiere of the film) creating an explosion of products such as films, novels, video games and obviously comics, although in general with very different results and, although entertaining, not very "historical".
Within this panorama, the comic Murena stands out on its own merits , started in 1997 (before the aforementioned trend) with scripts by Jean Dufaux and drawings by Phillipe Delaby (died in 2014 and taken up in his last volume by Theo Caneschi) and published in France by the Dargaud publishing house (Planeta de Agostini in Spain). Set during the reign of Nero, Murena Lucio Murena tells the story parallel to that of this emperor, in reality the true protagonist of the story, as can be seen in the very composition of the work composed of three cycles (of four volumes each) that are actually adapted to the life cycle of the monarch. So the first, The cycle of the mother , focuses on Nero's rise to power, as well as her rocky relationship with Agrippina, culminating in her murdering her and gaining absolute power from the emperor. In the second, The cycle of the wife , the story revolves around Nero's relationship with Poppea and especially the great fire that devastated Rome in the year 64. Finally, the third and last, The cycle of death (with only two volumes published due to the forced parenthesis due to Delby's death and of which only the first has been published in Spain), as its name indicates, it will culminate in the tragic death of Nero in which Murena is supposed to play some kind of paper.
Lucius Murena and Nero's Rome
However, despite Nero's leading role, his common thread is the fictional character of Lucio Murena , son of a historical character, Claudio's lover, Lolia Paulina, who will begin as a friend of the young Nero until becoming his antagonist. The main value of this comic is to observe how skillfully the adventures (and misfortunes) of the protagonist, Murena, are combined between a very well-documented historical period and how he relates to it with a multitude of historical personalities, such as his great friend Petronio or with his relationship with Paul of Tarsus after the great fire.
The mastery of creating its own story within this large group of historical characters is what, in my opinion, makes this comic stand out above many others, although it does not always manage to maintain the bar at the same height –see the forced episode in Gaul–. In fact, one of the most outstanding elements of this work is the profound historical documentation that is used, something that can be seen both in the final notes that clarify some Latin terms or situations such as the bibliography and sources used, something quite unusual in a comic – a Dictionnaire Murena that focuses on the entire historical context–.
However, despite the latter, we must not forget that Murena it is a work of fiction and, even as in the best historical novels, it has to fill in the gaps where the old sources do not reach and even force situations or personalities to achieve a better narrative. This means that certain characters do not fully adapt to their historical age, such as the freedman Pallas, represented here much younger and dressed as a Greek to visually reinforce his devious personality, or Agrippina's own youth, among others. 
There is also a bit of abuse of “known places ”, that is, the use of conventions such as the allusion to a certain madness of the emperor , represented here by his visions of the god Mercury announcing his future glory or Nero's sometimes abusive fascination with fire and the smell of burning, more typical of the black legend of the character (although at least he is not held responsible of the famous fire). These situations in general seem far from historicity, but at the same time they bring us closer to the popular image of this era, such as the presentation of some gladiators as secondary characters, not very relevant in the main plot, and who seem rather concessions to a predisposed public.
In the graphic section the illustrations and especially the covers are spectacular, but, although it is not their function, sometimes they present little accuracy. It is true that an evolution can be seen throughout the work in terms of its documentation (for example in the representation of soldiers), but that in architecture it moves again in an indefinite Roman era, more typical of the collective image ( for example the continuous representation of images of Rome inspired by the great model of the Museo della Civiltà Romana, which represents the city in Constantinian times) or series such as Roma , although the setting in general, especially the street scenes is very well represented. It should be noted, however, the great effort on the part of the cartoonist to capture Rome and its environment, since it is not the same to describe it with words in a novel than to have to represent it graphically in a comic, since in the latter it does not depend on the evocation of the reader, but must show it.
Personally, the only criticism I would make of this comic, and from my personal experience as a professor of the History of Ancient Art, is that the huge relative iconography has been ignored from the beginning to historical figures. The representation of Nero himself here presented as an athletic young man and far removed from his portraiture, with an increasing predisposition to being overweight and with his own hairstyle deliberately designed to distance himself from his Julio-Claudian predecessors, and also an emperor Claudius little resemblance to his many Pictures. However, these factors do nothing more than emphasize the personality of this work.
Ultimately, Murena It's an excellent comic recommended not only to the regular reader of comics but also to history buffs, and that not only entertains, but is an excellent showcase of the history of Rome and especially of the figure and time of the Emperor Nero.