In 1982, Giardino created a new character: Max Fridman, an ex-secret agent involved in the political struggle in 1930s Europe.

His first adventure, Hungarian Rhapsody was serialized in the first four issues of magazine Orient Express, bringing Giardino in the limelight of the international comic scene.

Some of the prizes the series won include Lucca Festival's Yellow Kid[1] and Brussels' St.

[citation needed] Starting in 1984, Giardino produced a number of short stories for the Italian magazine Comic Art, where he introduced Little Ego, a young and sexy girl inspired by Winsor McCay's Little Nemo who stars in one-page dreamy erotic stories.

[2] Giardino's detailed art style recalls the Belgian ligne claire, while his writing owes to hard-boiled and spy story authors like Dashiell Hammett and John le Carré.