French culture in Japan

Today, I had a small talk with co-workers. We were talking about differences in our culture when it came, inevitably, to manga and comics (I use the word comics because Japanese people seem to use it more often than "manga", at least in our conversations).

When they asked me about famous French comics, I was stupefied to learn that they didn't know (or had barely heard of) Tintin, Asterix or Lucky Luke.
Tintin seems to be known, at least when they see the pictures. As for Asterix, never heard of him. Same for Lucky Luke.
Honestly, I thought that they were quite known and I was proud to refer to them.
I mean, who doesn't know Tintin or Asterix ??? That's like completely unbelievable.
And now I feel to start nostalgic about it, for I have read all Tintin and dozens of Lucky Luke/Asterix when I was a kid.
Next time, when I get the opportunity to drop by a library or when I'll go back to France, I'll be sure not to miss my chance.