Authorised Happiness #1

The cover of this opening volume from the Griffo/Van Hamme collaboration sets an immediately unsettling tone — a red-haired woman in a leather jacket strides urgently through a crowd of eerily passive figures, her wide eyes fixed on something alarming ahead, while a young red-haired girl clutching a doll hurries close behind her. Werner Goelen's art bathes the urban scene in a warm amber glow that somehow makes the towering corporate skyline feel more threatening than welcoming, hinting at a world where the very concept of happiness may come with strings attached. If "Career Plan" is any indication, Authorised Happiness #1 promises the kind of sharp, socially charged storytelling that Jean Van Hamme does so well, brought to vivid life by Goelen's confident linework.