Blake et Mortimer #24

Among the most beloved Franco-Belgian adventure series, Les Aventures de Blake et Mortimer reaches its 24th volume with writer Yves Sente and artist André Juillard delivering "Le Testament de William S." The cover, drawn and inked by Juillard, pulls you straight into an air of Gothic mystery: set against a shadowed stone wall and an ornate cathedral doorway, a woman kneels in a shaft of harsh light, intently examining a small sculpted bust, while a man leans over her — both surrounded by broken fragments of what appears to be a shattered royal or ceremonial figure, a golden scepter, and a scattered document on the ground. It's a tightly composed, atmospheric image — steeped in the elegant ligne claire tradition — that promises intrigue, hidden secrets, and the kind of cerebral adventure this 2016 album does so well.