De kruistocht van Dries de Betonne #[nn]

Peter van Straaten's wry hand is all over this 1981 Dutch graphic work, with a cover that sets the satirical tone perfectly: a lone rider on a white horse leads a column of Crusaders bearing cross-emblazoned shields into what looks like an uncertain horizon, all rendered in van Straaten's characteristically loose, expressive line work. The title — De Kruistocht van Dries de Betonne ("The Crusade of Dries the Concrete") — promises something between medieval epic and comic absurdity, framed here as excerpts from the sketchbook of an anonymous eyewitness. Published by Van Gennep Amsterdam, this expanded edition offers a delightful collision of history and humor from one of the Netherlands' most distinctive cartoonists.