Elsje #4

The cover of Elsje #4 says it all in one irresistible image: the little dark-haired girl in her red shirt and grey skirt runs joyfully forward, holding a bright pink flower aloft — while behind her stretches a coil of barbed wire and a broken piece of concrete or ordnance lies at her feet. That contrast between childhood delight and a harsher world gives this 2010 Don Lawrence Collection volume a quietly poignant edge that lingers. Gerben Valkema's clean, expressive linework — both pencils and inks — brings real warmth to Elsje, and the Dutch tagline "Geniet maar van jezelf zolang je jong en onbedorven bent" ("Enjoy yourself while you're young and innocent") makes the image resonate even more deeply.