Esmera #[nn]

A striking collaboration between Vince and Zep, this Glénat album announces itself with a cover that is genuinely hard to look away from. Against a vivid crimson background, the silhouette of a woman's profile frames an interior scene rendered in cool purples and blues — a young short-haired woman at the center, with a looming older male figure and shadowy nude forms layered within, suggesting a story that operates on multiple psychological planes. It's a beautifully composed, unsettling image that makes a confident case for what French-language bande dessinée can do in 2015.