Guardian #3

The third chapter of Robbert Damen's Guardian series carries the intriguing title "Ophelia," and the cover sets an immediately compelling scene: a sharp-eyed, dark-haired woman strides forward through a meadow, her wind-swept hair and skull-topped mace lending her an air of confident danger, while a medieval jester figure and a distant castle fill the background behind her. Looming large in the upper right corner is a close-up of a woman's face — watchful, green-eyed, and impossible to ignore — suggesting layers of intrigue well beyond the horizon. Damen, who handles every creative role on this book himself, brings a clean European ligne claire aesthetic to this 2017 release that makes the mix of period atmosphere and bold characterization feel both timeless and very much his own.