I.R.$. All Watcher #5

Mia Mai steps into the frame with cool authority on this 2010 entry in the I.R.$. All Watcher series from Le Lombard — a sharply dressed woman holds a pistol at her side as she stands before a roadside motel bathed in a dusky California glow, palm trees silhouetted against an amber sky. Marc Bourgne's cover work gives the scene a cinematic, noir-tinged atmosphere that feels right at home with Stephen Desberg's world of financial crime and intrigue. It's a quietly compelling image that sets an assured, tension-laced tone for whatever this chapter holds.