Jan van Scorel #[nn]

Set against the imposing ochre walls and round towers of a Renaissance fortress, this 2013 Dutch graphic album places Jan van Scorel at the center of a mounted procession riding through a grand archway — a figure in a pale turban and blue robes, composed and watchful on horseback, with companions close behind. Paul Teng's detailed, atmospheric artwork beautifully evokes the period detail of 1523, the year of a papal interregnum suggested by the title Sede Vacante — "the empty seat." It's a richly illustrated historical adventure that fans of European bande dessinée and Renaissance intrigue will find genuinely compelling.