Jerome K. Jerome Bloks #21

A moody alleyway sets the stage for this twenty-first chapter of Dodier's Belgian detective series, with the trench-coated Jerome K. Jerome Bloks emerging cautiously from a doorway as a sleek blue Aston Martin — its flank streaked with a splash of blood — dominates the foreground. The Dutch title Vluchtmisdrijf (hit-and-run) makes the tension immediately clear, and the shadowy brick surroundings only deepen the noir atmosphere Dodier conjures so effortlessly. Fans of thoughtful, stylish European detective comics will find plenty to savour in this 2009 Dupuis/Spotlight entry.