K.O. à Tel Aviv #2

Asaf Hanuka's K.O. à Tel Aviv continues with this quietly arresting second volume from Steinkis, and the cover alone captures everything that makes his work so distinctive. A young woman buries her face in her hands at a café table — coffee cup in front of her, the weight of the moment palpable — while beside her sits a man in a full spacesuit, gazing at her with calm, bespectacled eyes; through the window behind them, Earth hangs in orbit and a space shuttle drifts past. It's an image that blends the deeply personal with the cosmically absurd in a way only Hanuka seems to pull off, making this 2014 release an easy recommendation for anyone drawn to intimate, imaginative graphic storytelling.