L'Échelle de Richter #[nn]

The stark black-and-white cover of this 2021 Gallimard Bande Dessinées release sets an immediately compelling tone: three figures stand at the top, rendered in crisp line work, while a fourth lies prone on the ground below — a visual tension that radiates quiet unease. Raphaël Frydman and Luc Desportes bring their distinct graphic sensibility to L'Échelle de Richter, a work that arrives with a preface by filmmaker Cédric Klapish, hinting at a story with cinematic ambitions. The minimalist design — bold orange typography against deep black — makes this one of the more visually striking releases in Gallimard's bande dessinée catalogue that year.