L'ombre de moi-même #[nn]

Published by Albin Michel in 1999, this French humor album from Autheman sets a breezy, irreverent tone right on its cover — a shadowy, cigarette-smoking figure in a dark suit flanked by two laughing women in bikinis, with a cheerful little beach creature toting a snorkel in the corner. The title L'ombre de moi-même ("The Shadow of My Own Self") plays perfectly against that silhouetted central figure, hinting at a comic exploration of ego, identity, and self-image. Autheman's loose, expressive line work gives the whole scene an effortlessly playful energy that's hard to resist.