Le grand mort #5

The fifth volume of Le Grand Mort arrives under an ominous, rain-soaked sky as a man carries a child on his shoulders beneath a shared umbrella, the two of them surrounded by a swirling storm of birds — sparrows, tits, and larger raptors swirling in from every direction. Vincent Mallié's cover work captures the tension of the "Panique" subtitle beautifully, pairing quiet human vulnerability with a sense of nature closing in. Written by Régis Loisel and Jean-Blaise Djian with colors by François Lapierre, this 2014 Vents d'Ouest release looks like a compelling chapter in one of French-language comics' more atmospheric series.