Le Pape Terrible #3

The third volume of Jodorowsky and Theo's Le Pape Terrible arrives with a cover that commands attention: a towering Madonna-like figure draped in blue and gold holds an infant aloft beneath a grand colonnade, while a bearded, red-capped old man crouches at her feet in a posture of anguish or supplication — the chessboard floor and distant Renaissance cityscape lending the scene an air of elaborate, high-stakes ceremony. Subtitled "La pernicieuse vertu" — the pernicious virtue — this 2013 Delcourt release promises the blend of sacred pageantry and moral complexity the series does so well. Theo's richly detailed art brings every fold of fabric and stone pillar to life with impressive care.