Le Roi des Ronces #6

Volume 6 of Yuji Iwahara's Le Roi des Ronces arrives from Soleil Manga with a cover that pulls together a striking ensemble — a young dark-haired woman at the center, flanked by a broad-shouldered man in a vest and a blonde figure, while a brooding, imposing face looms large in the shadowy background alongside a masked figure draped in thorned darkness. The layered composition, mixing vulnerability and menace, captures the tense, survival-driven atmosphere that has made this series one of the more compelling manga offerings of 2009. Fans following the story will find plenty of dramatic momentum promised in this penultimate chapter of the French-published run.