Le Sourire du clown #2

The second volume of Le Sourire du clown arrives from Futuropolis with a cover by Laurent Hirn that draws you in immediately — a close-cropped portrait of a woman wearing a hamsa pendant dominates the foreground, while behind her a softly lit mausoleum or tomb entrance glows beneath a cross in the night. Brunschwig and Hirn, the team behind Pouvoir des Innocents, bring their characteristic atmospheric tension to this 2007 series, and that juxtaposition of the woman's cool, guarded expression against the quietly unsettling background sets a compelling mood. If you appreciated their previous collaboration, this volume looks like essential reading.