Les aigles décapitées #12

The twelfth volume of Les Aigles Décapitées, subtitled L'Esclave, brings medieval drama vividly to life courtesy of Kraehn and Pierret. The cover places us squarely in a sandy tournament ground, where an armored knight in a distinctive plumed helmet lies fallen and vulnerable on the ground, broken lances scattered around him, while a mounted rider in blue surcoat bears down and a crowd of onlookers watches from the background. It's a tense, grounded image that captures the brutal stakes of 1998 French medieval comics at their most compelling.