Les Bums #2

The second volume of Stéphane Rey's Les Bums arrives from 6 Pieds Sous Terre with a cover as quietly unsettling as it is charming — a wide-eyed child lying in bed, blanket pulled close, pondering in a speech bubble: "La mort subite du nourrisson, c'est jusqu'à quel âge ?" ("Sudden infant death syndrome — up to what age does it apply?"). It's a perfectly dry, deadpan image that captures the series' knack for finding dark humor in the mundane anxieties of everyday life. Rey's loose, expressive linework gives the whole thing a warmth that makes the joke land with a gentle, bemused smile.