Les Scientiflics #2

The second volume of this French comedy series from Bamboo Édition plants its hapless scientific investigators squarely on top of a U.S. Navy submarine marked with a large "5" and an American flag, where a sharply dressed naval officer stands at attention while a group of plainclothes and uniformed figures — including one casually fishing off the conning tower — react with varying degrees of confusion and dismay. Carrère's expressive, rubbery linework gives the ensemble a wonderfully chaotic energy that signals the series' fondness for procedural absurdity with a very light touch. "Expiration" looks to be exactly the kind of title that rewards readers who enjoy their crime investigations served with a generous helping of bureaucratic mayhem.