Magasin général #4

The fourth volume of Loisel and Tripp's beloved Québécois series carries a quietly haunting mood into its "Confessions" chapter, and the cover sets the tone beautifully: a woman and a mustachioed man sit together on a dimly lit porch, their faces illuminated by the warm glow of a kerosene lantern, while a black cat, a wooden duck, and a small stuffed toy rest nearby in the shadows. There's an intimacy and melancholy to the scene — two people sharing a moment of closeness or perhaps unburdening themselves in the night — rendered with the delicate pencil work of both Loisel and Tripp. Published by Casterman in 2008, this volume continues one of French-language comics' most atmospheric rural dramas, and that lantern-lit porch feels like an open invitation to pull up a chair and listen.