Mevrouw Livingstone #[nn]

Set against the sweeping drama of the Belgian Congo during the Great War era, this Glénat album opens with a striking cover painted by Barly Baruti: a lone African figure stands atop a cliff's edge, staff in hand, gazing out over a thundering waterfall and a flock of flamingos in flight — while a vintage biplane skims the horizon above. The contrast of the solitary, grounded figure against that open sky and colonial-era aircraft says everything about the tensions at the heart of this story. Baruti's lush, painterly linework makes this 2014 release an immediately compelling addition to any shelf of serious bande dessinée.