Napalm Fever #[nn]

Allan Barte's Napalm Fever (Gallimard/Bayou, 2015) announces itself with a vivid, fiery cover: a wide-eyed cat-person clutching a camera sprints through a dense jungle as a helicopter looms ominously overhead against a blazing orange sky. The contrast between the cartoonish, almost comedic character design and that tense wartime atmosphere makes for an immediately arresting image. It's the kind of graphic novel that promises both heart and urgency from the very first glance.