Oil and Water #[nn]

This 2011 Fantagraphics collection from Steve Duin and Shannon Wheeler, with an introduction by Bill McKibben, announces its subject matter right on its haunting cover — the title "Oil & Water" emerges from a swirling blend of iridescent oil slick and deep blue-gray smoke or water, with a ghostly human figure barely visible beneath the surface. Alexa Koenings's cover design is quietly striking, letting texture and color do the heavy lifting to evoke environmental dread without a single word of explanation. It's a thoughtful, visually arresting package for what promises to be a serious, grounded look at the human and ecological cost of an oil disaster.