Oorlog en liefde #1

The opening volume of Oorlog en Liefde ("War and Love") sets a quietly tense, melancholy tone right from its cover: a young man in a dark coat stands at the foreground of a grand train station, his expression drawn and uncertain, while uniformed soldiers and civilians mill about behind him beneath the station's sweeping iron-and-glass roof. Beuriot and Richelle's subdued, sepia-tinged palette gives this 2010 Casterman release an atmosphere of unease and impending farewell that feels entirely fitting for a story subtitled Laatste Lente — "Last Spring." It's a beautifully composed introduction to what promises to be an emotionally rich wartime drama.