Parker #3

Darwyn Cooke's striking cover for this 2013 Dargaud edition — subtitled Le Casse — says everything about Parker's world without uttering a word: a looming masked figure dominates the frame in bold black and yellow, while a trio of similarly masked, armed accomplices lurk in the shadowy background. The stark, two-tone palette and graphic design sensibility make this French-language adaptation of Richard Stark's work feel as cool and precise as the criminal at its center. A handsome volume for fans of hard-boiled crime fiction in any language.