Pema Ling #1

Georges Bess brings a striking visual atmosphere to this opening volume of Pema Ling, with a lone figure in a purple fur-trimmed coat standing amid tall, dark spears and tattered red banners, flanked by a horned skull and a pale goat against a muted, dusty landscape. The Dutch subtitle "Van tranen en bloed" — Of Tears and Blood — sets a tone that is at once haunting and epic, and Bess's painted cover work already hints at a story steeped in remote, wind-swept terrain and quiet peril. Published by Dupuis's Spotlight imprint in 2005, this is a compelling first look at what promises to be a richly illustrated series.