Rouen #3

This handsome volume from Éditions Petit à Petit spans centuries of Norman history, from the reign of Louis XI to the upheaval of the Revolution. The cover sets a brooding tone immediately: a cunning, fur-cloaked figure wearing a jeweled hat and heavy gold chain dominates the upper half, framed by iron cages and chains in the torchlit gloom, while below him an angry crowd armed with pitchforks surges through Rouen's medieval streets alongside a plague-masked figure. It's a richly atmospheric invitation to one of French bande dessinée's more ambitious dives into regional history.