Saint-Barthélemy #1

A gloved fist clutches both a rosary and a blood-streaked sword against a stark black background — a quietly devastating image that sets the tone for this opening chapter by Pierre Boisserie and Éric Stalner. Subtitled "Sauveterre," the first volume of Saint-Barthélemy plunges into the Paris of August 1572, when some 2,500 people were killed in the name of God during one of history's most harrowing religious massacres. Stalner's cover art distills the collision of faith and violence into a single, unforgettable detail that makes this 2016 French graphic novel impossible to set aside.