Soil #2

The warm salmon-toned cover of Soil #2 sets an immediately intriguing tone — a cheerful family of three, two adults flanking a young girl in a school uniform, poses together in what looks like a welcoming suburban setting, their smiling faces at quiet odds with the unsettling reputation of this critically praised manga series. Published by Panini Comics in 2014, this second volume continues Atsushi Kaneko's meticulously rendered world, where ordinary domestic life carries an undercurrent of unease. If the deceptively sunny cover art is any indication, the stories within balance surface warmth with something far more mysterious lurking beneath.