Stéphane Clément, chroniques d'un voyageur #1

Part of the distinguished Franco-Belgian tradition of adventure bandes dessinées, this 1998 opener of Daniel Ceppi's Stéphane Clément, chroniques d'un voyageur series announces itself with quiet, atmospheric tension. Ceppi's cover places two figures — a tousle-haired young man and a sharp-eyed young woman in a red plaid jacket and knit cap — in the foreground of a snow-blanketed winter landscape, a warmly lit chalet glowing mysteriously in the darkened woods behind them. The title Le Guêpier ("The Hornet's Nest") hints at the intrigue lurking beneath that deceptively serene setting, and Ceppi's assured linework makes you want to follow these two wherever the road takes them.