Stern #4

A young man stares out from the cover with wide, unsettling eyes while a looming cloaked figure — claw-like hands outstretched — hovers ominously behind him against a backdrop rich with occult symbols. The title Tout n'est qu'illusion ("Nothing But Illusion") sets a perfectly sinister tone for this fourth volume of the Stern series, published by Dargaud in 2020. Frédéric and Julien Maffre bring a moody, atmospheric sensibility to this Franco-Belgian Western that clearly isn't afraid to push into darker, stranger territory.