Thorgal #29

A brooding, candlelit altar scene dominates the cover of this 2006 Dutch-language entry in the long-running Belgian series, with a dark-robed, faceless figure looming over a prone, unconscious man surrounded by flickering candles — the title "Het Offer" ("The Sacrifice") making the ominous mood unmistakable. Grzegorz Rosiński's painted cover work is richly atmospheric, bathing the scene in deep reds and smoky shadows that feel almost medieval in their gravity. Writer Jean Van Hamme and Rosiński together have long made Thorgal one of Europe's most compelling adventure series, and this twenty-ninth volume looks like a genuinely dark chapter in that tradition.