Un Privé à la Cambrousse #1

Bruno Heitz's Un Privé à la Cambrousse kicks off its first volume with a cover that sets the tone perfectly: a lanky, slightly awkward fellow astride a bright red motorcycle, rolling through a sparse rural landscape that already hints at fish-out-of-water comedy. Heitz's clean, expressive linework gives the whole scene a wonderfully offbeat charm — this is clearly a private detective more comfortable looking bemused than intimidating. Published by Gallimard in 2011, it's an inviting start to what promises to be a warmly humorous series.