Velvet #1

A sleek, espionage-drenched cover sets the tone perfectly for this 2015 collected edition — a masked woman in black stands at the center of a collage of sharp-suited men and shadowy figures, with the Eiffel Tower looming in the background and a vivid red car cutting through a smoky Paris night. The assembled cast of faces — some threatening, some calculating — radiates the tension of a cold-war thriller, brought to life through the polished artwork of Epting and Breitweiser under Brubaker's direction. At 16.99 EUR, Velvet: Before the Living End is a stylish entry point into one of the more compelling spy narratives in contemporary comics.