Der Geschmack von Chlor

Bastien Vivès’s Der Geschmack von Chlor (2010–present, Reprodukt) is a single-issue graphic novel that follows the tentative, wordless bond between a young man and a woman who share a pool—he, a hesitant swimmer; she, a graceful regular. Told through Vivès’s spare, expressive linework and muted watercolors, the story unfolds in the quiet, charged space of chlorine-scented air and echoing water, capturing the fragile intimacy of two strangers drawn together. Co-written with Kai Wilksen, this understated European comic matters for its ability to convey profound emotion with minimal dialogue, a hallmark of Vivès’s storytelling.