2021 #2

The second volume of Betbeder and Bervas's 2021 series — subtitled Opération Chrysalis — opens on a tense, atmospheric image straight out of Cold War nightmare: a lone blonde woman walks the center of a deserted street toward a checkpoint bearing the unmistakable "You Are Leaving the American Sector" sign, flanked by armed soldiers on both sides and a half-lowered barrier ahead. The golden, storm-bruised sky and coils of barbed wire in the foreground give the scene an urgent, suffocating weight that feels both historical and ominously near-future. Published by Soleil in 2013, this is gripping geopolitical thriller storytelling delivered with serious visual ambition.