Abélard #2

The second volume of Abélard arrives with a cover as quietly affecting as its subtitle — Une brève histoire de poussière et de cendre — promises to be. Dillies and Hautière frame a large bear and a small bird standing side by side beneath an enormous full moon in a star-scattered sky, each carrying a bundled bag, their backs turned to us as though setting out on a journey into the night. It's a beautifully understated image from Dargaud's 2011 release, capturing that bittersweet mix of companionship and wandering that makes this Franco-Belgian series so quietly memorable.