Abrégé de bande dessinée franco-belge #[nn]

This 2019 release from La Cinquième Couche presents a visually exhilarating cover that reads like a love letter to the Franco-Belgian comics tradition — bold red and grey two-tone art packs in a whirlwind of sound effects (PAF!, CRRRRONCH!, BING!, TCHAC!, ICHONC! and more), speech bubbles in both French and Japanese, a goggled brawler's grimacing face, a crowned figure pointing upward, and a flurry of fists, explosions, and motion clouds. It's a dense, joyful catalogue of the genre's visual vocabulary rendered with real wit and confidence. If you're drawn to the graphic language that makes Franco-Belgian comics tick, this one wears its enthusiasm right on its cover.