Alter Ego #2

This second volume of *Alter Ego* centers on Fouad, a bespectacled, battered figure whose bruised, bandaged face fills one half of the cover in striking close-up — a quiet, wounded intensity that immediately draws you in. On the other side, that same man stands with arms outstretched beneath the looming gun barrels of a military aircraft, a small figure dwarfed by cold, mechanical threat. The creative team of Renders, Lapière, Reynès, and Benéteau deliver a cover that beautifully balances vulnerability and defiance, making this 2011 Dupuis release a compelling addition to the series.