Arsène Lupin #5

Number 28 in Lefrancq's beloved *Le Masque Présente* series, this 1994 Belgian hardcover adaptation brings Maurice Leblanc's *L'Aiguille Creuse* to vivid life with art by J. Géron and script by A.F. Duchateau. The cover sets a perfectly moody stage: a determined woman in a striking red dress dominates the foreground, while the shadowy silhouettes of a top-hatted figure and a pipe-smoking detective loom behind her — a visual shorthand for the cat-and-mouse tension at the heart of the story. It's a sharp, stylish package that makes Lupin's world feel as thrilling in 1994 as it did when Leblanc first put pen to paper.