Ascension #16

Volume 16 of Shin'ichi Sakamoto's *Ascension* — adapted from Jiro Nitta's novel and published by Éditions Delcourt — presents a striking close-up of a young man with dark, wind-swept hair, his pale face lit by an eerie green glow against a star-filled cosmic backdrop, his gaze steady and quietly intense. Delicate golden snowflake-like fractals float near the title, adding a crystalline, almost otherworldly elegance to the composition. By 2013 the series had built a devoted following, and this cover's intimate, meditative mood suggests the story's blend of human determination and vast, indifferent nature is still very much at the fore.