Balade au bout du monde #4

The fourth volume of Makyo and Laurent Vicomte's *Balade au bout du monde* arrives in 1988 with a subtly unsettling cover: a solitary figure in pale clothing walks toward a stark white void while jagged, dark-red-tipped forms surge upward from the foreground like shards of some strange, threatening growth. Vicomte's cover art masterfully contrasts cold emptiness with that burst of dark organic energy, perfectly setting the mood for a chapter subtitled "La pierre de folie" — the stone of madness. It's an evocative and atmospheric entry in this beloved French series.