Bootblack #2

Mikaël's concluding volume of Bootblack arrives with a cover that perfectly captures the series' noir soul: a lone figure in a dark overcoat and fedora, carrying a shoeshine box, stands beneath an elevated railway as snow dusts a brooding Manhattan skyline — the Chrysler Building looming unmistakably in the distance. The warm sepia palette and period-correct taxis below anchor this firmly in Depression-era New York, rendered with the kind of atmospheric draftsmanship that makes every shadow feel earned. If the first volume drew you in, this 2020 Dargaud finale looks every bit as beautifully considered.