Fredegonde de bloeddorstige #1

Part of the "Bloedkoninginnen" (Blood Queens) series from Daedalus, this 2016 Dutch-language album opens the two-part story of Fredegonde — history's notorious Frankish queen — with a cover that immediately commands attention. Alessia De Vincenzi renders a striking, red-cloaked woman striding through a misty stone archway, her expression cool and resolute, a small vial or vessel in hand, emanating quiet menace rather than outright fury. It's a beautifully atmospheric introduction to a figure whose reputation for ruthless ambition clearly inspired every shadowy detail of this richly illustrated opener.