Le Royaume #1

The opening volume of Benoît Feroumont's Le Royaume introduces Anne, a cheerful red-haired young woman in a flowing pink dress, hauling an enormous sack through the winding stone streets of what looks like a medieval village — with curious onlookers peering from windows and doorways all around her, and a pair of small birds fluttering nearby. Published by Dupuis in 2009, this first album sets a lighthearted, fairytale tone that immediately draws you into its warmly rendered world. Feroumont's rounded, expressive linework gives the whole scene an inviting charm that makes it easy to see why this series found such a devoted readership.