Les Quatre Coins du Monde #2

The second volume of Les Quatre Coins du Monde from Dargaud opens with a striking cover that sets an unmistakably somber, wartime tone: silhouetted soldiers raise bayoneted rifles against a burning orange sky, barbed wire stretching across the shadowy foreground in a scene of tense, atmospheric dread. The moody, painterly artwork makes the most of stark contrast — dark figures looming against that fiery horizon feel both heroic and haunted. If this 2012 Dargaud release is any measure, Hugues and Labiano are crafting something genuinely compelling in this Franco-Belgian series.