Stern

In this taut, understated thriller from Dargaud, writer Frédéric Maffre and artist Julien Maffre follow a solitary man known only as Stern through a near-future Europe where surveillance and isolation have become the norm. Launched in 2015 and running five issues to date, the series quietly builds a mood of paranoia and quiet desperation, using Stern’s detached perspective to explore themes of identity and control. The Maffre brothers’ clean, precise linework and restrained storytelling make this a distinctive entry in contemporary European comics.