Along with many new comic book releases around Saint Nicholas’, we finally get to read and admire the second part of the story that started with volume 9 – Black Boys, which came out in April 2021. It was worth the long wait! You can really see the craft en dedication that Philippe Jarbinet put into this new album.

The story takes us into the Belgian Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. The black soldier and the white airborne officer again cross paths, and again they have to rely on each other to survive.

In the end, this unlikely combination of two men develops a friendship that will last a lifetime.

The scenario is strong, and even though it’s emotional, it does not become cheesy.

All the uniforms, equipment and vehicles look very realistic, but maybe the most impressive achievement is how Jarbinet manages to capture the sensation of the winter. The watercolors really come to life in the snow, the tracks in it and the wrecks of vehicles half buried in it.

I hope that new albums of this same standard will keep coming every year.