Desert Star (L’Étoile du désert)

Matthew Montgomery’s family is struck by violence, and his search for answers takes him into the American West. Desberg and Marini’s original 1996 story uses the pursuit to expose a harsher world than the protagonist expected. Later prequel albums were drawn by Hugues Labiano.

The revenge framework is familiar, but the book’s tension lies in the change forced on a man who had trusted institutions and routine. The frontier does not offer easy moral clarity.

Western mystery and crime thriller conventions meet in a story about grief, pursuit and the violence beneath social order.

Marini’s broad landscapes and sharply staged confrontations make the journey feel exposed. Labiano’s later work belongs to the continuation and should be distinguished from the original diptych.