This translates to "Dry Cleaning," and was published by Rue de Sèvres in 2022, a publisher I don't remember hearing about before.
https://www.bedetheque.com/serie-78913-BD-Nettoyage-a-sec.html
(zoom or right-click-open to expand these images)
Mertens is Flemish-Belgian, born in 1968, and seemingly worked in film most of his career, only turning to BD novels in 2019, doing this one and Béatrice so far, both as artist and writer.
As for the story, it's a classic slice-of-life look at François, an aging middle-aged man whose main ambition is to win the lottery, which would enable him to give his younger female friend and daughter the kind of life he feels they deserve. Meanwhile, he works a rather uncertain job as a delivery driver for a local dry cleaner. All in all, his is not *quite* a pathetic existence, but one can feel it inevitably slipping in that direction.
Perhaps the main theme here is actually "rain," and that's conveyed almost ceaselessly across almost every page. François is perpetually forgetting to bring his umbrella along, and therefore walks around across the entire story not unlike a drowned rat. Indeed, things take a turn for the tragic (amidst bitter irony) when it comes to his relationship with water.
But about the art-- I don't think I've ever seen rain in a city-scape portrayed with such lushness and power. Mertens very definitely takes some liberties with shading, lighting and coloring, and I'm pleased to say that he produces some of the most stunning BD art I've ever seen. Truly, this work can be thoroughly enjoyed in either the Dutch or French versions without needing to understand a single word. It really is that kind of wonderful.
If there's a weakness with this one, at ~140pp I feel that it probably could have been edited down a bit to tell the story a bit more efficiently and dramatically. But it's hard to care too much when the art is this incredible, and to be fair-- it's a strong story that feels reminiscent of classic Euro film.
