A slow, steady, undramatic story about a team of French soldiers searching for a missing commando unit in the wilds of Kabylia during the Algerian War. The soldiers are from the Section Administrative Spécialisée, that hybrid civil-military group which had the admirable job of supporting local Muslim populations by setting up hospitals, building schools etc. So we are seeing the good side of the French military here; but even so, Giroud takes care to show us plenty of soldierly brutality and callousness as well. Lax's artwork is excellent, ranging confidently from vast, ochreous landscapes to focused details of 1950s clothing, Berber villages, political fliers stuck to walls and so on.

The story was originally released in two parts, of which the first won the critics' prize at Angoulême in 1999. This collected edition is followed by a long and interesting essay by Giroud about his father, who fought in the war himself; and many details of Azrayen’, including its powerful closing lines, are taken from his letters. ( )