Blade of the Immortal #118

Hiroaki Samura's Eisner Award-winning series delivers a quietly haunting image for "The Sparrow Net" Part 1 of 4 — a young woman lying on a wooden floor, her eyes downcast and tearful, beside an open book of Japanese script. The stillness and vulnerability of the scene feel almost unbearably intimate, a striking contrast to the series' reputation for fierce swordsmanship. Dark Horse's ongoing English translation of Samura's masterwork continues to reward readers who appreciate manga storytelling at its most emotionally layered.