Blade of the Immortal #36

Hiroaki Samura's hauntingly beautiful cover for this second chapter of the "Heart of Darkness" arc centers on a pale-haired young woman crouching amid bare branches and scattered red maple leaves, a blade tucked at her side and blood staining her knee — quiet tension radiating from every detail. The muted autumn palette and delicate linework give the image an almost painterly stillness that belies the danger clearly close at hand. Dark Horse's manga line was producing some genuinely striking cover art at this time, and this issue is a fine example of Samura's gift for melancholy beauty.