Blade of the Immortal #68

Hiroaki Samura's painterly cover for Blade of the Immortal #68 fills the frame with an unnervingly close portrait of a scarred, sharp-eyed man — cigarette held between his fingers, blood spotting his collar — rendered in moody, almost photorealistic brushwork. The restrained intensity of the image captures everything that makes this Dark Horse manga series so compelling: quiet menace balanced on a razor's edge. Part one of the "Beasts" arc, this issue is a fine entry point into Samura's richly crafted world of feudal violence and dark beauty.