Blade of the Immortal #8

Hiroaki Samura's *Blade of the Immortal* continues with this volume subtitled "The Gathering," and the cover says everything about why this series commands attention. A scarred, wild-haired swordsman dominates the image — cape billowing, two blades crossed in a tense guard as he thrusts one weapon directly toward the viewer with unsettling intensity. Samura's loose, ink-wash artistry gives the whole composition a raw, almost painterly energy that feels genuinely unlike anything else on shelves in 2001.