孤高の人 [Kokou no Hito / Kokō no Hito] #14

Volume 14 of Kokou no Hito (The Jumper) opens with a striking cover that says everything about this series' soul — a young climber gazes upward against a vast, snow-swept mountain backdrop, breath visible in the freezing air, the legendary K2 looming in the distance. Mangaka 坂本眞一 (Shinichi Sakamoto), adapting 新田次郎's original work, renders the scene with breathtaking detail that makes you feel the altitude and the cold right through the page. If you've been following this man's solitary ascent, volume 14 promises more of the meditative intensity that makes this series unlike anything else in the climbing manga genre.