Usagi Yojimbo #26

Stan Sakai's rabbit rōnin Usagi leaps off this 2015 Editions Paquet volume looking utterly in his element — sword raised high, kimono flowing blue, surrounded on all sides by a press of fearsome armored warriors whose snarling faces crowd every corner of the cover. It's a beautifully composed scene that captures the lone-swordsman tension at the heart of this long-running series, with Sakai's expressive linework giving each antagonist its own menacing personality. Volume 26 is a fine reminder of why Usagi Yojimbo remains one of the most consistently compelling samurai stories in comics.