Usagi Yojimbo #26

Usagi Yojimbo #26 opens the two-part "Case of the Hairpin Murders" mystery with a cover by Stan Sakai that crackles with nighttime tension — the rabbit ronin stands poised and fierce in a narrow alley, dagger raised beneath a glowing green lantern, while a cloaked, mustachioed figure lurks watchfully behind him and a fallen figure lies at their feet. Sakai's warm, expressive linework and deep blue night palette make this 1999 Dark Horse issue feel like a genuine samurai noir, pulling you straight into the shadowy streets of feudal Japan.