Usagi Yojimbo #29

Stan Sakai's cover for this 1999 Dark Horse issue places Usagi front and center, clutching a small spotted creature — likely a child or companion — while a menacing ring of purple, blade-wielding elephant warriors closes in around him near a weathered wooden structure. Two more armed figures watch from an elevated position in the background, deepening the sense of an inescapable ambush. "The Courtesan Part 2" promises the kind of tense, beautifully crafted feudal drama that makes Usagi Yojimbo so consistently rewarding.