Shamo

In the early 2000s, German publisher Egmont Ehapa brought the brutal Japanese manga Shamo to European readers, releasing 19 issues between 2002 and 2006. This uncompromising martial arts crime saga follows a disgraced young man’s descent into violence and his rise through the world of underground fighting, driven by raw, unflinching art and morally complex storytelling. Associated most closely with writer Izo Hashimoto and artist Akio Tanaka, the series stands as a stark, adult-oriented import that pushed the boundaries of what mainstream European comics audiences would accept.