J. P. Kalonji wields a clean, street-informed style to deliver a tale that glistens with blood and drama, yet is ultimately uplifting. Nearly four hundred pages long, this graphic novel employs full-page panels to tell the story of an Edo-era swordsman's quest for survival and enlightenment. When Ningen leaves his dojo at the request of his master -- to travel the world and grow as a swordsman -- he embarks on a journey that becomes a metaphor for the cycle of life and every human's possibility for spiritual growth.

* Collaborating with such international clients as Wyclef Jean, Amnesty International, Thrasher, and Burton snowboards, illustrator J. P. Kalonji has begun to enchant the world with his energetic art style. Now he's ready to make a splash with his English-language graphic-novel debut

* This engaging, nearly 400-page tale draws comparisons to both Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal and Jeff Smith's Bone.