In June 1995, Dark Horse released the first American issue of Hiroaki Samura's Blade of the Immortal. Sales of the first issues of each subsequent story arc have increased over their predecessors, and the newly devoted readers have scoured back-issue bins looking for those early, rare issues. Now Dark Horse will end Blade readers' immortal suffering by releasing Blade of the Immortal: Blood of a Thousand, the trade-paperback collection of the first four issues of this hot series.

"Blade of the Immortal combines the best of the manga genre -- martial arts, dramatic action, interesting characters -- with an almost painterly feel to the artwork," said editor Dave Chipps. "The fight scenes are staged like an exquisite, horrifying dance. Hiroaki Samura is one of the best creators of manga in the business!"

The 136-page trade paperback includes the story of how Manji receives his curse of immortality -- the curse that will keep him from eternal rest until he has spilled the blood of a thousand evil men -- and the story of his vengeance on behalf of the young girl Rin, whose family was slaughtered by a rival dojo.

As with other manga trade paperbacks like Oh My Goddess! and Gunsmith Cats, Blade of the Immortal: Blood of a Thousand will be in Dark Horse's special mini-manga format, at 8"x 6". It's 136 pages of black-and-white action in the tradition of Lone Wolf and Cub or Frank Miller's Ronin! Blood of a Thousand ships March 28, and retails for $12.95.