Fist of the North Star

In a postapocalyptic landscape where gangs and religious zealots prey on the weak, Kenshiro is an affectless, heavily scarred drifter whose mastery of the assassination technique Hokuto Shinken enables him to target vital spots on his enemies' bodies and destroy them. After helping some starving villagers fend off a motorcycle gang, Kenshiro and his companions--a boy called Bat and an orphaned girl named Rin--travel to the city of Southern Cross. There they run afoul of a merciless warlord eventually revealed to be Kenshiro's onetime friend Shin, whose brutal betrayal of Kenshiro years earlier set him on his gloriously gory, action-packed path. VERDICT Originally published in Japan between 1983 and 1988, this is one of the most beloved and bestselling manga of all time. Long out of print in English translation, this first volume of the reissued manga is sure to create legions of new fans