Akira #5

Katsuhiro Otomo's fifth collected volume of *Akira* arrives in this 2011 Kodansha USA edition, and the cover alone makes a striking case for the series' singular vision. A pale, white-haired figure — muscular yet eerily serene — stands wreathed in mist, his body entwined with a tangle of vividly colored tubes and cables that snake through a vast, industrial green interior. Otomo's cover art is meticulous and unsettling in equal measure, perfectly setting the mood for a saga titled "Kei 2" that promises the story is deepening in compelling directions.