Goyô

Set in 19th-century Japan, Goyô is a gritty samurai crime series from Dargaud that ran for eight issues between 2009 and 2011. Written by Sean Michael Wilson and illustrated by Akiko Shimojima, the story follows a lone ronin who hires himself out as a "goyô"—a stand-in for criminals needing to serve prison sentences. Meticulously researched and steeped in Edo-period atmosphere, the series offers a fresh, historically grounded take on the samurai genre, focusing on the moral compromises of its antihero rather than swordplay heroics.