The Vagabond Manga Gallery
Thirty-seven painted covers, 1999 to 2014.
Here is the complete Japanese run of Vagabond as objects: every Morning KC tankobon cover, volumes 1 through 37, in order, each captioned with its release date, its ISBN, and the story arc it belongs to. Takehiko Inoue painted or drew a new cover portrait for every single volume, and the set watched in sequence is its own biography of Miyamoto Musashi, the face hardening, softening, and finally quieting across fifteen years of covers.
The publication rhythm tells the hiatus story before any article does: two volumes on the same day in March 1999, a steady two to three a year through the 2000s, then the gaps widen, three years between volumes 33 and 34, and the line stops at volume 37 in July 2014. The manga's chapters continued into 2015; no volume 38 has ever been collected.
ALL 37 JAPANESE COVERS
Morning KC · 1999 to 2014
Volume 1 · March 23, 1999
Takezo arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328619-9. English edition followed on April 5, 2002.
Volume 2 · March 23, 1999
Takezo arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328620-5. English edition followed on July 6, 2002.
Volume 3 · July 22, 1999
First Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328644-1. English edition followed on October 6, 2002.
Volume 4 · October 22, 1999
First Yoshioka / Hozoin arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328658-8. English edition followed on January 2003.
Volume 5 · January 21, 2000
Hozoin arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328672-4. English edition followed on March 2003.
Volume 6 · April 21, 2000
Hozoin arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328685-4. English edition followed on July 2003.
Volume 7 · July 21, 2000
Hozoin arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328702-8. English edition followed on October 15, 2003.
Volume 8 · October 23, 2000
Hozoin arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328720-2. English edition followed on December 31, 2003.
Volume 9 · February 21, 2001
Yagyu arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328736-3. English edition followed on March 31, 2004.
Volume 10 · May 23, 2001
Yagyu arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328755-4. English edition followed on May 5, 2004.
Volume 11 · August 20, 2001
Yagyu / Baiken arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328763-9. English edition followed on June 16, 2004.
Volume 12 · November 22, 2001
Baiken arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328779-0. English edition followed on July 7, 2004.
Volume 13 · March 22, 2002
Baiken / Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328804-9. English edition followed on August 10, 2004.
Volume 14 · June 21, 2002
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328823-0. English edition followed on September 7, 2004.
Volume 15 · October 23, 2002
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328850-6. English edition followed on October 12, 2004.
Volume 16 · February 21, 2003
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328871-1. English edition followed on November 10, 2004.
Volume 17 · June 23, 2003
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328891-9. English edition followed on December 14, 2004.
Volume 18 · November 20, 2003
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328916-9. English edition followed on January 11, 2005.
Volume 19 · March 23, 2004
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328945-9. English edition followed on February 15, 2005.
Volume 20 · July 23, 2004
Kojiro arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-328970-1. English edition followed on March 15, 2005.
Volume 21 · September 21, 2005
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372464-6. English edition followed on June 20, 2006.
Volume 22 · February 23, 2006
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372497-4. English edition followed on August 15, 2006.
Volume 23 · June 23, 2006
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372526-1. English edition followed on October 17, 2006.
Volume 24 · October 23, 2006
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372553-7. English edition followed on February 20, 2007.
Volume 25 · March 23, 2007
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372582-7. English edition followed on May 15, 2007.
Volume 26 · July 23, 2007
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372612-1. English edition followed on October 23, 2007.
Volume 27 · November 29, 2007
Second Yoshioka arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372640-4. English edition followed on March 18, 2008.
Volume 28 · May 23, 2008
Wandering arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372685-5. English edition followed on October 21, 2008.
Volume 29 · November 28, 2008
Wandering arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372750-0. English edition followed on May 19, 2009.
Volume 30 · May 28, 2009
Wandering arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372795-1. English edition followed on November 17, 2009.
Volume 31 · September 3, 2009
Wandering arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372827-9. English edition followed on January 19, 2010.
Volume 32 · January 15, 2010
Wandering arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372866-8. English edition followed on August 17, 2010.
Volume 33 · May 27, 2010
Wandering arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372903-0. English edition followed on October 19, 2010.
Volume 34 · October 23, 2012
Farming arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-372947-4. English edition followed on March 19, 2013.
Volume 35 · April 23, 2013
Farming arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-387195-1. English edition followed on March 18, 2014.
Volume 36 · October 23, 2013
Farming arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-387261-3. English edition followed on October 21, 2014.
Volume 37 · July 23, 2014
Farming arc. Morning KC, Kodansha. ISBN 978-4-06-388340-4. English edition followed on April 21, 2015.
Shop at SOJ on eBay
Japanese editions and magazine issues, photographed in detail on black velvet.