Created by Kenturo Miura, Berserk is manga mayhem to the extreme - violent, horrifying, and mercilessly funny - and the wellspring for the internationally popular anime series. Not for the squeamish or the easily offended, Berserk asks for no quarter - and offers none!

His name is Guts, the Black Swordsman, a feared warrior spoken of only in whispers. Bearer of a gigantic sword, an iron hand, and the scars of countless battles and tortures, his flesh is also indelibly marked with The Brand, an unholy symbol that draws the forces of darkness to him and dooms him as their sacrifice. But Guts won't take his fate lying down; he'll cut a crimson swath of carnage through the ranks of the damned - and anyone else foolish enough to oppose him! Accompanied by Puck the Elf, more an annoyance than a companion, Guts relentlessly follows a dark, bloodstained path that leads only to death...or vengeance....

Back in the day, Guts the Black Swordsman was a top slayer for The Band of the Hawk, an elite mercenary unit led by Griffith, whose calm demeanor and callow beauty belied his fighting prowess and steel will. While in a king's employ, the attraction between the king's daughter and Griffith and the growing favor of the king towards the Hawk leader raises the hackles of the king's jealous son, who plots to have Griffith summarily assassinated. But if the plot fails, the king's son will likely have to deal with Guts and his titanic broadsword, and the results of such confrontations are rarely pretty... or easy to clean up....

The world of Guts, the Black Swordsman, is changing in a hurry. Though a demonic maelstrom has leveled the dreaded Tower of Conviction and ended the reign of terror of its grand inquisitor, Mozgus, peace has not returned to Midland. The Tower's fall has heralded the unexpected return of Griffith, Guts former leader, last seen transformed from a shattered husk into one of the demon lords of the Godhand. but Griffith looks like his old self again - and with his dreams of carving out a kingdom by his own hand still intact. He's raising a new Band of the Hawk, but this time he's recruiting from the dark side to fulfill his deadly destiny!...

The once unbeatable Band of the Hawk is smashed, and their former leader, Griffith, has made an unholy pact with the demon lords of the Godhand, sacrificing his former troops to resurrect his crippled body and ascend to stand in power beside these profane gods. The Invocation of Doom has unleashed a plague of unspeakable horrors upon the earth, and the first battle not only shatters the Hawks, but the hand of their champion, Guts, and the mind of their captain and Guts' lover, Casca. And while time may heal some of Guts' wounds, it will not heal his desire for vengeance. And his discovery of a gigantic, dragon-slaying sword might be just the ticket to deal out some king-sized payback! Also included in this volume: "Berserk Prototype," the very first Berserk story, created during Kentaro Miura's college days as his audition that sold the series!...

Now that the evil Count has been killed and dragged to Hell by the demon lords of the Godhand, Guts, the Black Swordsman, hooks up with his former benefactor, the mercenary Gambino. But it's a deadly reunion, one that nearly takes Guts' life. The following years see Guts wandering from battlefield to battlefield, where his awesome skills as a slayer catch the eye of both warring parties, including the legendary Griffith, warrior leader of the Band of the Hawk, who is eager to test his combat skills against those of the Black Swordsman. As usual, anytime that Guts is involved there will be hell to pay!...

The evil Count uses his dark powers to transform a defeated guard captain into an inhuman horror to combat Guts, the Black Swordsman. Puck, Guts' pint-sized fairy sidekick, is captured when he attempts to stop an old doctor's execution, and he is given as a gift to the count's daughter, a sweet girl in a gilded cage, imprisoned by her father in her own room. Guts, determined to make mincemeat of the Count, assaults the castle and carves a swath of blood-soaked destruction through the Count's minions. Face-to-face with the Black Swordsman at last, the Count reveals his true form, and even Guts' super-sized sword may not be big enough to contend with this demonic monstrosity!...

Desperate as Guts, the Black Swordsman, has been to reunite with his former captain and lover, the now-mad Casca, he's quickly learning that being together is as dangerous as being apart. What should be a simple journey to the safety of Puck's homeland proves to be a gauntlet of perils, as the Mark of Sacrifice each bears brings the fury of Hell down upon them, and Guts discovers that in his darkest moments he himself is the greatest danger to the woman he loves. Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is a fiery manga apocalypse, an ominous omnibus of furious action, fearsome horror, and funereal humor that strikes a power chord in the hearts of its devoted followers and strikes down the rest like a scythe through wheat. Bring in the sheaves!...

Guts, the feared Black Swordsman, is on the rampage - and it's personal. Mozgus, the malefic master Inquisitor of the Holy See, in his murderous campaign against heretics, has captured Guts' former lover Casca and has her at the ready to be burned at the stake in the Tower of Conviction, little knowing that Casca's demonic Mark of Sacrifice is drawing hideous dark powers to the Tower. It'll take everything Guts has and more to defeat Mozgus - who is much, much more than a man - and even if he can, will he be able to save Casca from the hordes of Hell amidst the inquisitor's disintegrating citadel?...

Two feudal kingdoms, Midland and Chuder, battle for supremacy in what will become the final clash in a century-long struggle. Spearheading the Midland forces is the Band of the Hawk, a legendary cadre of elite mercenaries led by the charismatic Griffith and with the fearless Guts as its berserker champion. The Hawks' ferocity, courage, and fearsome skills - not to mention Guts' enormous broadsword - are just what Midland needs to turn the bloody tide, but during the fray, Guts and Griffith's most trusted lieutenant, Casca, fall together from a cliff into a raging river. Miraculously, both barely survive, and Guts tends to Casca's wounds as she tells of having her life saved by Griffith, her induction into the Band of the Hawk, and her deep feelings toward Griffith. She even seems to finally be warming up to the grim Guts. But this greeting-card moment won't last long, for Chuder warriors are on the prowl, and the only greetings they carry are on the points of their spears!...

The century-spanning war between Midland and Chuder continues unabated. The two warring kingdoms, vying for supremacy, launch headfirst into what will become the final battle. Leading the Midland forces are the Band of the Hawk, lead by the charismatic Griffith, with the fearless Guts as his trusted champion. But should the Hawks triumph again on the battlefield, the war with Chuder may end, but the secret war within Midland may begin as those who seek to rise within the court see the ambitious Griffith as an obstacle to obtaining power. And nothing is more formidable than an enemy unseen!...

Guts, the Black Swordsman, and his companions have finally arrived at the sea, where they discover a mysterious child who seems to share a special bond with Guts and his former lover, the now-mad Casca. The troupe's brief respite at the shore offers moments for quiet introspection and deeper bonding, but such peace is always short lived where Guts is involved, and Guts must once again don the demonic Berserker Armor to take on a force of bloodthirsty beasts emerging from the once-peaceful surf, possessed by the accursed sorcery of a powerful Kushan enchanter! And who knows what will happen when internal strife pushes a member of Guts's band unknowingly into the comforting companionship of an enemy!...

Guts, the Black Swordsman, and his companions have finally broken free of the monster-infested wilderness and arrived at the port city of Vritannis. But the band finds out all too quickly that humans can be just as monstrous as the nightmarish creatures and apostles they battled in the forest. As Schierke and Isidro face off against pirate slavers, Farnese's power-hungry family tries to force her once again under the yoke of their political ambitions. The group's only hope is to find a ship out of the city, but even if they manage to secure a vessel, will everyone be free to leave?...

Guts, the Black Swordsman, goes from the frying pan to the fire as he must enter the mating chamber in the horrifying lair of trolls to rescue his love, Casca, and the Lady Farnese from the loathsome attentions of the hideous beasts. But while even an army of trolls cannot stand against Guts's boundless fury, the mightiest of warriors is no match for a demon lord. And so when Slan of the Godhand manifests from the entrails of slain trolls and takes Guts into her deadly embrace, Guts discovers he may not only be fighting for his life, but for his very soul!...

Guts the Black Swordsman just can't seem to find a little peace. On his way to the idyllic tranquility of his miniature pal Puck's homeland of Elfhelm, Guts and his companions, at the behest of a local witch, assist a village beset by a plague of hideous and deadly trolls. Assisted by the witch's disciple, Schierke, the warrior band manages to turn the tide against the beasts, but when a monstrous ogre hits town, a tide of another kind is needed, a mystic flood to wash the town clean. But when Casca and Farnese are carried away by the flood, they become prisoners in the troll's den, where a fate far worse than any imaginable death awaits!...

Desperate to find a sanctuary where his lover, Casca, will be safe from the demons drawn to her Brand of Sacrifice, Guts the Black Swordsman pushes his motley band of followers onward towards fairy Puck's homeland, Elfhelm. With new allies who make their home in a mystically guarded woodland paradise, Guts' goal seems within reach, but danger lurks in the shadows of even the most dazzling utopias, and even fairy witchery may not protect the wondrous kingdom from an army of marauding, murderous trolls! Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is a runaway manga locomotive, a crashing colossus of teeth-rattling action, spine-chilling horror, and taboo-breaking humor that fires the boilers of its devoted devotees and burns the rest. Ashes to ashes!...

Thanks to Lady Farnese's selfless sacrifice, Guts, the Black Swordsman, and the rest of his companions are free to carry on their journey aboard the ship of Farnese's brother, Magnifico - that is, if they're willing to leave Farnese behind. But having to choose between their mission and their loyalties might not be a problem for long if the Kushan emperor and his legion of monstrous minions have their way. With a host of Kushan forces descending on Vritannis, there might not be much left of Farnese's family - or any of the citizenry - to worry about!...

Guts, the Black Swordsman, joins forces with a most unlikely ally, the fiendish Nosferatu Zodd, in a desperate attempt to defeat the Kushan emperor's malevolent astral form. But Griffith, Guts' former commander and friend reborn as a demonic lord of the Godhand, has plans of his own for the emperor, and for Midland itself. Guts and his companions' only hope is to reach the promised safety of the elf Puck's homeland, Elfhelm, but if Griffith and the emperor turn their attention back to this motley band of travelers, there may be nowhere left for Guts and crew to hide!...