The Black Axe is a six-issue mini-series set in the Mouse Guard universe, and this is the original art used for the cover of issue #4. I'm sharing it because I found the art heavily ligne claire-inspired, plus.. yeah! I simply love the piece.

But more than just that, I found The Black Axe a wonderful series as a whole, which shares elements of style, narrative, plotting and tragedy with classics such as Beowulf and Túrin's Tale (from Tolkien's Silmarillion).

Here's three sample pages from this same issue: (click or zoom to expand)

I'll have to write a proper review of the Mouse Guard series at a later date, but for now, I can certainly recommend this particular mini-series as a great introduction, more focused and less full of characters and subplots than the other series.

Following is the cover version of the art:

And more general Mouse Guard samples HERE.