In 1989, veteran manga artist Hideo Azuma left his family and work behind to live as a hermit in the mountains of Japan. In a year fraught with financial tension, Azuma’s memoir of homelessness and menial labor — drawn in a deceptively light cartoon style, and packed with dry humor and desperate sadness — is a timely reminder of how quickly lives can change. You may read Azuma's Disappearance Diary as a cautionary tale, but at least you’ll learn how to make a meal out of a radish and tempura oil.

We declared Disappearance Diary the best comic of the year in New York's list of the best comics of 2008, and Vulture's proud to present an exclusive nineteen-page excerpt of Hideo Azuma's graphic novel, published by Fanfare/Ponent Mon.