The Ravages of Time [火鳳燎原] is a modern retelling of the stories set during the last years of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period that follows (assuming the series reaches the end of Han, that is). Ravages strives to keep many of the major outcomes intact, while changing several details such as the stratagems and the motives (and even the ages) of the characters involved. More than being just an adaptation, Ravages as a whole offers (and insists on) a critical and ironic perspective on the background setting and the source texts that it playfully uses and blends.
Contrary to popular misconceptions, Ravages is published in a shounen rather than a seinen magazine, although its de facto audience demographic at this point may very well fit the seinen category more. In addition, Ravages, which started publishing in 2001 and has yet to reach the halfway point of the novel after 15 years, is perhaps the longest-running continuous adaptation of the Three Kingdoms saga (and arguably, as far as narrative and textual content are concerned, it may very well be the most ambitious so far).
Ravages has hundreds of characters, several of them important ones, but two key players have long stood out (to the point that their names and nicknames when combined in a particular way form the title of the series): a brilliant scion from a wealthy merchant clan, and his trusted sidekick leading a group of handicapped assassins that serve the aforementioned merchant clan. Other notable figures include the leaders of the three factions that would go on to become the three kingdoms, eight genius advisers who studied under the same teacher but ended up on different paths, a peerless and cunning but treacherous warrior, the beleaguered child emperor, and various big players who vied for dominance in Han's final moments.
Ravages features well-choreographed action scenes (though the gore isn't that excessive), witty lines and thought-provoking discussions (with considerable amounts of word play mostly lost in translation), gimmicky poses and closeups, stunning visual art (especially in later chapters), bishounen character designs rather than the usual male gaze fan service (though the pretty boys tend to look eerily similar to one another), judicious use of motifs and symbolism, intense drama involving larger-than-life hyper-competent personalities with different stances and values, and storytelling techniques that emphasize the sheer scale of the overall setting and subject matter.
Aside from the features mentioned above, Ravages stands out (among comics at least) because of how it consistently incorporates four intellectually stimulating and challenging aspects that, when taken together, may very well be called its special template. Note that none of those elements are intrinsically exclusive to Ravages, but it so happens that Ravages is one of the rare stories that care and dare to make heavy and masterful use of all four of them.
First, imagine a story of whatever setting (for our purposes, preferably based on some period in recorded 'history' that may or may not be true, or an established 'mythic' world that may or may not be real).
Now, incorporate layers of various convoluted schemes and stratagems into the events of the story (if the story is already based on tales of intrigue dealing with warfare and statecraft, further intensify this aspect).
Then, add a bunch of profound notions and claims on a variety of topics (even better if they resemble what some theorists and philosophers have mused), for readers to think about as they navigate through the story.
Plus, weave the ideas and twists of the story in ways that make them useful tools for incisive social commentary and ideological critique.
Last, make use of extensive citations and allusions to texts related to both the themes and the setting of the story.
(as a side note, there's one other thing Ravages excels in, namely how it showcases unnamed lackeys and minions with unusually fashionable outfits)