Dark Horse Comics

Possibly the most difficult act in the arts is to pull off revisiting a legendary performance. Expectations are sky high, public scrutiny is bound to be intensive, and you know that some detractors are just waiting in the tall grass to ambush you. “You can’t win,” some would say. 

But what if you had more story to tell?

In the case of Kazuo Koike’s Lone Wolf and Cub, we’re not talking about just any legend—we’re talking about arguably the greatest graphic-fiction work ever created. Following such a timeless archetype, one that influenced generations of comics creators around the globe, would be difficult under the best of circumstances, but imagine if you’d lost your artist. And in this case, lost forever: Goseki Kojima, Koike’s revered longtime collaborator, passed in 2000.

But what if you had more story to tell?

For those readers familiar with the original Lone Wolf and Cub (spoiler alert—start catching up on the Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus series if you haven’t read the original!), the epic journey ended with the Lone Wolf, ?gami Itt?, slain on the battlefield after a titanic sword duel (over 170 pages!) with his nemesis, Yagy? Retsud?, and with Yagy? dying after a mortal strike by Itt?’s young son, Daigoro. The indelible image of Yagy? holding Daigoro in his arms as his own lifeblood drains away is striking, as poignant and layered with emotional depth as anything in graphic fiction. Powerful, striking, immortal.

But what if you had more story to tell?

More than twenty years had passed between the end of Lone Wolf’s serialization and Kojima’s death; but series creator Koike—who had gone on to acclaim with numerous manga, including Samurai Executioner, Crying Freeman, and Lady Snowblood—felt within him the need to tell Daigoro’s story, to not leave the child alone on the battlefield. But who could follow Kojima? Enter Hideki Mori, an artist or rare talent who acknowledged Lone Wolf and Cub as the work that led him to become a creator of manga. Koike still felt the need to gain permission from the spirit of Kojima, and received the blessing of Kojima’s widow. And New Lone Wolf and Cub was born...and is here at last.

There was more story to tell. And now it can be told. New Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 1 goes on sale in comics shops June 4.

—Chris Warner

Senior Editor

But what if you had more story to tell?

In the case of Kazuo Koike’s Lone Wolf and Cub, we’re not talking about just any legend—we’re talking about arguably the greatest graphic-fiction work ever created. Following such a timeless archetype, one that influenced generations of comics creators around the globe, would be difficult under the best of circumstances, but imagine if you’d lost your artist. And in this case, lost forever: Goseki Kojima, Koike’s revered longtime collaborator, passed in 2000.

But what if you had more story to tell?

For those readers familiar with the original Lone Wolf and Cub (spoiler alert—start catching up on the Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus series if you haven’t read the original!), the epic journey ended with the Lone Wolf, ?gami Itt?, slain on the battlefield after a titanic sword duel (over 170 pages!) with his nemesis, Yagy? Retsud?, and with Yagy? dying after a mortal strike by Itt?’s young son, Daigoro. The indelible image of Yagy? holding Daigoro in his arms as his own lifeblood drains away is striking, as poignant and layered with emotional depth as anything in graphic fiction. Powerful, striking, immortal.

But what if you had more story to tell?

More than twenty years had passed between the end of Lone Wolf’s serialization and Kojima’s death; but series creator Koike—who had gone on to acclaim with numerous manga, including Samurai Executioner, Crying Freeman, and Lady Snowblood—felt within him the need to tell Daigoro’s story, to not leave the child alone on the battlefield. But who could follow Kojima? Enter Hideki Mori, an artist or rare talent who acknowledged Lone Wolf and Cub as the work that led him to become a creator of manga. Koike still felt the need to gain permission from the spirit of Kojima, and received the blessing of Kojima’s widow. And New Lone Wolf and Cub was born...and is here at last.

There was more story to tell. And now it can be told. New Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 1 goes on sale in comics shops June 4.

—Chris Warner

Senior Editor