In the second installment of Koike and Kojima's dual-biography, Ieyasu Motonobu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Hattori Hanzo, his ninja bodyguard, move onto the historical stage and advance their love lives. Anticipating that he won't be able to serve both master and wife, Hattori turns away the young woman he won in Serving in the Dark (2006). To learn how to fulfill his wife, Ieyasu has Hattori spy out how a studly warlord pleases his. Here, instead of the many stories of the episodic Samurai Assassin, Koike and Kojima are unfolding a huge story arc, with comparable artfulness. (Ray Olson)...
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The third volume of the graphic-novel biography of Tokugawa shogunate founder Ieyasu and his personal ninja Hanzo is nearly all development. Ieyasu walks a tactical tightrope between the factions contending for rule--one led by his de facto father, the other by his older brother--in the run-up to a decisive battle that hasn't broken by volume's end. In the middle of this, Hanzo encounters the female ninja who will be his wife in an ultimately erotic episode worthy of the best in Koike and Kojima's Samurai Executioner. Relatively wordy but brilliantly paced and, of course, drawn. --Ray Olson...
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Making a living as an executioner could eventually turn a normal man into a heartless machine. Executioner Yamada is no normal man. Even after executing an imposing number of both men and women, Yamada still has strong convictions and believes human life is very precious. He also believes that each convicted criminal deserves to die with dignity. A good example of this is the story 'Season of New Straw'. Yamada does not have a wife, but one day a woman selling fresh straw explains to him that women like placing new straw in their hair. Supposedly the straw increases blood flow and makes a woman's hair healthier and hence prettier. Yamada buys some straw and the next time he executes a woman he presents her with the gift of straw. No...
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Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami in Japan) is acknowledged worldwide for the brilliant writing of series creator Kazuo Koike and the groundbreaking cinematic visuals of the late Goseki Kojima. Creating unforgettable imagery of stark beauty, kinetic fury, and visceral thematic power, the epic samurai adventure has influenced a generation of visual storytellers both in Japan and in the West.Packaging:Lone Wolf and Cub is bunko-sized and printed from left to right. The printing is cleanly reproduced but I was left wondering if some of the confusion I felt for a couple battle scenes were because the title is flipped. The front cover is divided in half vertically with the title on the left and a picture of Itto leaping through the air to chop...
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Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami in Japan) is acknowledged worldwide for the brilliant writing of series creator Kazuo Koike and the groundbreaking cinematic visuals of the late Goseki Kojima. Creating unforgettable imagery of stark beauty, kinetic fury, and visceral thematic power, the epic samurai adventure has influenced a generation of visual storytellers both in Japan and in the West.Packaging:Lone Wolf and Cub is bunko sized and printed from left to right. The printing is cleanly reproduced but I was left wondering if some of the confusion I felt for a couple battle scenes were because the title is flipped. The front cover is divided in half vertically with the title on the left and a picture of the two main characters on the...
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In 1970, the Golden Duo of manga, writer Kazuo Koike and illustrator Goseki Kojima, began collaborating on Kazure Okami, a serial about the adventures of assassin Lone Wolf and his young son, Cub. Framed by the Yagyu clan, Lone Wolf - also known as Origami Itto, former kogi kaishakunin (official executioner) to the shogun - sets out with his curious, mysterious child, Daigoro, on the road of meifumado, the Buddhist Hell. As they make their way through the six paths and the four lives. Lone Wolf becomes a personal assassin of vengeance for anyone who will pay him, as long as they tell him the absolute truth about why the killing must be carried out. But Lone Wolf is no mere sword for hire - his Zen beliefs make each tale a compelling...
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In 1970, the Golden Duo of manga, writer Kazuo Koike and illustrator Goseki Kojima, began collaborating on KAZURE OKAMI, a serial about the adventures of assassin Lone Wolf and his young son, Cub. Framed by the Yagyu clan, Lone Wolf - also known as Origami Itto, former kogi kaishakunin (official executioner) to the shogun - sets out with his curious, mysterious child, Daigoro, on the road of meifumado, the Buddhist Hell. As they make their way through the six paths and the four lives. Lone Wolf becomes a personal assassin of vengeance for anyone who will pay him, as long as they tell him the absolute truth about why the killing must be carried out. But Lone Wolf is no mere sword for hire - his Zen beliefs make each tale a compelling...
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