Hideo Kojima was a pioneering manga artist whose early work during the post-war era in Japan served to entertain impoverished audiences. He is celebrated for his innovative storytelling and distinct artistic style, particularly evident in his collaborations that produced widely acclaimed series. His contributions significantly shaped the landscape of manga, leaving a lasting legacy.
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.
It's the same classic style you've come to expect from Koike and Kojima. The same tale of an honorable samurai and a similar great sword in the hand of a similarly fantastic swordsman, but make no mistake—Samurai Executioner is very different from its brother, Lone Wolf and Cub, sometimes frighteningly so. In a prison world, there are few good stories, and this is the world of Kubikiri Asa, the beheader and master samurai under the shogun. It's a world full of vengeance, greed, and violence. A world of depravity and sin. One man can set things straight if he can keep his wits. This is a story of extreme proportions, of sword study thick in tradition and with grim purpose, of blood rivers, agonizing screams, bondage, torture, and the evil prevalent in human failure. Drafted by the confirmed masters of the international medium of manga, Samurai Executioner is a shocking combination of darkness and fire, fine lines, and a fine man in the face of human decline. • FOR MATURE READERS.
From the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub comes Samurai Executioner. It's true! Few know of this precursor to the legendary ronin saga, but before Koike and Kojima created Itto Ogami, they created Kubikiri Asa, better known to Lone Wolf readers as Decapitator Asaemon. He was the equal to Itto, bearer of the sword Onibocho, the man charged with the duty of testing the swords for the shogun. Shogun Executioner is based on the decapitator himself, in life before his fatal duel with Lone Wolf. Expect the same legendary drama, frantic action, and stoic samurai stature, combined with the exemplary art and storytelling that made Lone Wolf and Cub one of the most popular and influential comic books in the world!
Path of the Assassin, called Hanzo no Mon in Japan, is the story of Hattori Hanzo, the fabled master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu was the shogun who would unite Japan into one great nation. But before he could do that, he had to grow up and learn how to love the ladies! As the secret caretaker of such an influential future leader, not only does Hanzo use vast and varied ninja talents, but in living closely with Ieyasu, he forms a close friendship with the young shogun. FOR MATURE READERS
Talisman of Hades
The Lone Wolf's arch-enemy, Yagyu Retsudo, begins to reach the end of his rope, as he sends his only daughter and last child after the blood-storm that is Itto Ogami! Meanwhile, Ogami and Daigoro happen upon another clue about the mysterious Yagyu Letter in a final showdown with the Kurokuwa ninja clan. A desperate Retsudo puts a bounty on Ogami's head, and two of Japan's most deadly bounty hunters hunt for the Lone Wolf and his Cub, while a poor woodcutter must decide between the bounty and his life by sheltering Ogami and Daigoro! All this and much more awaits in one of comics' most legendary series. This volume contains the following stories: Umbrella Sayaka Clouds of Silk Demon Hide, Demon Seek Gateway into Winter
The six paths and four lives are split asunder, as Itto Ogami and Daigoro become separated in one of this series' most powerful stories to date! The Lone Wolf's arch-enemy, Yagyu Retsudo, pursues Ogami to retrieve the secret letter stolen from him, only to watch dozens of his men fall victim to the Lone Wolf's hungry sword! But Yagyu drives father and son apart as they tumble down a cliff and must survive on their own! Little Daigoro must begin his honorable search for his father. But with Yagyu's henchmen hunting high and low for the Lone Wolf and his cub, the net drags closer and the danger wraps tighter, but the blood flows ever freely...This volume contains the following The Yagyu LetterThe Tears of DaigoroThe Fisherwoman's LoveDrifting ShadowsStraw Boy
As the flames draw nearer, the fire gets hotter. Ronin assassin Ogami Itto seeks to learn what's written on the secret messages from the corrupt Yagyu clan to the Shogun, and leaves a river of blood in his path. Elsewhere, a shamed woman attempts to force her husband to name his own child, but his job and honor stand in the way. Daigoro makes a new friend in another samurai fated to seppuku — ritual suicide — and defends the honor of a young playmate. The world keeps turning as the Lone Wolf and his Cub wander the land seeking revenge and answers, the questions to which are written in blood and ink.This volume contains the following One Rainy DayO-Shichiri ManThe Kyushu RoadDay of the Demons
