Series:

Lone Wolf and Cub

Biographical note:

Though widely respected as a powerful writer of graphic fiction, Kazuo Koike has spent a lifetime reaching beyond the bounds of the comics medium. Aside from co-creating and writing the successful Lone Wolf and Cub and Crying Freeman manga, Koikehas hosted television programs; founded a golf magazine; produced movies; written popular fiction, poetry, and screenplays; and mentored some of Japan's best manga talent.
Lone Wolf and Cub was first serialized in Japan in 1970 in Manga Action magazine and continued its hugely popular run for many years, being reprinted worldwide. Starting in 1972, Koike adapted the popular manga into a series of six films, the Baby Cart Assassin saga, garnering widespread commercial success and critical acclaim for his screenwriting. To give something back to the medium that gave him so much, Koike started the Gekiga Sonjuku, a college course aimed at helping talented writers and artists - such as Ranma 1/2 creator Rumiko Takahashi - break into the comics field.

The driving focus of Koike's narrative is character development, and his commitment to character is clear: "Comics are carried by characters. If a character is well created, the comic becomes a hit." Kazuo Koike's continued success in comics and literature has proven this philosophy true. The author lives in Tokyo, Japan.

Country of final manufacture:

US

Main description:

Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf and Cub is an acclaimed masterpiece of graphic fiction, and New Lone Wolf and Cub (Shin Kozure Okami) is the 21st century sequel to this groundbreaking manga. Ogami Itto, the Lone Wolf, and his nemesis, Yagyu Retsudo, lie dead on the field of their titanic duel. Ogami's young son, Daigoro, will not leave his father side, and none dare help the child, none save Togo Shigetada, a samurai on a desperate and deadly mission of his own! Written by legendary series creator Kazuo Koike, illustrated by Hideki Mori (Bokko), translated by Dana Lewis.