Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 1: The Assassin's Road (Lone Wolf and Cub (Dark Horse)): Amazon.co.uk: Goseki Kojima, Kazuo Koike: 9781569715024: Books

Product Description

Dark Horse Comics is proud to present one of the authentic landmarks in graphic fiction, Lone Wolf and Cub, to be published in its entirety for the first time. Lone Wolf and Cub is an epic samurai adventure of staggering proportions -- a 17th century story of a disgraced Shogun's executioner wandering the country as an assassin.

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

(What's this?)

Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.

manga(3)

assassin(2)

martial arts(2)

betrayal(1)

bushido(1)

dark horse(1)

fighting(1)

honour(1)

japanese(1)

ninja(1)

Agree with these tags?

See all 17 tags...

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lone Wolf and Cub begin walking the Assassin's Road, 26 Sep 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 1: The Assassin's Road (Lone Wolf and Cub (Dark Horse)) (Paperback)

"The Assassin's Road" represents the first nines stories in the 7000 page epic of "Lone Wolf and Cub" ("Kozure Okami") by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. It ends up constituting something of a prologue to the epic because we do, eventually, get around to finding out the origin of the mysterious ronin assassin who travels around the Japan of the Edo period with a cart containing his infant son, Daigoro. The first several stories are somewhat formulaic; Lone Wolf is hired to kill someone who is a difficult target and uses his cunning and gile to get the job done. There appears to be an attention to detail in the samurai swordplay of the fighting sequences, but it is certainly beyond my understanding to truly appreciate. However, the calculated precision with which Lone Wolf turns seemingly impossible situations to his advantage is to me the more attractive part of these initial narratives, especially as the father keeps using his son as the key part of a brilliant strategem to position his target for death. More importantly, from the first appearance of Lone Wolf and the cart bearing the banner "Son for Hire, Sword for Hire, Suio Schoool, Itto Ogami" there is clearly a mystery to be solved. Yet as you read these first stories it is certainly hard to tell what might be clues to the secret of Lone Wolf and Cub. By the end of "The Assassin's Road" the secret is revealed, but you get the feeling that this is but the beginning of something that will become much bigger as the story continues. The result is an epic "comic book" story that sends the standard for what can be done in the graphic art form.

I lived in Japan for several years at the end of the Sixties and had the opportunity to visit some of the Edo period castles. Add to that the fact that "Shogun" is still one of my favorite all-time miniseries (and the novel was pretty good too), and the only surprise is that I should have waited this long to beginning read this classic epic comic book story. These volumes from Dark Horse Comics are published in the Japanese format, which means these volumes are the traditional size of a Japanese paperback, which is about an inch shorter from top to bottom than its American coutnerpart. Included in this first of two dozen volumes are: "Son for Hire, Sword for Hire"; "A Father Knows His Child's Heart, as Only a Child Can Know His Father's"; "From North to South, From West to East"; "Baby Cart on the River Styx"; "Suio School Zanbato"; "Waiting for the Rains"; "Eight Gates of Deceit"; "Wings to the Birds, Fangs to the Beast"; and "The Assassin's Road." The back of the book has a Glossary, profiles of the two creators, and the first installment of "The Ronin Report," which provides historical details on this period of Japanese history.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse | Permalink

Comment Comment

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lone wolf, 15 Feb 2003

By

E Parry (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 1: The Assassin's Road (Lone Wolf and Cub (Dark Horse)) (Paperback)

It took me a while to get around to reading Lone Wolf and Cub because it seemed quite a heavy read. Although it can be rather full of dense dialogue at times, often it can be astonishingly minimalistic. The nine short stories in this volume mostly follow the same basic formula, centering around the assasin Ogami Itto (a.k.a Lone Wolf) being hired to kill someone, and accomplashing it through some ingenious setup. However, just when you think things are becoming formulaic, something is introduced that makes the story more compelling. The last story shows us some background to the central characters that leaves you really wanting to read further.

What makes this comic heads above others is the mature way in which it is handled. Lone Wolf is basically the classic samurai character; quiet, thoughtful, and extremely skilled, but really he is far more complex. He is not perfect either, sometimes his actions (or inactions even) seem questionable. The genius is that, rather than always trying to explain them, the reader is often left to wonder why he acts in a certain way. Through this, it becomes obvious that there is much we don't know about this character, which really draws you into the story. However, sometimes we do get to hear his thoughts and logic, each time adding a new dimension to a very complex character. Particularly fascinating is the unusual relationship he has with his son, which is developed further in later volumes.

This volume on its own can be a little frustrating, as it doesn't go into the ongoing story, and can seem rather directionless. You want to get into the full swing of things right away. These stories do have a purpose though, which is to develop the background and characters. Although seeming almost pointless, it does serve to heighten involvement in the story later on. In later volumes the stories are longer (this volume contains 9 stories in about 300 pages, others have around 4 or 5 in the same number of pages), and more complex.

Lone Wolf and Cub is a comic book that is truly for adults, regardless of the violence and "mature themes". It should be read by anyone interested in literature, not just comic books, and by people who think comic books are for kids and teenagers. This series alone will change peoples views on comics.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse | Permalink

Comment Comment

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply stunning. Artwork, storyline, sub-plots - the best!, 12 Jan 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Lone Wolf and Cub Vol 1: The Assassin's Road (Lone Wolf and Cub (Dark Horse)) (Paperback)

This series is truly a masterpiece. The central character is complex and subtle, the storyline is riveting, and the artwork simply breathtaking.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse | Permalink