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9 of 9 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
"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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
lone wolf, 15 Feb 2003
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.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Why You should Read this, 30 Dec 2004
The storyline is top notch, with all of the characters going about their ways in perfectly real and natural ways. Ogami Itto becomes some well known to the reader that we grow to understand his point of view and what he is trying to achieve. We come to understand that which drives him and the life he has chosen to accomplish this. He refers to himself and his son Daigoro as "evil" and "demons" at one point. This is not entirely true though. While it is correct that they are living the life that leads them on a path to the Buddhist Hell, they are fundamentally good people, and this can be seen in their actions at times, all the while sticking to his way of the assassin.
Revenge, bloodshed, emotions and feelings from ALL of the characters in it, ingenious uses of his baby cart to survive the adventures they are, a real sense of journey over the 28 volumes, a journey that you the reader get to explore too.
With many oriental comics, you will find that the panel use is much more laid out, spaced and slower. Where we in the western world might have a room and someone enter the room and dialogue, their comics might show a person in the room pouring sake from a jug, and then the sake splashing into the little drinking cup and then the people in the room. It sets every scene. Truly this style of panel layout combined with the super realistic art style of Goseki Kojima along with Kazuo Koike's delightful, sometimes heart wrenching dialogue the comic feels meditative to read. As if looking at the pages is calming you.
There is absolutely no doubt that when you have a Lone Wolf & Cub book open you are reading something that is more than manga as we know it. Those who dislike manga need not fear to tread here. Those who are interested in the Edo period of Japan will also be in for a treat, for Kazuo Koike has done his homework brilliantly! You will even learn about many Japanese customs of that time.
When you get to Volume 19's first story (as an example) and you see the scene that the storyteller has set with this tale, the complex situation that has arisen with all new characters introduced for this issue only, and then for Ogami Itto (Lone Wolf) to turn up, you are absolutely glued to the book. Here we have a remarkable situation unfolding between some villagers and the lawmen that was amazing on its own, and then when Ogami turns up on the scene you simply don't know what will happen next. Who will live? Will everyone be killed? Spared? Will he talk them out of it? The look on everyone's faces (page 58/59 - Vol 19) at his arrival are the same as my own as I read it.
Ogami's travels are beautiful, serene, of mind and body and his path is viciously bloody in contrast. This 28 volume masterpiece changes something in you, and you know you will never be the same again after it. It puts heart rendering situations before you and challenges you to deal with them, to feel for them. No character passes through the stories as filler. You always feel "something" for everyone involved. If you can only take one book onto a desert island, take War and Peace maybe, but if you can take 28 be sure to pick Lone Wolf & Cub.
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