New Lone Wolf & Cub Volume 5

Marc Notes: Translated from the Japanese.; Rogue swordmaster Togo Shigekata leads his young charge, Daigoro, deep into the winter mountains to continue his training in the secret arts of Jigen-ruu swordsmanship. But wherever the fated pair goes, danger seems to follow, as Ushikudonki ninja lay in wait near Mt. Fuji to spring a deadly trap!. Contributor Bio:  Koike, Kazuo 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, Koike has 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 (under the title Kozure Okami) in Manga Action magazine and continued its hugely popular run for many years, being collected as the stories were published, and reprinted worldwide. Koike collected numerous awards for his work on the series throughout the next decade. 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. This wasn't Koike's only foray into film and video. In 1996, Crying Freeman, the manga Koike created with artist Ryoichi Ikegami, was produced in Hollywood and released to commercial success in Europe and is currently awaiting release in America. And 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.