Most Popular Books by Kazuo Koike

A quest for vengeance wouldn''t be complete without a little poison. Having tired of his retainer''s futile attempts at reining in the unstoppable samurai, the shogun himself sends Abeno Kaii, a master of poison, to join the Yagyu in their hunt for ronin Itto Ogami and his little boy Daigoro. Armed with a sack full of poison and a network of streetwalking spies, Abeno creeps ever closer to the father and son. Soon Ogami and Daigoro find themselves surrounded on all sides, facing deadly secret agents, murderously seductive prostitutes, and a river of poison flowing all around them! The Eisner and Harvey Award winning series rolls ever onward with five more stories of intrigue and intensity.

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. • Published in original Japanese format and unretouched which keeps the art intact. • This is a fifteen-volume story starring the legendary ninja and Kill Bill reference Hattori Hanzo. • Each volume comes shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory. FOR MATURE READERS

A failed assassination attempt brings into Freeman''s possession Muramasa, the Devil''s Sword, an ancient samurai blade that brings misfortune and death to any who possess it. Wishing to spare Freeman and tame the sword''s malevolent spirit, Tiger Orchid, Freeman''s wife, takes the blade to Kowloon to train with a legendary swordmaster. But she''ll need to find him in Kowloon Castle, a slum so riddled with crime and destitution that it officially doesn''t exist. But its dangers are all too real, and even a possessed sword may not be enough to stop a gun-toting criminal army bent on selling Tiger Orchid into slavery! Written by the legendary Kazuo Koike, creator of Lone Wolf and Cub, and illustrated by the incomparable Ryoichi Ikegami, Crying Freeman is adult manga at its most challenging: dark, violent, morally complex, erotically charged, and regarded worldwide as one of the classics of adult graphic fiction.

Der herrenlose Samurai Ogami Itto und sein Sohn Daigoro stellen sich erneut dem Spionclan der Kurokuwa und die Vergangenheit um Antagonist Retsudo der Yagyu wird beleuchtet alles unter dem Hintergrund eines minutiös recherchierten feudalhistorischen Japan.

Vater und Sohn sind endlich wieder vereint, während Yagyu-Oberhaupt Retsudo in die Vergangenheit des Clans blickt, und das Geheimnis des Yagyu-Briefes in greifbare Nähe rückt.

Im dritten Band des japanischen Meisterwerks, das bis heute Erzähler wie Quentin Tarantino und Frank Miller beeinflusst, wird Licht ins Dunkel der Hintergründe um Ogami Ittos Rache gebracht und der junge Daigoro muss sich gleich mehrfach selbst beweisen. Die Reise durch das feudale Japan geht unnachgiebig weiter – mit Herz, Charme, Trauer, Mut und jeder Menge Action.

He is Yo Himomura, deadly assassin for the 108 Dragons, the Chinese Mafia. But to the criminal underworld who fear him, he is known as Crying Freeman, the killer who sheds tears at the fate of his victims. A young, handsome, sensitive artist, Yo has been hypnotically programmed by his Dragon masters to kill on command: he cannot resists his masters'' commands to kill; his masters cannot stop his tears of remorse. Written by the legendary Kazuo Koike, creator of Lone Wolf and Cub, and illustrated by the incomparable Ryoichi Ikegami, Crying Freeman is adult manga at its darkest.

Es bahnt sich eine große Konfrontation zwischen dem Yagyu-Clan, Retsudo und den herrenlosen Wölfen Ogami Itto und Daigoro an, die nicht alle unbeschadet überstehen werden. Der junge Daigoro muss erneut beweisen, dass er auch für sein eigenes Leben einstehen kann, während er auf seinem Weg auf Fischer, gesuchte Verbrecher und alte Damen in Not trifft ...

Kazuko Koikes und Gouseki Kojimas historischer Manga zählt dank seiner spannenden Story und zweier faszinierender Hauptfiguren zurecht zu den weltweit besten Comics überhaupt. In lose verknüpften Episoden erzählt er die Odyssee des herrenlos gewordenen Samurai Ogami Itto, der mit seinem kleinen Sohn Daigoro als Auftragsmörder durch das Japan des späten 17. Jahrhunderts zieht.

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 stories: The Yagyu Letter The Tears of Daigoro The Fisherwoman''s Love Drifting Shadows Straw Boy

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.

The book is published "manga-style," in authentic Japanese right-to-left format.

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 stories: One Rainy Day O-Shichiri Man The Kyushu Road Day of the Demons

Spring is a season of rebirth and delight, but not for Kubikiri Asa, the Shogun''s executioner. And for those condemned to lose their heads to Asa''s sword, this spring will be their final season. Samurai Executioner, the Edo-era samurai crime drama by Lone Wolf and Cub creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, continues down its path of heinous crime and diligent, bloody justice.

Two slaves free themselves from a slave ship, one a Japanese man, the other an African American. After escaping they find themselves on the shore of Edo-era Japan, a society with a strong caste system, isolated from the world. How will the Japanese people perceive this giant black man, how will they survive? But first things first, how will they get these shackles off their feet? Fans of Kazuo Koike know how he loves to turn out a sensational samurai-era yarn with a certain sense of chauvinist violence and pulpy sexiness, and Color of Rage is by no means a slacker in these categories. Drafted by pin-up artist and mangaka Seisaku Kano, Color of Rage features plenty of action, fighting, blood, sexiness, and more fighting.

An epic samurai adventure.

Created by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, Lone Wolf and Cub has sold over a million copies of its first Dark Horse English-language editions, and this acclaimed masterpiece of graphic fiction is now available in larger format, value-priced editions. Separated from his son while battling Yagu assassins, Itto Ogami''s mission of retribution heats to a boil as he cuts through any obstacle to find his missing child. But little Daigoro, though a mere toddler, is the son of the most formidable and resourcefull samurai in the land. Though alone in a cruel world, Daigoro has the heart of a warrior!