Most Popular Books by Kazuo Koike

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. Young, handsome, sensitive, an artist, Yo has been hypnotically programmed by his Dragon masters to kill on command: he cannot resist 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 most challenging: dark, violent, morally complex, erotically charged, and regarded worldwide as one of the classics of adult graphic fiction. Dark Horse Manga is proud to present Crying Freeman, yet another of the jewels in the crown of manga classics, presented in its original right-to-left reading orientation. FOR MATURE READERS

Freeman affronte en solitaire l’organisation terroriste des Crocs de l’Afrique. En tant que chef des 108 dragons, il est prêt à risquer sa vie pour défendre les siens. Mais ses adversaires ont plus d’un tour dans leur sac pour tenter de mettre fin à ses jours...

The path of revenge can have many twisted turns, and Lady Snowblood's is no exception. Born in a prison, a product of her mother's grudge, Yuki is a child of hell. What will she do for revenge? Pose as a nun? Become another woman's lover? Possibly. In this volume we learn about Yuki's training and youth, see her woo some allies, and embark on the first steps of her angry path. Written by Kazuo Koike of Lone Wolf & Cub fame, Lady Snowblood is a tale of a woman's path in hell.

War! Ninjas! Love! Political intrigue! It's all packed into Path of the Assassin. Drafted by classic samurai manga creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima of Lone Wolf and Cub fame, Path of the Assassin is the story of a young shogun on his way to unite Japan, and the trusty ninja assigned to protect him. Be it in crafty maneuverings of war, political push and pull, or bedroom adventures, young Hattori Hanzo will not be kept from his duties. Path of the Assassin packs historical fiction and fine art in yet another classic samurai series from Dark Horse. • 18+ content advisory.

The Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series continues! The time for delay is past. Itto Ogami and Daigoro are headed for Edo, to face Retsudo of the Yagyu once and for all! Stalked by bounty hunters and killers after their reward money, the Lone Wolf now faces deadlier enemies still. Retsudo has called out the nation's most accomplished rifleman, and dispatched a cannon-laden man of war, to intercept the father and son as they navigate treacherous cliffs and the high seas of Japan!

It's the final volume of Samurai Executioner, and like the previous nine volumes, the last is a combination of life's varying tides of good fortune and ill circumstance. The woman who once stole the weapons of samurai cops is becoming a cop herself. It's a story of gender struggles in a time long past. All the while, criminals keep losing their heads to Asa the decapitator. But one criminal might leave something behind that could hurt our favorite protagonist. • Drafted by the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub, Dark Horse Comics has been proud to present this beautiful and individual series of samurai-era, crime-and-punishment drama. FOR MATURE READERS

A master ninja's duty is to protect the boy who would grow up to become Shogun and unify Japan.

Collects materal previously published in the Dark Horse graphic novels Samurai Executioner. Volume 3: The hell stick; Samurai Executioner. Volume 4: Portrait of death; Samurai Executioner. Volume 5: Ten fingers, one life.

Striking similarities between Lone Wolf and Cub and Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's sidebar story line, Samurai Executioner (known as Kubikiri Asa in Japan), are evident in the cool attitude, rebellious honor, and unflappable bushido of the lead characters of both series, but readers will delight in the whole new crime-fiction genre of Edo-era samurai spirit in Samurai Executioner. Here, we enter a world of harsh and violent crime and the forces that stand against it. In this volume, after initial stories of criminals' lives leading to their executions, we meet two Edo-era police officers and explore their specialized methods of capturing crafty criminals. Then, in Koike's signature fashion, the volume ends with a psycho killer's grueling and violent end. It's a history lesson, an art education, and a pulp sensation, all wrapped up in one fantastic series. • FOR MATURE READERS

As Samurai Executioner continues moving into its own world of crime and punishment, honor and bushido, we are beginning to learn more about the characters and situations involved in Edo-era justice. We're learning about Kubikiri Asa, the Shögun's decapitator, and his stoic life. This man's joyless existence is backed by stories of his past as a child, and how they reflect on his current day. But we also learn more about the peace officers of the era. In particular, there's the character "Catcher Kasajirö," the charming young man who uses a hooked rope and chained cudgel with such great skill. With these two characters, one with the guilt of many generations, and one bearing the naïveté of a young buck, bring an odd sort of tenderness to a world of pain, death, and quirky kink.

There is more than just blood between parent and child. Itto Ogami and his son Daigoro have seen more blood flowing from more bodies than anyone in Edo, but what connects them is their spirit and path. In this collection of classic stories, Itto must protect a young girl after her family is destroyed by a cunning courtesan. Meanwhile, Itto's arch-enemy, Yagyu Retsudo, has sent the civilian police force to round up the Lone Wolf as a common criminal, and before long, Daigoro is coincidentally tangled in a messy pair of crimes. And, most dramatically, Itto returns to the scene of one of his past executions to enter a tender and honorable sword fight against an executed lord's former retainer. This volume contains the following stories: Dragnet Night Stalker Cloud Dragon, Wind Tiger Inn of the Last Chrysanthemum Penal Code Article Seventy-Nine

Yamada Asaemon, The shogun's executioner receives many strange requests from the condemned--a woman who bequeaths her severed locks to her beloved, a gardener who ask for the "beheading" of a chrysanthemum. And while strangers to Asaemon, their final moments and the stories behind their appeals can sometimes reveal more of a person's character than a lifetime of association. From Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, legendary creators of Lone Wolf and Cub, comes the final omnibus volume of Samurai Executioner, a dark, complex exploration of Edo-period feudal Japan and the depths of the human spirit.

Spring is a season of rebirth, or new life springing forth, a time of cherished blooming and delightful scents. But for Kubikira Asa, there is no spring delight. The Edo-era samurai crime drama by Lone Wolf and Cub creators Koike and Kojima continues down its path of heinous crime and diligent, bloody justice. Spring may come to the innocent, but to those condemned to lose their heads to Asa’s sword, it will be their last.

The stoic bushido world of Samurai Executioner is one full of flying, disembodied heads and odd happenings, and this volume is no exception. There are always stories of crimes and their ensuing punishments, and plenty of squirting blood, but this volume promises a story that will fascinate and inspire a few grins. A mysterious woman with a turtlelike demon tattooed on her back and the ability to swim like no other is stealing weapons from men around Edo. She's scarring egos and causing lots of problems. Of course, Kubikiri Asa has the answer to the mystery. And in a surprise turn, a samurai cop whom we've met before finally captures the woman, and does so in a rather erotic way. • FOR MATURE READERS

From the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub comes Samurai Executioner. It's true! Before Koike and Kojima created Itto Ogami, they created Kubikiri Asa, better known to Lone Wolf readers as Decapitator Asaemon. He was the equal to Itto, bearer of the sword Onibocho, the man charged with the duty of testing the swords for the shogun. Samurai Executioner is based on the decapitator himself, in life before his fatal duel with Lone Wolf. Expect the same legendary drama, frantic action, and stoic samurai stature, combined with the exemplary art and storytelling that made Lone Wolf and Cub one of the most popular and influential comic books in the world! • Never before published in America, Samurai Executioner was the precursor to one of the most seminal works of manga, Lone Wolf and Cub! • Since the inception of its Lone Wolf and Cub publishing program in 2000, Dark Horse has sold over 800,000 copies! And the series continues to sell thousands per month! • FOR MATURE READERS.

A frenetic mix of samurai honor, base violence, and the blood of beheading, Samurai Executioner, is not for the faint of heart. For those who love blood and guts crime drama, historical fiction, and brutal action, this is right up your alley. The men who brought you Lone Wolf & Cub also created Kubikiri Asa, a young ronin samurai who helps keep the peace by putting the fear of beheading into Edo's criminals. But it doesn't always work, and so he has to. Full of squirting blood, fast-paced samurai swordwork, and the drama that comes from human corruption, Samurai Executioner is like no other classic manga. • Never before published in America, Samurai Executioner was the companion to one of the most seminal works of manga, Lone Wolf & Cub! FOR MATURE READERS

The world of samurai and ninja is not just killing, politics, intrigue and actioin. It’s also about family, spirit, love and sex. If there were ever an issue of Path of the Assassin that could be entitled "the sex issue," this would probably be it. Not just the act of sex, but the feelings, doubts, methods, results and politics of sex. The results can mean a son or daughter fated to the politics of advantage and danger. The doubts can lead to an unfocused mind. The methods can be a resullt of doubt, but can be there own distraction as well. The feelings can be good, bad, and ugly. And all of these elements amount to the politics of sex. However, if you fear that all this talk of sex means this volume of Path of the Assassin lacks the the expected swordplay, gushing blood, and drama you’ve come to love, well please don’t worry. Rather the sexplay only provides a framework for those standards, making for an oddly exciting volume of our samurai/ninja tale of conquest. As always, pocket size and full of the best in gekiga, Koike and Kojima’s Path of the Assassin continues with a fever.

An impenetrable castle must be defeated, the country’s best samurai swayed, competing warlords politicked and tricked into line. All this sounds technical and textbook, so how does it turn out to be so sexy and dramatic and fun? Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (Lone Wolf & Cub) are masters of samurai storytelling, and Path of the Assassin is no slouch when it comes to action, drama, tactics, sex, love, honor and a terrific, engaging story.

It's not easy being Hattori Hanzo. If he's not teaching Leyasu, the young, future shogun, how to love, then he's behind the scenes, teaching Leyasu how not to die in case of a momentary lapse of protection. If you thought you had a tough job, try taking a pudgy, protected youngster, and making him into the leader who will unite Japan under his single rule. From the creators of Lone Wolf & Cub comes a series about two young men bound to a nation's potential future at a time when Japan was in transition from a warlike feudal state into an era of bureacracy and infighting. Another quasi-historical tale from the masters of Japanese samurai culture, Path of the Assassin shows a side of feudal Japan that entertains with action as well as political drama. FOR MATURE READERS.

A female yakuza and her band are ordered to catch Lone Wolf and Cub, but the authorities aren't counting on a woman's heart. Meanwhile, the Yagyu have called in Japan's most deadly bounty hunters, and offer an even greater reward--can the Lone Wolf trust anyone around him, when the lure of wealth tempts even seemingly harmless peasant folk? Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

A Crying Freeman Graphic Novel originally published in Japanese, with remarkable drawings that tell the story. Chapters: The Wind and the Crane, Part 3; The Marital Vows; The Separation of the Dragon and the Tiger; and The Killing Ring, Parts 1 through 5.

Follows the adventures of Ogami Itto, a samurai framed and forced into exile with his infant son, as he pursues his quest for revenge against those who murdered his wife.

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 master ninja's duty is to protect the boy who would grow up to become Shogun and unify Japan.

A master ninja's duty is to protect the boy who would grow up to become Shogun and unify Japan.