Quick Review: Lone Wolf and Cub

What makes something classic?

The word classic means something that has been judged over many years to be of the highest quality. It means that if something is a classic it has risen above the current trends, fashions, styles, and culture and can be viewed as timeless because of its mastery of its art.

There are not many comic books or manga (Japanese comics) that I would classify this way. Off the top of my head I can only think of three. One of these books is Lone Wolf and Cub. LWC is a manga that came out in 1970 and is based around a shogun's executioner that is forced to be come a ronin assassin to escape accusations of dishonor. The catch is that he has a toddler son that also must make this journey.
By the way, a Shogun is pretty much the biggest baddie leader in early Japan

The series is written episodically which is not very common in modern comics. However, many themes and characters continue between chapters, and histories of the assassin and child are told once and a while. That being said, the story's can be read in almost any order.

There are several volumes of this series and every one of the chapters is well constructed thematically. Each story has a strong point that is dramatized with cunning, and swordplay. You will really feel like the story is taking you for a ride and you just need to pay attention.

The art is naturally drawn with unstylized proportions and rendering. Goseki Kojima is a master of visual storytelling and it is very apparent from the consistent flow and clarity. He does a great job at delineating the famous samurai standoffs and master sword fights that end in a violent flash. The art is well rounded as well. The detailed backgrounds are begging to be combed over a second time.

I read this a long time ago in college and after many years I've read a lot of these stories again. This time I am studying them for storytelling techniques and rendering execution, but it feels equally as fresh as my first read.

Please take a chance on this old but classic series, now reprinted from Dark Horse. Heres a link to Amazon where you can buy the volumes with all that cash you've made from cryptos.

Thanks for reading.

But before you go, I just want to say thanks for all the great comments and followers that I have connected with in the past. I hope to hear from you in the comments and let me know if you'd like to read more Quick Reviews in the future.

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Also, I am working hard on my comic, Star Circuit and just have been having a blast writing it. I will be posting some updates here but I plan to have dedicated webpage and blog for all its progress. If you haven't seen the test pages I did last year, go here. And I'll let you know where you can support this Sci-fi racing epic.

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