Lone Wolf and Cub - A Family Murderer

Every comic book reader has his "sin". That classic CB (comic book) that is acclaimed, indispensable and for some reason you ended up never reading it.

I have some of these sins, but perhaps the greatest of them is never to have read Lone Wolf and Cub, a true landmark in manga history and considered one of the best comic books ever, an influencer of legends like Frank Miller, and responsible for the arrival of the expansion of manga in the West.

The problem is that since then, Lone Wolf and Cub didn't have any republishing and the manga ran out quickly, becoming a collector's item. The version I read contains luxury finish, offset paper and cover with "ears". A new chance for comic book collectors may say.

First, it is important to keep in mind that this manga was originally published in Japan between 1970 and 1976, accurately depicting the Shogunate Era when samurai existed on the hills, and corresponded to the period from 1603 to 1868. This is because some may strange to the characteristic art of the manga of the time, accustomed to more recent publications that bring the theme, such as "Blade of the Immortal", or even the famous shonen manga, "Rurouni Kenshin". Unlike these two, Lone Wolf and Cub is extremely more grounded in realism, with a raw, dynamic beauty and that portrays with as much of verisimilitude as possible the Edo Period to which the plot corresponds.

Kazuo Koike's script and the art of Goseki Kojima bring the story of Itto Ogami, a mercenary known as Lone Wolf, who travels through Feudal Japan offering his services with his sword, while carrying his son - the little Daigoro - in a baby carriage. This concept, by itself, is already one of the highlights of the manga. It is impossible to not see all the beauty of the scenes where Itto and Daigoro walk towards the sunset, father, and son walking along a bloody path called by the Itto - the meifumadou. That is, "the errant way of the world of the dead."

During much of the manga we are introduced to this path traveled by Itto and Daigoro, while the ronin performs his missions and always let us know that even though he is a mercenary who kills for money, he is even more honored than practically all the other samurai who they cross their path in the course of the plot. This narrative, despite having chapters that bear little relation between them, and only try to show random "missions" of Itto, begin to make us interested in the past of this character and question what would have made someone so honored to travel through world by offering his sword in exchange for money while supposedly putting his own unborn child at risk.

It is only in the last chapter of the first volume that we are lightly presented to Itto's past and we understand part of what made him decide to become a wandering ronin. The interesting thing is that even bringing the character's past, the chapter still leaves some questions open, keeping the reader's curiosity about the volumes that will come next. At the same time that we understand the reason for the current life of Itto, we still don't know exactly what happened to arrive at the point where the chapter begins.

To conclude, what I can say of Lone Wolf and Cub is that reading this manga made me extremely happy. Not only by finally being able to lay hands on what is considered by many to be the ultimate work of manga or not because I've always been curious about this manga but by something much simpler: that indescribable feeling of when we perceive that we are before a pleasant, perfect reading, that immerses us in the pages and transports us to a completely new world. And nothing beats that feeling.

Story: 10 | Art: 10 | Character: 10 | Enjoyment: 9
Score: 10/10

Personal Note: I have never learned so much in a single volume, honestly time makes the reader appreciate better readings in life.