One of the best pieces of literature I've ever read. The fact that it's a "comic" book kills the chance of it being read by a much larger audience. Most people who wouldn't give comics a chance would be surprised at how much they would like this story.

The story is as tragic as they come. Honor and revenge take Ogami and his son, Daigoro, down a path that no child should ever have to live or experience. The hardships of the child touched me the most.

If anything, the story is very educational. Kozure Okami's research and insight into Edo was very thorough. I learned alot about that time period. It was an excellent learing tool.

I you get the first volume, you'll never stop until you get all 28 volumes.

There's no doubt that this is a great series with excellent stories and artwork. My only complaint is about the 6" by 4" size. One of the consequences is that the text is very small and bound to induce eye strain in readers (especially those who are over the age of forty).

This is the first volume of Japan's best manga series, and quite possibly the best one in the world (though I'm pretty partial to "Preacher" and "Daredevil," too).

If you've only seen the movies or read the First Comics ones that came out back in the '80s, you're missing out. This is one of the finest works to explore honor, loyalty, vengeance and family. It is violent and often times very touching. The art flows as if it were cinema, and the style is a cross between a woodcut and traditional figure work.

If I had to sum this volume up in one word, I'd use "stunning." You won't get the complete picture with this one book (there are 28 volumes in all), but it will start you on the road.

I first heard about Lone Wolf and Cub after watching a movie called Shogun Assassin a friend let me borrow. The movie was very cool, but I couldn't help but wonder how edited it was for American audiences. There were characters shown in the beginning that never showed up later on, regardless of how important they seemed, and I also couldn't help but wonder what happened after the end. I looked up the movie's info online, and found out that it was pretty much a "best of" from the movies: Lone Wolf and Cub, which were based off of the comic of the same name. It all made sense there, and I immediately tried to track down the first volume. After getting it and reading it in one sitting (because it's that good), I now have one more thing to add to my list of things to do before I die- find out how the series ends. Only one other series has captivated me as much as Lone Wolf and Cub (that being Berserk), and I'm not that easily impressed by some of the more popular series out there. But Lone Wolf and Cub is too perfect to overlook. I'll admit- the one thing I have a complaint about is the size of the books and that the books are presented in American fashion (left to right instead of right to left), but it's something we'll have to ignore. The action and plot here will captivate you, and you'll soon forget about the little things like that.

Lone Wolf and Cub has a fairly simple plot idea- a traveling father and his son, Daigoro, make their living by accepting jobs from various people, usually involving killing clans or other groups. Itto, is an expert fighter. He really can do it all. Swords, spears, bow and arrow, bo, naginata, he's an expert with everything. He's the silent bad-ass type, who I'm sure many other characters in other comics, movies and games are based off of. His son is just a baby of two or three years, and accompanies him in his stroller, which is a weapon in itself. The handles on it can turn into a spear, and there are other tricks to it that you'll have to see for yourself. I was smiling and shaking my head when I saw everything in action for the first time, and even the times after that. The child also serves as a decoy, as terrible as that may seem, but Itto cares for it more than anything, and makes sure the child is never hurt. The second chapter of this book starts out with the child seemingly drowning in a river. Itto's enemy sees it, and runs off to save him. But Itto is underwater as well, and dispatches the target then and there. He then takes the child to safety, and they go on their way. The rest of this book continues with them making their way through valleys and villages, helping a group of captives take out some very evil bandits, taking on more bandits, a group of female assassin, nobles, and more. This book is pure action while maintaining charm and drama. How many books do you know that can do that while still being interesting?

What I love about Lone Wolf and Cub is that the stylized action that it gives. Itto's kills are impressive, even if this is an old series. Taking on groups of bandits single-handedly using the stroller as a weapon will make you laugh while going "holy crap". The series maintains a sense of realism, so don't expect any ultimate attacks or anything like that here. Itto attacks the way a samurai or Ronin would've back then. He uses strategy in his son to help get the job done, and we never feel disgusted at how he could do that to a child. Even if he isn't that developed in this volume, there's a chapter that goes over a little bit of his past and how he became the wanderer that he is now. It's very touching, and also reveals that his son could've had something different from the life they have now, but this was the better choice...or was it? Itto, being the silent bad-ass that he is, doesn't reveal much about himself. But that phrase "actions speak louder than words" was made for him. When he's taken by bandits along with other hostages in a village, they force him to have sex with a woman, otherwise they'll kill his son. The woman, being a prostitute, would normally shame someone like Itto, especially under these circumstances. But he bites the bullet, not having any shame on his face at all, and accepts. And the final battle of this book has Wolf using the sunset as a weapon. It's genius. But I'll leave the rest up to you. Like Berserk, this is one of those series where everything really is best kept a secret until you read it for yourself. Lone Wolf and Cub deserves the attention it gets, and is already one of my favorite series...and this is the only volume I've read so far. Maybe I'm too hyped up, but hey- this book really did it for me.

The first thing you'll notice about the art in this series is how different it is compared to 99% of other Japanese comics. There are no wide-eyed people with tiny mouths, no chibi-forms, no stupid fainting when someone's surprised. Everything here's presented in a more realistic manner, but the style resembles that of the old Japanese artwork. Think of the samurai or demon prints on old scrolls and that's kind of how everything here looks. There's also a sketchy aspect to the panels- lots of lines used to create shadows without looking too messy. This style may throw off some people who are used to more cartoony books, but if you can appreciate a little diversity, you'll love it. Like I mentioned in the introduction, the only problem here with the presentation is that the book reads like an average American book, and the size is pretty small compared to other comics. Panels have been flipped, so the gi a character's wearing will have the right side over the left. That bugged me, and I really should dock a star off for that, but I can't give this book anything less than 5. Also, there's no problem with the translation at all. Names even have the lines over some letters for proper pronunciation. Very cool.

If you can appreciate a more realistic approach to samurai stories, Lone Wolf and Cub is perfect for you. People have said in the past that this is the least epic of all the books in the series, so it makes me wonder how amazed I'll be when I get around to the next few volumes. Definitely pick this up if you're interested in Japanese history as well. Godspeed Ogami Itto and Daigoro.