Lone Wolf and Cub, Omnibus 2

Lone Wolf & Cub #2

by Kazuo Koike, Goseki Kojima, Chris Warner (Editor)

Ronin samurai Ogami Itto and his young son Daigoro travel a dark road, beset by enemies sworn to destroy the Lone Wolf and his Cub. But how did Ogami, once the shogun's loyal retainer and trusted executioner, become a dishonored fugitive marked for death by the shogun himself? What hidden forces moved to destroy Ogami's family and fuel his relentless quest for retribution?

This volume collects stories from volume 3, volume 4, and volume 5 of the original Lone Wolf and Cub series.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adventure, Comics Manga

712 pages, Paperback

First published August 20, 2013

About the author

Kazuo Koike (小池一夫, Koike Kazuo) was a prolific Japanese manga writer, novelist and entrepreneur.

Early in Koike's career, he studied under Golgo 13 creator Takao Saito and served as a writer on the series.

Koike, along with artist Goseki Kojima, made the manga Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub), and Koike also contributed to the scripts for the 1970s film adaptations of the series, which starred famous Japanese actor Tomisaburo Wakayama. Koike and Kojima became known as the "Golden Duo" because of the success of Lone Wolf and Cub.

Another series written by Koike, Crying Freeman, which was illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami, was adapted into a 1995 live-action film by French director Christophe Gans.

Kazuo Koike started the Gekika Sonjuku, a college course meant to teach people how to be mangaka.

In addition to his more violent, action-oriented manga, Koike, an avid golfer, has also written golf manga.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conspired against by his enemies, disgraced samurai Ogami Itto travels the assassin's road with his infant son Daigoro as... Lone Wolf & Cub!

I bought this before I acquired the first Omnibus but it somehow got pushed to the back burner. Noticing that I still had six unread books on my 2021 priorities shelf and 2021 was slipping away like grains of sand in an hourglass, I took the plunge.

Kojima's art continues to impress. His dynamic action, linework, and use of black gives his work a clarity that I find lacking in a lot of the manga I try to read. There was even more gore in this volume than in the first and a bit of nudity. Tee hee!

Koike's stories take Itto and Daigoro through a variety of situations, from planting rice to Daigoro looking for his missing father in Parting Frost. The kill count is high but Itto wrestling with his code of honor throws an additional element into the mix.

Lone Wolf and Cub Omnibus 2 was a powerful, satisfying read. I look forward to walking the Assassin's Path with Itto and Daigoro again soon. Four out of five stars.

[The Lion's Share · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic book. If I were to ever only recommend one book it would be from this series. Incredible writing and such historic detail.

A masterpiece.

[Ben Winch]

Bizarre morality aside (an assassin, ex-decapitator for the Shogun, who has executed children and seems to work as a sword-for-hire, is the honour-obsessed hero) this is a sharp, sometimes thought-provoking and entertaining collection. The stories are short, so short they often seem simple observations. If Natsume Sōseki (in Kusamakura) wrote a “haiku novel” then these may well be haiku stories – just long enough to set the scene, note the season, sketch the bones of the conflict and resolve it. Overall I liked the Lone Wolf despite his sometimes baffling conflicted morality and the apparent need for multiple deaths by his sword. And the Cub, when he came into his own (when he tamed the savage dogs, or saved himself from the grass fire), was a worthy sidekick, if not quite fully explored. I devoured their adventures, all 700 fast-moving pages. And chances are I’ll remember them for years to come.

Re the morality, Frank Miller’s cover shows a very different wolf from Goseki Kojima’s illustrations – crazed, thirsting for vengeance, with his cub afraid and unprotected in the midst of the battle. To me, Miller’s cover speaks a truth not shown by the Japanese authors – perhaps indicative of a cultural divide, either in perceptions of honour and justice or (who knows?) in the very way we interpret stories. And though I’m not sure I could stomach Miller’s version for 700 pages I was glad to have it ever-present.

A unique experience.

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

With any graphic novel there is at least one important question, what is it adding to the medium. If it adds nothing and simply tells a story then the reader is able to Move on quickly to the next read. Lone Wolf and Cub doesn’t do this. Instead the books demand the reader to slow down and appreciate the medium as Koike not only establishes the characters, but also the landscapes, the weather, the culture, the history, the politics, and the visual language for the reader.

Every page of this book is an incredible effort to play with the medium, to push it further and establish the creative landscape of Koike’s Japan. Ogami Itto and Daigoro are not just unique characters, they are real people inhabiting a highly developed world. It is impossible to not be drawn into their struggles and adventures because every page, every frame of this comics series is, simply put, beautiful. It’s a chance to just be in another world completely.

Whether it’s the panels presenting the weather, peasant cottages, rice patties, mountains, or even people sitting and talking the reader is left completely absorbed by this universe, and held by the conviction that Koike is showing them a real Japan and Samurai legacy.

I never feel tired of reading this book, and even when I know Ogami Itto is going to win a battle no matter what, I still hold my breath and wonder how he’s going to do it. This series is what makes comics great.

[Met · Rating 5 out of 5]

I singoli episodi si fanno più lunghi e interessanti. La storia della gomune l’ho trovata magnifica!

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many conflicting thoughts on this, all of which is why, after buying/reading the first volume (in the nicely-packaged omnibus format), I didn't exactly rush out to buy and read the second ... and, which is why I don't really think that my reaction was different or more, um, simple or easy to express this time around....

Up front, it's hard not to be taken with the quality of the artwork (and, given that it's Manga, the omnibus packaging), so ... well done there, and no bones about it. As a consumer, the depth and breadth of the research and the presentation of the history is impressive and, more often than not, is gratifying....

But, for me, and, gee, I choose and buy and read books for my own pleasure, I'm struggling to balance the slaughter (killing, beheading, slicing and dicing, life taking, carnage, corpse generation) against ... and, ultimately, that's the question: what? Is the story arc, are the individual vignettes, well, worth it? It feels pretty late in life to have lost my stomach for it, and it's not like, otherwise, I've shied away from a steady diet of military reading, sci fi and fantasy, or serial murder and mayhem ... from Robicheaux to Gabriel Allon to Jack Reacher and Harry Hole, which is why I find my discomfort all the more flummoxing.

Sure, Manga isn't entirely analogous to the comic books we grew up with and the (late 1980's-1990's and beyond) graphic novels that rekindled the sequential art flame (for me). But, for what it's worth, Batman (and most of his DC compatriots) didn't kill, well, anyone, whereas, gee, that's what The Punisher (and Deadpool and Black Widow) and, over time, plenty of others (particularly Marvel "heroes") did. Another day, I'll expand on this thought using the iconic, frankly sublime, cable car scene from Kingdom Come as a starting point, but I digress. Nah, who am I fooling? Just last year I enjoyed the limited run of Something Is Killing the Children, which isn't exactly pacifist fare.... Hmmm, I can't put my finger on it.

I don't meant to take anything away from the enterprise. In many ways, this is an incredibly impressive combination of art and literature and history, or historical fiction expressed through sequential art, or whatever. But I can't say I love it. Nor (as I aimlessly ramble, above) can I put a finger on exactly why it makes me so uncomfortable. But for that reason alone, it wouldn't surprise me if, eventually, I return for another round. But it won't be tomorrow, or next week....

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really great stuff. As in the first volume, this volume is made up of several short stories. However, in this volume we slowly see more backstory being revealed. We finally find out exactly why the Lone Wolf is a traveling assassin, and we get hints about his long term mission. I love the way the story is unfolding almost painfully slow. In some cases that would be frustrating, but the stories being told "between" the backstory are so good you don't really notice. The art is great as usual. The historical references to feudal Japan are fascinating as well.

Possibly the best manga series I've read.

[Mirko, "Chel dai libris" · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secondo volume dei tre di "Lone Wolf and Cub" divorato. Se avevo ancora dubbi (impossibile), questo manga gekiga ufficialmente nei classici del genere da tenere e conservare avidamente in bacheca. 

Le ambientazioni, il piccolo Daigoro dallo sguardo freddo e impenetrabile di chi sa che deve affrontare la morte e mille sfide e Ôgami Ittô: Un ronin che va conosciuto pagina dopo pagina, volume dopo volume. Epico! Non vedo l'ora di leggere il terzo volume in mio possesso.

[Zedsdead · Rating 5 out of 5]

More short stories about the incomparable Ogami Ittō and his cub Daikoro; more pieces of what set him on the assassin's path and where it seems to be headed. The eerily calm, uncomplaining toddler even takes the lead in a couple of chapters.

As he delves ever deeper into the Edo Japan setting, the author begins working in brief lectures on aspects of that period's culture that are key to certain stories. The nine-bell timekeeping system of Edo and the powerful office of the bell warden backdrops a chapter in which the warden hires Lone Wolf and Cub to kill his own sons. The decline of samurai servant culture and accompanying rise of ganglike orisuke servants is key to a story about siblings who enlist Ittō to help them avenge their murdered father. The chapter Performer describes gomune, clannish street performers, in a story about a woman who covers her body in horrifying tattoos and kills while her victims are distracted. All these lectures are delivered organically, elegantly. They fit.

Kazuo Koike keeps hitting homeruns.

[Newly Wardell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways this series is just heartbreaking. So many deaths and problems stemming from a lack of communication. There was this one story that particularly always astounds. This woman is sold into prostitution and has to be punished. She killed a guy. But Wolf takes her punishment. The punishment is horrifying in its efficiency. You hang the person unside down and almost drown them with something to do with their zodiac. Then the upside down person is hung spun and beaten. Brutal!

[Hal Incandenza · Rating 5 out of 5]

In questo secondo Omnibus si abbandona quasi del tutto la narrazione a episodi che aveva contraddistinto la prima metà del volume precedente in favore di una trama orizzontale che mette al centro il piano di vendetta del nostro Lupo Solitario.

Storie più lunghe e di più ampio respiro, trama orizzontale e samurai che si corcano di mazzate. ‘Nuff said.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prefer the tv show but I guess I watched ir before the source material. Maybe if I'd read it first could have been a different story.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lone Wolf and Cub is an interesting series. It has ongoing elements to it, but it's not a linear storyline like most graphic novels. It's kind of an experience to be enjoyed as it goes. I definitely have enjoyed these two very large volumes so far, and intend on getting the third. Ogami Itto and his boy get into some pretty bad situations, and fight some pretty formidable foes, and of course Ogami always wins, but they can still feel tense.

The artwork is usually pretty good, but I do still often get confused who is who. The action scenes are chaotic, which is fitting. The landscapes can be very nice. The paneling is usually pretty standard, with an occasional very wide one that spans two pages.

The writing is occasionally confusing with all the Japanese names and words. Usually I can get past it, but there were some times with a pretty long string of nonsense (to me). Some of the writing gets kind of philosophical in the Buddhist vein, but it's generally a lot of warring factions, and crazy characters. I particularly liked the chapter with the woman that was wronged and had grotesque tattoos applied to her body. She would shock her enemy by revealing her naked body and then strike them down. Then she would return the scalps of those men back to the shogunate or whatever, so that better and stronger swordsmen would attack her, until finally the best of the best, the man who raped and ridiculed her, came after her. It was pretty intense.

Looking forward to the next 700 page omnibus.

[Matthew White Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not too pleased with the episodic plotting of this series. There never seems to be any real risk/conflict against the main protagonist. He kills each enemy just as easily as the last. There's no tension.

Despite that, many of the lines of narration in this volume were as poetic as the last. The art is still looking good (minus the fact that some characters look the same, which can be confusing).

[Will Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even better than the first volume. Besides great one off stories, it is starting to have a building arc of a past battle of clans which seems like in future volumes will come to a head. Excited to keep reading.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is every bit as good as Volume 1, if not slightly better. I am completely blown away by the increasing depth of the characterization of Ogami Itto (The “Lone Wolf”) and his son Daigoro (the “Cub”). Things in volume one moved slowly and in a way that made it a great read. Things here flow in a circular pattern, like a storm front brewing and getting ready to burst.

I have no idea how these chapters stack up against the original periodical release or “graphic novel” cut, but chapter 7 (Performer) is my favorite in the book. I really enjoyed seeing the developments with Daigoro this time around, especially the grass fire scene. There's some humor in there with the way he interacts with people and it will be interesting to see what happens when he starts speaking.

A lot more background and behind the scenes stuff is shown here, and the motives on all sides are laid bare. The artwork remains stunning. I am not a Manga fan but find the layout and renderings to be incredibly effective. The action sequences are fast paced and brutal. The dialogue is sparse but the story and artwork are of such a caliber that it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when hands less capable try to co-opt this storytelling technique and use it to stretch out arcs. We are thankfully entering a post-decompression era of storytelling in mainstream American comics.

Needless to say, I will be waiting for Volume 3 with bated breath. While I love my high end hardcover editions I am thankful that value-priced books like this exist. I would have never taken the plunge on this previously unknown quantity on a $50-100 book, but at this price point I took a gamble and it paid off big time.

This is not your typical Dark Horse Omnibus. Both the dimensions of the book and the materials used are radically different from the rest of the line. This book measures 2.4 x 5 x 7.1 inches (or 6 x 12.8 x 18 cm for my friends in the Metric system using world outside of the United States, Liberia, and Burma) as opposed to the size of the rest of the books in the Dark Horse Omnibus line, which are 1.2 x 5.9 x 9.1 inches (or 3 x 15.9 x 23.5 cm ).

[Esoteric Grimoire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kazuo Koike's "Lone Wolf and Cub" series of manga comics, tells the story of the disgraced scion of the Ogami clan: Itto and his toddler son Daigoro. The book under review is an omnibus containing 11 chapters of the individual mangas in a single omnibus. The story continues where the first omnibus left off, giving the reader insight into the Itto's quest to get revenge on the Yagyu clan for disgracing him and driving him from his post as the Tokugawa Shogun's chief executioner. The first chapter of the omnibus plays out as a flashback, giving the readers of the first omnibus insight into Itto and Daigoro's back story. I am still in awe of Kazuo Koike and his artist collaborator Goseki Kojima do a splendid job capturing the essence and zeitgeist of the middle Edo period (1603-1868) of Japan the mid-1700s. The story captures the various subcultures and government agents and posts that existed during this time, the Lone Wolf and Cub story is set against a deep historic backdrop, that enhances the story. The artwork is splendid, capturing the dark overtones of the main story and dropping the reader right into the various forms of martial arts and swordplay on display throughout the tale. It should be noted that the dialogue is rife with "untranslatable" Japanese terms often rendered in bold text and accessible in the books glossary. I would recommend this story to fans of anime, manga and connoisseurs of Japanese culture and history.

[Alexander Engel-Hodgkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

The continued adventures of Ogami Itto and his son Daigoro bring richer storytelling, tighter writing, and more complexities in its characters, scenarios, and plots. Still episodic in nature, but unlike the first one, which dragged for the first few stories (which were still good, but not the best way to start a series, I felt) until it got to the reason behind the embarkation on the assassin's road; THIS one starts strong, continues strong, and ends strong. It is the most consistently well done volume so far, with stellar art and fantastic action sequences to boot. But also, it has a surprising amount of heart and depth in it.

The Daigoro-centric chapter where he searches for his father, the standoff chapter where bandits try to hold Itto's son hostage, and the 118-page seventh chapter in this volume (which was adapted effectively in one of the movies) are all major highlights in a book that somehow, despite all the constant death, defies the feeling of diminishing returns through repetitive story beats. Yes, there are duels and slicing aplenty, but the context behind every stroke is always different.

It's very impressive how much of an improvement this volume is over an already stellar debut volume. Looking forward to more.

[Christopher Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series continues to improve, somehow. We are starting to learn more about Itto's life before becoming an assassin, who the real villains of the saga are, and Daigoro gets a whole lot more to do in this collection, and even though he undergoes some rather painful things, he's a trooper. All the while we are gently educated about life in Shogunate Japan, from major family turmoils to nicknames for daily experiences and objects, from conflicting religious and philosophical beliefs, to seasons and hopes and dreams of the everyday. Sure, it's got quite a lot of violence and brutality, but all the while Ogami Itto handles himself and his sword with poise and dignity - it's not his fault he is on this road, but he will follow where it leads and do so according to the rules of honor. Walk on, Ogami and Daigoro, walk on.

[Joshua Moravec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic manga! I don't read a lot of comics or manga anymore, but I really enjoyed this one. You can see how much influence this manga had on films, tv (Mandalorian for a modern example), other comics, etc and why it did so.

The actual individual stories are... fine? I guess. But what is really great is the setting and the art. You really feel transported to the Edo period or at least a jidaigeki representation of the period. Normally I speed through comics, but this one I slowed down a bit to really appreciate each panel, especially if it was establishing the setting for the story, as a good number of pages don't have words. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the actual printed volume here, as the pages that had panels cross both sections could be hard to get the fully picture due to the bend of the spine.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume we get hints that Ogami Itto has a long term plan beyond earning a living as an assassin for hire. Questions are raised but not answered. Bits of this feel like the author wanted to introduce us to aspects of life in feudal Japan and then tacked on a story after. Towards the end of this collection we get some focus on Daigoro and how he might feel about all of this.

The art is great in some places, not so great in others. The watercolor pages get muddy in black-and-white. More and more, I have trouble telling the characters apart, which is weird because the side characters are distinct, but whatever samurai or bandit leader is chasing Ogami Itto in each chapter looks a lot like him.

[Miguel de Plante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Déjà bien plus intéressant et profond que le premier Omnibus, on comprend plus dans celui-ci les motivations qui animent les pulsions du Lone Wolf et son enfant.

Les différentes intrigues, bien qu'anecdotiques, ont toujours cet aspect ludique qui informe sur les us et coutumes de l'époque des samuraï. Et si chacune d'entre elles se termine par un duel aussi magnifique que confus, remporté magiquement par Ogami Itto, celui-ci voit souvent son code moral confronté, menant de plus en plus le personnage vers une radicalité et une éthique particulière.

La quête de vengeance est lente et douce, mais de plus en plus captivante.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter is mostly stand-alone adventures of Lone Wolf and Cub as he travels across Japan taking on assassination jobs. There's a cool chapter from the perspective of Daigoro his three year old child who laments that he wishes he could just be a farmer instead of watching his dad murder his way through the country.

The artwork is beautiful, again I hate the cover and I don't get why they thought Frank Miller's art would be appealling since it's nothing like Goseki Kojima's beauitful work.

I think the one drawback is that it is very much self contained adventures with only a little of the ongoing thread of Ogami seeking revenge, but I'm fine with this being a slow burn.

[Reece · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every story in this omnibus is its own self-contained work of art, squeezing in plenty or twists and tests of honour in just a few dozen pages. At the same time the world expands, there are schemes and machinations at play by both Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan. This volume reveals more of Itto's character; what lines he will cross, what he respects and what set him on the path of the assassin. The art style is slick and practical that will ensure as long as the stories they tell.
I am very much looking forward to what's to come.

[WIZE FOoL · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my new addiction!!!
A beautifully told story with hand drawn animation!
Where you learn about Japanese historical culture and lots of martial arts and political intrigue.
This is perfect for me and I am devouring them!
It's based on a samurai who is politically outplayed and loses his station and family. Just him and his boy are out to seek revenge!
I don't throw 5 stars around much. but this is totally a 10 stars!!! a 100 stars!!!!! a 1000 stars...... it's just great! Don't consider it, just read it!!!!
ENJOY!!!

[Marco Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the art. Some of the big panels are beautiful. The stories are good but violent so this is not for everybody. I really enjoy the silent moments, it's refreshing to read images when some comics use too many words to say non-sense stuff. And the author takes his time with worldbuilding and mundane activities (the detail of the little boy trying to rotate the wooden top is one of those moments). I recommend this book.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first half of this book, discussed it with friends and then put it down for several months. And then read the whole book straight through and discussed the second half with friends. I think the omnibus length actually works pretty good, though I think reading this in double size but half the length would do the art better. Definitely leaves me wanting more, but the stories were certainly inconsistent. 3.5 of 5.

[Yun Rou · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're wondering what a comic book is doing on a Daoist monk's reading list, wonder no more. This is no mere graphic novel; this is a work of high Japanese literature. The storytelling is stunning, the graphics are powerful, and the message and compelling feel of this masterpiece of graphic fiction will keep you turning the pages and earn the whole omnibus an honored spot in your library, too.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's easy to see why this series is so influential, effectively spawning the "troubled violent man on a deadly journey with a child" genre trope. The artwork is nothing less than amazing, the pacing is pure suspense, and the samurai action is so exciting you'll start subconsciously hearing the clang of swords as you read.

Yeah, I'm definitely gonna finish this whole series.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not sure why I didn’t dive right into this after the first volume. It’s incredible how modern this book feels; I can’t believe it’s from the ‘70s. I can’t imagine anything that was written in English during the same period that even comes close to it. Maybe a couple things in the ‘80s, but certainly not earlier.