2014 is going to be a great year for the highly anticipated epic samurai series Lone Wolf and Cub. This year Lone wolf and Cub begins a new life with Dark Horse Comics publishing a new 11 volume series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Hideki Mori (artist). The New Lone Wolf and Cub will follow on from where the Dark Horse (DH) series ended, focusing on his young son Daigoro, as he makes his way in the world. But first let me clarify why there is so much hype in the comic world about this upcoming release.

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Lone Wolf and Cub original series first came out in the 1970s and quickly became one of the most popular manga series in Japan with 8 million copies sold. Created by Kazuo Koike and artist Goseki Kojima, the series is one of the greatest achievements in comics. Clocking in with more than 8,700 pages, it is one of the most beautiful, most violent graphic novels I had ever seen at the time and it is, for lack of a better word, stunning. If you have ever wondered about the truth of the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words”, Lone Wolf and Cub will take away any doubts. Many of the frames of the series are impressively beautiful depictions of nature, historical locations, and traditional activities in 17th century Japan. The black and white art gives it a real sense of movement, action, and intensity.

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The English version of Lone Wolf and Cub was released in North America by First Comic in 1987 as a black and white monthly series, with covers by Frank Miller, Bill Sienkiewicz, Matt Wagner, Mike Ploog and Ray Lago. Initially the series did very well but dropped sharply as the company went into a general decline. First Comics shut down in 1991 without completing the series, publishing less than a third of the original series in 45 prestige-format issues. Lone Wolf and Cub was picked up by Dark Horse Comics in 2000 and has since completed the original series with 28 volumes in both print and digital releases.

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The Lone Wolf and Cub series tells the story of Itto Ogami, who starts as the official executioner for the Shogun, Japan’s samurai ruler, in Edo (Tokyo) period (1600-1868) Japan. Itto is a formidable warrior and a master of the Suio-ryu swordsmanship. He serves as the Kogi Kaishakunin (the Shogun’s executioner), a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate. Ogami is responsible for enforcing the will of the Shogun (most powerful man after the Emperor) over his Daimyo (lower lords). The rival Yagyu clan, led by Lord Retsudo wants to take over Ogamis high position, and so attack his family, killing everyone and leaving fake evidence to discredit Ogami in order to control all the three key positions of power: the spy system, the official assassins and the Shogunate Decapitator (Itto’s post). One small problem, there are two survivors of the attack: Itto and his son Daigoro. Itto Ogami doesn’t know the soul of this child, and devises a way to find out. He places a toy (ball) to one side, and drives his sword into the matting on the other side. If Daigoro goes to the ball, he lacks the warrior soul, and Itto will kill him; if he chooses the sword, the boy will accompany his father on their grim path. The series’ title gives away what the decision was and both Itto and Daigoro leaves to walk meifumado, the “road to hell” and work as a hired assassin in an attempt to amass sufficient resources for revenge.