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Books in series
#1
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 1
Serving in the Dark
2014
Path of the Assassin, called Hanzo no Mon in Japan, is the story of Hattori Hanzo, the fabled master ninja whose duty it was to protect Tokugawa Ieyasu. Ieyasu was the shogun who would unite Japan into one great nation. But before he could do that, he had to grow up and learn how to love the ladies! As the secret caretaker of such an influential future leader, not only does Hanzo use vast and varied ninja talents, but in living closely with Ieyasu, he forms a close friendship with the young shogun. · Published in original Japanese format and unretouched which keeps the art intact. · This is a fifteen-volume story starring the legendary ninja and Kill Bill reference Hattori Hanzo. · Each volume comes shrink-wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory. FOR MATURE READERS
#2
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 2
Sand and Flower
2014
It's not easy being Hattori Hanzo. If he's not teaching Leyasu, the young, future shogun, how to love, then he's behind the scenes, teaching Leyasu how not to die in case of a momentary lapse of protection. If you thought you had a tough job, try taking a pudgy, protected youngster, and making him into the leader who will unite Japan under his single rule. From the creators of Lone Wolf & Cub comes a series about two young men bound to a nation's potential future at a time when Japan was in transition from a warlike feudal state into an era of bureacracy and infighting. Another quasi-historical tale from the masters of Japanese samurai culture, Path of the Assassin shows a side of feudal Japan that entertains with action as well as political drama. FOR MATURE READERS.
#3
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 3
Comparison of a Man
2014
Koike and Kojima's story of the famed ninja, Hanzo Hattori and his trials and tribulations protecting the shogun-to-be, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Each page builds upon the relationship between the two warrirors and the women they love. Path of the Assassin, printed in the same size format as Lone Wolf and Cub and Samurai Executioner, this title is a wonderful addition to the Koike and Kojima samurai collection. · Published in the original Japanese format and unretouched which keeps the art intact. · This is a fifteen-volume story starring the legendary ninja and Kill Bill reference Hanzo Hattori. FOR MATURE READERS.
#4
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 4
The Man Who Altered the River's Flow
2014
War! Ninjas! Love! Political intrigue! It's all packed into Path of the Assassin. Drafted by classic samurai manga creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima of Lone Wolf and Cub fame, Path of the Assassin is the story of a young shogun on his way to unite Japan, and the trusty ninja assigned to protect him. Be it in crafty maneuverings of war, political push and pull, or bedroom adventures, young Hattori Hanzo will not be kept from his duties. Path of the Assassin packs historical fiction and fine art in yet another classic samurai series from Dark Horse. · 18+ content advisory.
#5
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 5
Battle of One Hundred and Eight Days
2014
It's a battle of ninja vs. ninja, with all the stops pulled out and every trick in the book. Well, almost every trick. Our protagonist/ninja, Hanzo's young ninja wife, Tsukumo, must avenge her father's death at the hands of another shadow warrior, but he's as crafty as they come. This mystical, imaginative faceoff consumes all 300-plus pages of this action-stuffed volume. \ Path of the Assassin packs historical fiction and fine art in yet another classic samurai series from Dark Horse. \ 18+ content advisory.
#6
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 6
Life's Greatest Difficulty
2007
If Art of War tactics and ninjitsu arts pique your interest, Path of the Assassin is the quasi historical samurai manga you’ve been waiting for! From the legendary comics creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, of Lone Wolf and Cub fame comes the story of Japan’s greatest shogun and his rise to power through the battles and intrigues of his late teens. Central to the story is a young ninja who must go to great lengths in order to secure victory for the boy who would become the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Based loosely on fabled tales of the age, Path of the Assassin is an exciting and sexy series.
#7
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 7
Child of Smoke
2014
Warning! Reading this series might not only entertain you in many ways, but it might be somewhat educational as well! Let’s start with ninja skills, samurai period drama and sexy teens. Yes, we have them all in one informative, semi-historical series from the famed creators of Lone Wolf and Cub, Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima. It’s the story of to-be shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, in his late teens, battling and politicking his way to the leadership of Edo-era Japan. To do so, he must survive assasination attempts, political sabotage, bloody battlefields and a ferocious wife. And he does this with the help of his friend and vassal, the unstoppable ninja Hattori Hanzo. Heard these names before? That’s because they’re a revered part of Japan’s (sometimes secret) past!
#9
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 9
Battle for Power, Part 1
2014
The world of samurai and ninja is not just killing, politics, intrigue and actioin. It’s also about family, spirit, love and sex. If there were ever an issue of Path of the Assassin that could be entitled "the sex issue," this would probably be it. Not just the act of sex, but the feelings, doubts, methods, results and politics of sex. The results can mean a son or daughter fated to the politics of advantage and danger. The doubts can lead to an unfocused mind. The methods can be a resullt of doubt, but can be there own distraction as well. The feelings can be good, bad, and ugly. And all of these elements amount to the politics of sex. However, if you fear that all this talk of sex means this volume of Path of the Assassin lacks the the expected swordplay, gushing blood, and drama you’ve come to love, well please don’t worry. Rather the sexplay only provides a framework for those standards, making for an oddly exciting volume of our samurai/ninja tale of conquest. As always, pocket size and full of the best in gekiga, Koike and Kojima’s Path of the Assassin continues with a fever.
#10
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 10
Battle for Power, Part 2
2014
This volume of Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's rich series finds Ieyasu both fighting for his life and looking the the future. First, a couple of eerie and mysterious ninja try to take his life, but find themselves foiled by the increasingly able ninja Hattori Hanzo. And then a nationn's tribes face off and spin through intrigue and tactical webworks, all while fascinatingly dark ninja politics weave subtext and sexy action throughout the masterly-drafted pages.
#12
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 12
Three Foot Battle
2008
The march continues as Japan's future shogun moves to the center of Japan to claim it as his own. But along the way he'll have to deal with intense and complicated politics, strange and sometimes perverted fighting techniques, and a rapidly changing samurai culture in old Japan. And often the history of Japan all rests on the wiles of shogun-to-be Ieyasu's clever and loyal ninja, Hattori Hanzo.
Lone Wolf & Cub creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima are experts at weaving an intense and sometimes oddly sensational yarn, and this quasi-historical tale of a young man's rise to the top of samurai politics doesn't pull any punches.
#13
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 13
Hateful Burden
2008
In the politics, struggles, and battles that lead to the birth of a nation, sometimes even good people must die at the hands of allies. And now it's down to only a few warlords of Edo-era Japan. History already tells the story of the victor, but the real guts of Path of the Assassin lie in the characters behind the scenes-the ninja warriors doing the dirty work. Theirs is a story of families and war and intrigue, only far more mysterious and untold.
#14
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 14
Bad Blood
2009
Assassins have been cast as the sensual & shadowy villains throughout history, but their exploits have never been so fully realized as they are within the pages of 'Path of the Assassin'. From the most intense sword fight, to a silent poisoning, no job has been too much for the infamous Hattori Hanzo.
#15
Path of the Assassin, Vol. 15
One who Rules the Dark
2009
Koike and Kojima's tale of how the ninja Hattori Hanzo helped Tokugawa Ieyasu become the shogun who united Japan is in its fifteenth and final volume. All of the action, suspense, political intrigue, and love will come to an end. But, before Ieyasu can claim his position, there will be much misery, murder, and tragedy on this already blood-soaked road. The path to the shogunate is a long and arduous journey, made easier by such a vassal as Hattori Hanzo, but in this last volume of Path of the Assassin, Koike and Kojima will tell us just how difficult that journey can be.
Authors
Goseki Kojima
Author · 28 books
Kojima (小島剛夕) was born in Yokkaichi, Mie on the same day as Osamu Tezuka. After getting out of junior high school, Kojima painted advertising posters for movie theaters as his source of income. In 1950, he moved to Tokyo. The post-World War II environment lead to forms of manga meant for impoverished audiences. Kojima created art for kamishibai or "paper play" narrators. Kojima then started to create works for the kashi-bon market. In 1967, Kojima created Dojinki, his first manga for a magazine. In 1970, he collaborated with writer Kazuo Koike to create Kozure Okami (Lone Wolf and Cub), their most famous work. Koike and Kojima were dubbed "the Golden Duo". Kojima died on January 5, 2000 at the age of 71. Awards include: 2004: Won the Hall of Fame Eisner Award
Kazuo Koike
Author · 57 books
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.
