'Lone Wolf and Cub' Creator Kazuo Koike Dies

The manga and anime world are now mourning a huge loss as the official Twitter account for Lone Wolf and Cub creator Kazuo Koike has announced the prolific creator has passed away from pneumonia at the age of 82. Officially stating he was was hospitalized and under medical care at the time of passing, the account thanked fans for their love of Kazuo and his works.

This comes as even more pressing news as Koike mourned the passing of fellow Weekly Manga Action magazine creator Monkey Punch a few days prior. Declaring that the two creators were rivals when both their series were running 40 years ago, Koike said that he would miss the creator. Though now, unfortunately, both creators will be missed dearly.

かねてより入院療養中であった小池一夫は肺炎により４月１７日永眠いたしました。
生前は多くの方々に小池一夫と小池一夫作品を愛していただき、心より感謝申し上げます。
なお故人の遺志により葬儀は親族のみで執り行いました。
皆様には大変お世話になり、ありがとうございました。

— 小池一夫 (@koikekazuo) April 19, 2019

Services for the prolific creator will be family only as per his final wishes, and fans will definitely be feeling this absence. Koike contributed to several prolific manga series over the years such as Golgo 13, Samurai Executioner, Crying Freeman, and even some X-Men and The Incredible Hulk stories. Lone Wolf and Cub was such a massive hit, it went on to inspire several live-action films and other works.

Originally created by Kazuo Koike with illustrations provided by Goseki Kojima for Weekly Manga Action magazine in 1970, Lone Wolf and Cub follows Ogami Itto - a swordsman who once served as the Shogun's executioner. When his wife is killed by a clan wanting revenge for an execution, the fallout leads Itto to be accused of treason. Taking his young son along with him, the two become known as "Lone Wolf and Cub" as Itto begins life as an assassin bent on revenge.

The series has been licensed by Dark Horse Comics for an English language release, and they describe the first volume of the series as such, "Dark Horse Comics is proud to present one of the authentic landmarks in graphic fiction, Lone Wolf and Cub, to be published in its entirety for the first time in America. An epic samurai adventure of staggering proportions -- over 7000 pages -- Lone Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okami in Japan) is acknowledged worldwide for the brilliant writing of series creator Kazuo Koike and the groundbreaking cinematic visuals of the late Goseki Kojima, creating unforgettable imagery of stark beauty, kinetic fury, and visceral thematic power that influenced a generation of visual storytellers both in Japan and in the West. Don't miss this monumental monthly release, twenty-eight volumes, with each collection approximately 300 pages!"

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