Written by Kazuo Koike, the man behind 'Lone Wolf and Cub' (and the manga which AnimEigos new DVD on R1 of 'Demon Spies' is based), I had heard this was heading our way - firmly on my 'to look out for' list. Now I know that the second volume is late December and the first comes our way the end of next month (September 2005), my ears are firmly pricked up in anticipation. Not strictly about film, but there's a link - I absolutely love the style of the films from these works.
Looking at the Japanese editions of these (reissued in the recent past) the artwork being used in America is the same - and yes, it's inspired by the Kill Bill connection. Seems that even the Japanese had forgotten about these, or they were just making them oddly hip for a new generation. I hope there's only two volumes for the USA release too, as the Japanese ones are firmly in that 'telephone directory' territory I associate with Manga.
Listings for Volume One : Amazon.co.uk / Amazon.com.
wow... looks like a lot of fun. I have to admit, I didn't jump at Samurai Executioner after reading all of Lone Wolf — it just seemed too much like more of the same — but if the cover's anything to go by then the art in this one will be very nice and, more importantly, we won't be seeing Ogami by any other name. Very cool, now let's just hope it doesn't end up being 28 volumes long :P
The movie was superb, I'd say Lady Snowblood is a must-see for a hardcore Kill Bill fanboy like myself :p
I bet the manga's pretty cool too
I've never really gotten a look at the Lady Snowblood manga before, so this should be sweet.
On the other hand, Samurai Executioner is amazing, and I actually prefer it to Lone Wolf and Cub. Pick it up and show Dark Horse your love.