Samurai Executioner TPB (2004-2006 Digest) comic books 2002-2004

Volume 1 - 1st printing. "When the Demon Knife Weeps!" Written by KAZUO KOIKE. Art by GOSEKI KOJIMA. From the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub comes Samurai Executioner. It's true! Before Koike and Kojima created Itto Ogami, they created Kubikiri Asa, better known to Lone Wolf readers as Decapitator Asaemon. He was the equal to Itto, bearer of the sword Onibocho, the man charged with the duty of testing the swords for the shogun. Samurai Executioner is based on the decapitator himself, in life before his fatal duel with Lone Wolf. Expect the same legendary drama, frantic action, and stoic samurai stature, combined with the exemplary art and storytelling that made Lone Wolf and Cub one of the most popular and influential comic books in the world! ? Never before published in America, Samurai Executioner was the precursor to one of the most seminal works of manga, Lone Wolf & Cub! ? Since the inception of their Lone Wolf & Cub publishing program in 2000, Dark Horse has sold over 800,000 copies! And the series continues to sell thousands per month! Softcover, 328 pages, 4-in. x 6-in., B&W. MATURE READERS Cover price $9.95.

Volume 1 - 2nd and later printings. "When the Demon Knife Weeps!" Written by KAZUO KOIKE. Art by GOSEKI KOJIMA. From the creators of Lone Wolf and Cub comes Samurai Executioner. It's true! Before Koike and Kojima created Itto Ogami, they created Kubikiri Asa, better known to Lone Wolf readers as Decapitator Asaemon. He was the equal to Itto, bearer of the sword Onibocho, the man charged with the duty of testing the swords for the shogun. Samurai Executioner is based on the decapitator himself, in life before his fatal duel with Lone Wolf. Expect the same legendary drama, frantic action, and stoic samurai stature, combined with the exemplary art and storytelling that made Lone Wolf and Cub one of the most popular and influential comic books in the world! ? Never before published in America, Samurai Executioner was the precursor to one of the most seminal works of manga, Lone Wolf & Cub! ? Since the inception of their Lone Wolf & Cub publishing program in 2000, Dark Horse has sold over 800,000 copies! And the series continues to sell thousands per month! Softcover, 328 pages, 4-in. x 6-in., B&W. MATURE READERS Cover price $9.95.

Volume 2 - 1st printing. "Two Bodies, Two Minds!" Written by KAZUO KOIKE. Art by GOSEKI KOJIMA. It's the same classic style you came to expect from Koike and Kojima. The same tale of an honorable samurai and a similar great sword in the hand of a similarly fantastic swordsman, but make no mistake, Samurai Executioner is very different from its brother, Lone Wolf & Cub, sometimes frighteningly so. In a prison world, there are few good stories, and this is the world of Kubikiri Asa, the beheader and master samurai under the Shogun. It's a world full of vengeance, greed, and violence. A world of depravity and sin. One man can set things straight if he can keep his wits. This is a story of extreme proportions, of sword study thick in tradition and with grim purpose, of blood rivers, agonizing screams, bondage, torture, and the evil prevalent in human failure. Drafted by the confirmed masters of the international medium of manga, Samurai Executioner is a shocking combination of darkness and fire, fine lines, and a fine man in the face of human decline. Softcover, 304 pages, 4-in. x 6-in., B&W. MATURE READERS Cover price $9.95.