Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 15: Brothers of the Grass

"Brothers of the Grass," Volume 15 in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" manga epic by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, finally offers up the episode I have been awaiting for sometime, namely one in which the title characters do not appear. The story, of course, does serve the purpose of introducing us (eventually) to a character who will provide one of the greatest challenges to Ogami Itto as he and Diagoro walk the Assassin's Road together. Meanwhile, the importance of the Yagyu Letter continues to motivate the actions of Yagyu Retsudo, even more so than his desire to see Ogami Itto dead, which is itself something of a clue. However, Koike and Kojima are obviously in no hurry to reveal all. We must continue to read these stories in patience, understanding that with this volume we have passed the halfway mark in the saga:(73) "The Castle of Women" offers up another interesting test for Ogami Itto to face before being hired for a task. Sixteen men walk the roads wearing the mark of Gozumezu, each carrying 100 ryo and the next part of the story behind the job their lord wants Lone Wolf to do. The story is indeed worth the hearing, but this is but a complex opening gambit in a much larger game.(74) "The Women of Sodeshi" finds Lone Wolf and Cub visiting a fishing village where there are only women, brought there by a tragic song. Yet even this distant, strange little village has its secrets.(75) "Brothers of the Grass" tells the story of two brothers who have been planted in deep cover by the Yagyu. One of them, Getsugyoku, whose particular talents and peculiar nature would be suited to bringing down Lone Wolf, has disappeared, and the Yagyu force the one brother to track down the other. (76) "Five Wheels of the Yagyu" is the showpiece story in this volume as Getsugyoku uses the five wheels of the Yagyu grass: joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, and fear to try to kill Ogami Itto, retrieve the Yagyu letter, get back his human face. A very different type of "duel," than we are use to seeing in these stories, which only serves to make it all the more memorable. (77) "Incense of the Living" introduces us to yet another fascinating type of shadow warriors, the Yama-Shu, one of the Shogun's special detachments. At the age of 42 they have a "living funeral," say farewell to their family and friends, and are buried alive, only to be dug up and given a new name as a member of the Shibito-Metsuke (Ghost Inspectors). After this ritual we find these warriors have been given the task of finding a secret gold mine. Of course, you know who has been hired to defend the mine.This is one of the most thematic volumes in the "Lone Wolf and Cub" series, with four of the five stories devoted to the Grass, the deep-cover ninjas of the Yagyu. The ability of Koike and Kojima to enrich their epic with virtually every story is really astounding. The period detail is fascinating, but it is the grand scope of the overall story, as well as its individual chapters, that makes th

Another batch of chapters of the finest comic saga from Japan that I can remember.After 30+ years of collecting comics there are only three current titles that I still collect. GROO (the joke is still funny after all these years) Usagi Yojimbo (a classic series of stories with a bit a humor as well.) and Lone Wolf and cub. (I know these are reprints but the issues since 13 were never published in English so as far as I'm concerned it is new.) More interesting that the stories themselves (and they are plenty interesting) is the look at the psyche of Nippon. Brothers of the grass is a great example. By any modern stardard the "grass" have an unstable obsession, however duty overrides all, but can even these great warriors in hiding for years overcome the Lone Wolf and his quest for revenge? Keep reading

Ogami Itto's endless trek of destruction continues in number 15.By now followers of the series have gone beyond the visceral thrill of Ogami's martial prowess, and have absorbed the shocking horror of what Lone Wolf's destiny really is. A truly masterful graphic novel.