Path of the Assassin TPB (2006-2009 Dark Horse) comic books

Volume 1 - 1st printing. "Serving in the Dark!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 316 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 1 - 2nd and later printings. "Serving in the Dark!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 316 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 2 - 1st printing. "Sand and Flower!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 312 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 3 - 1st printing. "Comparison of a Man!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 312 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 4 - 1st printing. "The Man Who Altered the River's Flow!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 304 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 5 - 1st printing. "Battle of One Hundred and Eight Days!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 312 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 6 - 1st printing. "Life's Greatest Difficulty!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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. And at the same trim size as past Koike/Kojima titles, it's a must-have for collectors of the influential creators' works.

The popular pocket-sized books are packed thick with action, bushido, and super-complex strategy!

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 320 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 7 - 1st printing. "Center of the World!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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!

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 304 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 8 - 1st printing. "Shinobi with Extending Fists!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

If Sun Tzu's Art of War and Musashi's Book of Five Rings were to be drawn into a manga, then Path of the Assassin would be that manga. An impenetrable castle must be defeated, the country's best samurai swayed, competing warlords politicked and tricked into line. All this sounds technical and textbook, so how does it turn out to be so sexy and dramatic and fun?

Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima (Lone Wolf & Cub) are masters of samurai storytelling, and Path of the Assassin is no slouch when it comes to action, drama, tactics, sex, love, honor, and a terrific, engaging story.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 312 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 9 - 1st printing. "Battle for Power: Part 1 of 2!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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 result of doubt, but can be their 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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 304 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 10 - 1st printing. "Battle for Power: Part 2 of 2!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

The fighting clans of pre-Tokugawa Japan are gathering their arms and are on the move. Classic historical warlords, such as Takeda Shingen, Oda Nobunaga, and a young Ieyasu Tokugawa himself take the field in this quasi-historical graphic novel series, Path of the Assassin.

This volume of Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima's rich series finds Ieyasu both fighting for his life and looking to 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 nation'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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 296 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 11 - 1st printing. "Hikuma Castle!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

Ninjas, samurai, hot lovin', political intrigue, and gold! Path of the Assassin has it all in spades! Hanzo, the heroic ninja for the future shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa, has been in some tight situations before, but nothing like the trap set for him by a ninja from a competing warlord's clan! And to settle this trickery, a sexy battle of wits and weapons. Meanwhile, Tokugawa is moving across the battlefield on his way to Japan's future.

Path of the Assassin is a pinnacle in (Lone Wolf and Cub creators) Koike and Kojima's fantastic and seemingly unending stable of awesome samurai manga. And as usual, these works don't wane as they draw toward their final volumes!

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 320 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 12 - 1st printing. "Three Foot Battle!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 320 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 13 - 1st printing. "Hateful Burden!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 304 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 14 - 1st printing. "Bad Blood: Part 1 of 2!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

Assassins have been cast as the sensual and 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. Now, the stage is set for Tokugawa Ieyasu's destiny to be fulfilled, and with Hanzo watching his back, can anything stop him from uniting Japan?

For the past fourteen volumes Hanzo's long walk down the tightrope of political intrigue and human melodrama has been bloody, dramatic, and awe inspiring.

Every page filled with the densely researched and poignant delivery you've come to expect from the godfathers of samurai manga.

Lone Wolf and Cub creators Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima, experts of gekiga samurai manga, deliver the penultimate volume of Path of the Assassin.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 304 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

Cover price $9.95.

Volume 15 - 1st printing. "Bad Blood Part 2 of 2!"

Written by Kazuo Koike. Art and cover by Goseki Kojima.

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.

Softcover, 4-in. x 6-in., 304 pages, B&W. MATURE READERS

NOTE: These are Japanese manga-style GNs and are meant to be read right-to-left.

NOTE: 'Instead of the many stories of the episodic Samurai Assassin, Koike and Kojima are unfolding a huge story arc, with comparable artfulness.' - Booklist

Cover price $9.95.